Anchoring Confuses Me, Help.

[Checkov]

I have skippered two cruises (lower Puget Sound and San Juan Islands) and I still have many questions on anchoring.

Sorry to make this post so long, but I thought I’d rather put all my thoughts in one post than several. Please feel free to answer one or all, or direct me to other threads which have answered these questions.

All scenarios are single anchors off the bow with a plow anchor.

#1

One night I anchored in a cove where three other boats were in 30’ of depth, I was closer to the channel than the other boats and I anchored in 50’ of depth to get 4:1 (later 5:1 in low tide) But I was confused if I was over their lines, would my rode get tangled with their rode. If they were leaving first in the morning, would my boat be in their way when they were pulling up their anchor?

#2

I was about to tie to a mooring buoy but there was a boat anchored 25’ from the buoy. All other boats were anchored on mooring buoys in this area, I opted not to tie to this buoy because it seemed to me that this anchored boat should not have anchored in the area of the buoys – I could not determine where his anchor was set and it seemed possible with a wind change he would hit our boat. Is my thinking correct here? (This was in Sucia Island in the San Juan’s and a big favorite locale at high season, all the mooring buoys were taken except for this one, which left me with the conclusion that other boaters had come to the same conclusion and left this buoy unused.)

#3

I chartered a Mooring Beneteau 35’ but the anchor rode was not properly marked. The boat had a windlass. Because the rode was not marked, I told my crew our depth and they guessed when the anchor had hit bottom, at which time I would then begin to reverse as they let out the rode to my desired scope. With a windlass it’s difficult to know when your anchor hits bottom. By lowering by hand isn’t it easier to know when you’ve hit bottom? Shouldn’t one know when you hit bottom before reversing the vessel? What are the methods for setting anchor properly with or without windlass? Should one stop the windlass mid way in the scope (like 1:3 for 1:6) and reverse the motor to allow the anchor to dig in the bottom? Should one test the anchor when final scope has been reached by reversing the engine and judging whether the anchor has held?


#4

Generally I’m always concerned about the path my vessel will take after anchoring. Am I going to hit other vessels through the night? Am I going to hit shore? For example if I have 250’ of rode out, what is my actually swing, and does it increase with wind and current and tidal shifts? I sit on deck after anchoring for 35 to 40 minutes and I check it constantly and more later into the night. I can see that the anchor is held and is a fair distance from other vessels but I can’t determine my path of swing, nor other vessels path of swing. What is the other boaters’ scope? Sounds silly for me to get in my dingy to go to each of the 5 boats near me to ask what their scope is, and even if I did have that information, I don’t know any math or formula to determine boat swings under anchor.

#5

Even after I drop anchor I lose sight of where it actually drops, so I’m guessing where it is after I set anchor. How important is it know where your anchor is? In San Juan’s its impossible to take a dive and look for it in the cold waters.

[erps]

But I was confused if I was over their lines, would my rode get tangled with their rode. If they were leaving first in the morning, would my boat be in their way when they were pulling up their anchor?

Sailboats typically swing the same way in anchorages. If you anchored behind the other boats, you probably don't have to worry about being over their lines. If you anchor in front of the other boats, then there is a chance of interference, which should become apparent when you back down and set your hook.

I was about to tie to a mooring buoy but there was a boat anchored 25’ from the buoy. All other boats were anchored on mooring buoys in this area, I opted not to tie to this buoy because it seemed to me that this anchored boat should not have anchored in the area of the buoys

I would agree with your assessment. While anchoring, I always figure the person with the hook down first has the right of way. The mooring buoy anchor was down before the boat who anchored near the buoy.

With a windlass it’s difficult to know when your anchor hits bottom.

Guess it depends on whether you're electrically lowering it, or loosening up on the brake and letting the chain go over with gravity.

Shouldn’t one know when you hit bottom before reversing the vessel?

Yes.

Should one stop the windlass mid way in the scope (like 1:3 for 1:6) and reverse the motor to allow the anchor to dig in the bottom? Should one test the anchor when final scope has been reached by reversing the engine and judging whether the anchor has held?

We put out all our scope and then back down and set it. We typically set the hook at 4:1 in the Puget Sound then pull it back in to 3:1. The mud is pretty good in most spots and our weather is pretty benign during our cruising season. FWIW, we've been boating in the Puget Sound for over 20 years and it's very rare to see a boater actually set their anchor. 90% of the skippers we see plunk it down, start the boat in reverse and then coast and then they shut off the motor when the boat glides to a stop without really setting it.

Even after I drop anchor I lose sight of where it actually drops, so I’m guessing where it is after I set anchor. How important is it know where your anchor is?

I typically take note of a couple of "range marks" when setting our anchor. If our anchor sets well, I sleep like a baby now unless the wind comes up. If our anchor does not set well, we pull it up and do it over until it does set well. This happens every now and then and we feel like retards when it does because if you do it more than once or twice, you get the feeling that all the other boats around are thinking you don't know what you're doing. That's fine by me though, because we've been the ones watching everyone else dragging around at 2:00 am when the wind came up while we were snug and secure, so don't be afraid to keep at it and try different spots until it's set.

[DonScribner]

Checkov,

You're more considerate than most. You're probably doing fine. One thing to keep in mind though. If the boats next to you have all chain rodes while yours is rope, they will swing less than you do and will probably have a shorter scope than you.

