Anchoring solo

[Barerootsbob]

I just read the post about operating a R27 single handed. There is some very good information there. Any chance I could get some similar help regarding anchoring. Any tips on how to choose the spot to drop the anchor and tips on how you guys go about dropping and setting it. Which achor monitoring apps work best. I hear there are some that will send a text alert if the anchor starts dragging. Thanks in advance everyone.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

I would expect you’ll get many posts regarding anchoring. I’ll start it out by saying you should start your learning out with the knowledge you get here, along with what you have and then go practice dropping your anchor, setting it and watch how your boat handles on the hook. I’d suggest doing this on a calm day and in an area where you have plenty of room. Anchoring wisdom states the best practice is to have a 7 to 1 ratio of anchor line deployed to water depth. This is not always practical, because of a crowded anchorage, water depth, etc and it is not always necessary. Not always necessary would be if you have a lot of or all chain for your rode and or you are certain of overnight calm weather conditions. More chain equals less rode you need to deploy because chain lays better on the seabed. If you think you’ll be anchoring more then occasionally you’ll want to consider an anchor like a Rocna, MANSON, etc, as they have superior holding abilities.

Once you get to your anchorage location try to find a place that has as much of a uniform seabed ( depth) as possible, drop enough rode out so the anchor rests on the seabed, maybe half of what you’ll end up letting out. Let the boat drift back so the slack is taken out of the let out rode. By doing this it helps get the anchor positioned in the proper direction for setting. Then let out the rest of your rode, tie the anchor line off by the windlass. After this put the boat in reverse and gently move backwards, occasionally putting into neutral, back into reverse, etc and the anchor will set. You’ll know it when it does. If you’re not sure if it set pull the line and anchor up all the way and retry.....practice makes perfect.

We do not use an anchor app but when we do want to set an anchor alarm we use the one on the Garmin GPS.

Jim F

 

[NewMoon]

Hi Bob,

Here's a section on anchoring from my book on cruising the Inside Passage in a small boat:

Anchoring

In the cruising guides you’ll find detailed descriptions of a great many anchorages along the way. Rather than discuss the anchorages themselves, we’ll discuss anchoring issues and technique (much of which you may already know), with emphasis on the nature of the Inside Passage. If you’re experienced at anchoring, there’s not much magic to it, but recognize that you will need to take into account really big tides, deep water, and potentially tough weather conditions. If you’re less experienced, anchoring safely is not that tough to learn – and it’s an essential skill for the Inside Passage.

Tidal range varies greatly from place to place, and from one time of the lunar month to another. When the sun and moon are aligned, or directly opposite each other (new moon and full moon), their gravitational effects add together, making “spring” tides which are especially large. When the moon is at ¼ or ¾, the “neap” tides are smaller. PNW tides can be as small as 6-8 feet, or as large as 20 and more. You could find yourself high and dry if you don’t know where the tide is when you anchor, and how much lower it will get over the whole time you’re there. Modern chartplotters with tide tables make this easy to figure out – but make sure you get it right.

We usually anchor in 25-55 feet, and put out 90-180 feet of rode. We start by listening to the weather forecast, so we know how much wind to expect, and from what direction. Then we figure the tides, and thus the minimum depth we need. If we aren’t already quite familiar with the anchorage, we make a circle 200-400 feet across, checking depths in the area where we’ll be swinging on the hook. We do this slowly and carefully, to avoid suddenly coming across a very shallow spot – particularly where detailed charting is not available. We did wreck our props on one dark day, circling too casually in 25 feet of water, and running into a pinnacle we didn’t see, only 2 feet below the surface.

If depths look OK within the circle, and we set the anchor solidly in the center of it, we’re fairly sure we won’t wind up aground. A good way to ensure we have covered the right area, and we’re anchoring in the center of it, is to zoom way in on our chartplotter. It shows the scale of the view it’s presenting, so by looking at our track we can see quite accurately the size and shape of the area we’ve checked out.

We point into the wind, come to a stop, lower the anchor, and after the chain is on the bottom we back slowly. After letting out the appropriate length of rode, we shift into neutral, cleat off the line, and let the boat put some tension on it. When the anchor seems to have set, we pull gently in reverse, while feeling the line for signs of dragging. Usually it’s easy to tell whether the anchor is well set or dragging. More often than not, it sets solidly right away. If it drags, we retrieve and re-set. The more wind we expect, the longer our rode, and the harder we pull to test the set.

If the wind is strong, and we’re not sure of the holding quality of this particular bottom, we leave the chartplotter on and zoomed in. If it’s really windy, we might leave both chartplotter and fishfinder on for quite a while. As we swing on the hook, our track on the chartplotter shows as a crescent, centered on the location of the anchor. If our position moves beyond the crescent, we know we have been dragging. Occasionally this happens soon after we anchor, usually because thick kelp or soft mud has prevented good holding. Then we retrieve the anchor and re-set, successfully in most cases without moving very far.

Ideally we choose a relatively small cove with protection from several angles. If we know where the wind is coming from, an anchorage that’s open for some distance in a different direction may be just fine. But suppose our anchor spot is open to the west for a mile or two, and west wind is forecast – we’re going to feel it when even a moderate west wind blows. On the other hand, if we anchor where there’s only a few hundred feet of water surface (fetch) for the wind to work on, and even more so if higher ground blocks the wind somewhat, we can ride out a pretty stiff breeze without bouncing around much. This is not just a comfort issue, but also one of safety: if waves have us pitching heavily, on the upward bounce there’s much greater strain on the rode. It could jerk the anchor out of its set and allow us to drag.

