I'm a firm believer in the Richter anchor. Have had a few of them now and think they are the bomb. about 70 bucks.

I think sand in the impellor is a non issue. My lift is in very shallow water. I churn up tonnes of sand every time I drive on and off my lift. After the first year I changed my impellor and you couldn't tell the difference between the old one and new one. Now I did go through 3 cooling hoses so I've added a strainer and have had zero issues since.