thanks for the responses.... couple of quick replies... I do have a chain (approx. ten feet); will post photo as soon as I can;
my first assumption is operator error 
. I had two problems:
1. The anchor landed upside down and therefore wouldn't hold
2. the windlass hung up as the chain began to wind up onto the windlass.
Hope to get to the lake for an early AM ride tomorrow and will take a photo.
Thanks again for the responses.