It’s simple. It’s entirely American made. It’s uncomplicated. And it’s absolutely effective. That’s been our takeaway from the Sand Gator Shallow Water Anchor. Designed and manufactured out of their Lake Forest, IL facility, the Sand Gator has taken the stake-style small vessel anchor and made it darn near flawless.
The serrated edges aren’t sharp, so it’s not going to cut or saw through anything in your watercraft’s storage compartment but has enough bite to dig into sandy and pebbly shorelines; and it’s compact enough to fit in most all PWC storage cubbies but digs deep enough to hold down even full-sized PWC in surf.
In easily checking off our surprisingly basic requirements (when so many others don’t), we had little trouble announcing that the Sand Gator Shallow Water Anchor will be The Watercraft Journal’s “Official Anchor of The Year” for 2026. And with that announcement comes quite a bit of news:
Sand Gator’s owner, Jeff Giannelli wrote: “We’re thrilled to be working with WCJ in 2026 and are happy to share a special 10% discount just for WCJ readers.”
In addition to seeing a Sand Gator used in all future PWC reviews and trips on WCJ in 2026, a full length product review and inclusion in our 2026 Christmas Gift Buyer’s Guide; all readers are gifted a 10-percent discount on their purchase at www.thesandgator.com when they use the coupon code WATERCRAFT10 at check out.
Too often people are distracted by the sizzle and are disappointed by the steak. The Sand Gator leaves all of the bells and whistles aside (which, let’s admit, jacks up the price), and offers a top quality, American made anchor for an affordable price. Order yours with the cinch-top drain bag and bungee anchor strap for $85.99.