[OtterGreen]

usually where i anchor in the cove when doing overnights near me its about 6ft. when coming in to the anchorage, either vocaly or over the radio ask how much they have out and if they intend to spend the night. occasionally i get the " i dunno " and "yes were staying" so judging by their scope, they usually have NO clue as to how to properly anchor, therefore i stay clear. i try to stay near the boats that are overnighting because i dont want someone picking up anchor in pitch dark and bumping the hull. 6 close calls so far and 3 were this season alone! if i wasnt awake i would have been t boned as i needed to help fend off. i will be alot more comfortable with the captain that says its xx ft deep and we have xxx amount payed out with xx amount of chain.

[jackdale]

Erp's advise is excellent.

Some things I might add.

I do stop at about 3:1 and let the momentum of the boat tug at the anchor a little; this can help turn an upside down anchor over. Then let out the rest.

Like Ray (erps) I use ranges to determine if I am set at 1500 rpm. I also grasp the chain / rode forawrd of the bow roller to feel for vibration that may indicate a dragging anchor.

No harm in asking about other anchor locations or their scope. Most neighbors will watch you anchor and let you know if they think you may be a problem.

[wingNwing]

Checkov, you can anchor next to me anytime, you sound very conscientious and considerate. I second erps' advice. If you really want to know where your anchor is, you can use a small float attached to the anchor with just enough line to get to the surface. Can be handy to help release the anchor if you're in a place where it has the potential to snag on fallen branches or other junk on the bottom. Otherwise, it just stands a chance of tangling and can be a PITA.

[Checkov]

Thanks all for the great advise and comments (makes me feel better already about anchoring.)

Erps thanks for all the great info! Got more questions for you.

Originally Posted by erps

If you anchor in front of the other boats, then there is a chance of interference, which should become apparent when you back down and set your hook.

Does it matter if there is interference? How will I know if my lines cross their lines?

Originally Posted by erps

Guess it depends on whether you're electrically lowering it, or loosening up on the brake and letting the chain go over with gravity.

So with a windlass, it the proper method to loosen the brake and lower manually so you can determine that it hits bottom?

Originally Posted by erps

We put out all our scope and then back down and set it. We typically set the hook at 4:1 in the Puget Sound then pull it back in to 3:1.

If you have 4:1, why would you pull back in to 3:1? Since more scope is best.

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As a kinda of a side note - I watched a 30' sailboat drop anchor about 15' from shore in 25' of depth and not let out any scope (or even that he could considering he was right at shoreline?). I was very confused on how he thought he was gonna maintain the anchor, but like others have inferred I guess there's a lot of boaters out there that don't understand or were instructed on anchoring - is this so?

[killarney_sailor]

Some good discussion and advice here. One thing that we have found useful if you have a chartplotter is to set a track with plotter set to 1/32 mile range and north up. It will show you if you are dragging at all and after a time will give you a pretty good idea where your anchor is because the track will form a part circle around the anchor. We don't leave it on all the time, just for a couple of hours after anchoring and perhaps in subsequent days if something seems not right.

[Jeff_H]

I personally prefer to be moving before I lower the anchor, it is easier to feel when it hits bottom and you are less likely to end up with chain piled on top of the anchor where it can foul a fluke. Somewhere about 3:1 I like to 'stretch the rode' and then continue to lower to my full scope.

As noted, if you anchor in front of another boat, it is always harder to gauge where you will end up relative to the other boat once the anchor grabs. You need to guess at what your swinging circle and their swinging circle will be like. This means guessing at where their anchor sits in the bottom, how much scope they have out, allow for the length of your scope and length of your boat, and if you guess wrong, you can swing into them or foul their rode when the wind or tide changes. And you need to allow a little for drag since typically even an easy to set anchor will require several feet of drag to burrow down and set properly.

Another thing that I would add is that 3:1 or even 4:1 seems like an extremely steep scope. I tend to minimally use closer to 5:1 or 6:1 in a protected crowded anchorage around here, and more typically 7:1 or 8:1 when there is no one near by.

And, lastly, I did not see it mentioned that the vertical dimension used to calculate scope needs to include the not just the depth of the water but the height of the bow above the water. In other words, if the water is 25 feet deep and your bow is 5 feet above the water, a 5:1 scope would require 150 feet of rode.

Although I take bearings, I generally use my GPS for an anchor watch. I leave the GPS on for a while after anchoring set to the 50 Feet or 80 foot scale. As the boat swings it leave circular bread crumbs. Once i have reasonable arcs I turn the GPS off for a while. In addition to poking my head up and looking at shore and neighboring boats, periodically I will turn the GPS back on to see if there is any dragging since the GPS is generally more precise the eyeball navigation.

Jeff

[erps]

Does it matter if there is interference? How will I know if my lines cross their lines?

When I spoke of interference, I was referring to being within each other's swing circle.

So with a windlass, it the proper method to loosen the brake and lower manually so you can determine that it hits bottom?

That's how we do it.

If you have 4:1, why would you pull back in to 3:1? Since more scope is best.

The anchorages in our neck of the woods are so crowded that it's pretty rare to have room to use more than 3:1 scope. We set it at 4:1 just to make it easier to set (if we have the room) and then we pull it back in to 3:1, just because we don't want to be a hog. If there is wind in the forecast, we'll anchor with more scope out. Most of the time around here, 3:1 is a pretty good compromise between holding and not taking up too much room.