[Van]

If I had the time I might go into "production"
My buddies have been saying the same thing.
I dunno...

The anchor in the pic i made out of 3/8" too heavy cause'
if more than 2 tines catch its very hard to bend to retrieve.

I made 2 more to see which I like the best.
Last year I used 3/16" rod, it held well, but if only 1-2 tines catch and there was alot of current or wind it came loose.
But 90% of the time it was fine.

I am ready to weld my third one which is 1/4"..It should be perfect.

I also thought I could use thinner tines for the 2 I weld on
so I could split the difference. Say 1/4" main and 1/8 or 3/16 for the other two.

So to answer megabyte's question, 3/8" for bigger boats, maybe reater than 24'.
3/16" for under 20'
1/4 " for 20-24'

Those are estimates, but I think they are pretty close.

Here's a REAL crude diagram of how I use it. This wasy it allows me to fish off the stern and not sway back and forth.