We research anchorages with cruising guides and charts, and decide before we travel which ones will probably work for us. When we head out for the day we have our next stop already in mind, but always have others picked out along the way, in case weather worsens and we need to duck in somewhere. Over time we’ve developed a considerable list of anchorages that work for us, or seem that they would. With a look at our list, we can plan a day’s travel quickly, without a lot of re-reading in the guides.


EDIT: Our 26-footer's rode was 40 feet or so of 1/4" HT chain, spliced to 300 feet of 1/2" rope. Anchor was at first a 7.5kg Bruce, then a 10kg Rocna (a huge improvement).

Since 2005 a good bit of my cruising has been solo. Procedure is essentially the same as described above, except that when solo I usually drop anchor using windlass controls at the helm, so that I can quickly correct if I'm drifting too far from the desired position, and don't have to go back and forth from helm to bow as much (the Rocna would self-launch, unlike the Bruce). Even before I cleat off the rode, I test the set by pulling gently in reverse while still at the helm, so I can't feel the rode for vibration as I would do if I were at the bow with someone else at the helm. I watch my position carefully, or look at bubbles or other things floating on the surface, to judge whether the boat is holding motionless. When I think I've got a good set, I go forward and cleat off. Then I can pull harder for an additional test.

It's a little trickier anchoring solo in strong wind or current, but after a bit of practice, not too tough.

 

[Pilotnavigator]

Another setting process that I have used occasionally but a solo sailing friend does all the time... locate the place you want to drop the anchor and approach it with some forward motion with any wind at your back. Just before you hit that spot put the boat in neutral and let the boat drift forward under momentum and wind. Move forward and get to the bow in time to reach the spot where you wanted to drop the anchor. As the boat continues to move forward let out the anchor over the bow. Let out the required scope then stop and let the forward momentum set the anchor. The boat will turn and face the wind once the anchor rode is tight. The momentum of the boat will set the anchor.

Test by applying reverse with at least enough rpm that you use at 6 knots. For me that is 2000. If you have all chain the put on a snubber line.if you expect higher than normal winds then let out more scope, if the anchorage permits.

Also, please resist the temptation to stern tie to shore. I see this done so many times and can’t understand why. If you can’t trust your anchor, land is the last place you want to end up. If the wind is broadside to the boat the force on the anchor and boat cleats goes way up compared to floating with the wind. Only time a shore tie makes sense is in a small crowded anchorage. Practice in light winds in a well protected bay and gain confidence in the process.

One more thing get a good anchor, Rocna or Manson, lots of chain, I have a 21 ec with 40 feet of 1/4 inch chain (about 3x the recommenced length) and 100 Feet of 1/2 inch line. Three strand line was spliced to the chain. With lots of chain you will notice that in light winds the anchor never gets used, the boat will drag the chain around and never pull on the anchor. Many days I can look down and see the anchor below me, a strange but normal occurrence. There is a lot of friction with 30 pounds or so of chain on the bottom.

From the anchor manufacturers web site determine the recomended size for your boat and but the next size up. No one has ever wished for a smaller anchor or less chain! Don’t compromise on size, an bigger anchor is better that a stainless steel small one.

You should be good for any weather.

One other suggestion if you go with a chain and line rode. In a tight location where you don’t want to have the boat hunt around.... let out all the chain and enough line to touch the bottom and cleat it off. I made a Kellet from a 10 pound plastic coated mushroom anchor and 20 feet of line attached. I use a carabiner to snap the mushroom anchor to the anchor line and let is slide to the bottom. Then cleat it off to. This keeps the boat from drifting around a lot. And to some extent increases effective scope.

I notice that the anchor that comes from the factory is way too small for cruising. Maybe good enough for a lunch stop, but not one good enough to sleep on.
Also the anchor to chain shackle should be one size up from the chain. That is 1/4 inch chain needs a 5/16 shackle. Don’t forget to seize the pin with monel wire.

This is what works for me and has been modified over the years by whatching others. Use what makes sense to you and begin to enjoy cruising. We spend at least 60 days on anchor each summer, and never worried.

Follow these recommendations and you can sleep tight on the hook!

 

[Chimo]

I'm not going to repeat any of the excellent advice already given here [I hope]. I will say that I was a big believer in the Bruce type anchor that comes as standard from the factory when I was in the Chesapeake Bay and dealing with shallow waters and a mud bottom. I didn't get the same sense of security when I returned to the PNW and started anchoring out a lot, solo. I changed to a ROCNA 10 anchor that fitted perfectly on the R 25 SC without any modifications. I have found the performance to be excellent. For a really great discussion of anchors and anchoring, particularly the effects of scope, chain length, catenary etc. I would recommend taking an hour on a rainy winter's day and reading https://www.petersmith.net.nz/boat-anchors/.

I mentioned that I anchor solo and I think that was the direction of your original post.

I to check out the area in which I'm looking to anchor, allow for the tide and weather conditions etc. and hopefully find a depth around 25 feet or less. That's not always so easy to do in this area. I keep my anchor secured with a hook tied back to the main cleat in order to take the load off the windlass and prevent an accidental launch in rough weather so the first thing to do is to go forward ahead of time and remove that hook. I can understand the sailboat approach of dropping the anchor and proceeding forward over the anchor point in order to set the hook and I used this also when I had a sailboat with a decent sized keel. That's not to say that it's wrong! I find it better to open the window next to the helm and approach the anchor point direct into the wind/current crouching outside the window [wearing my inflatable life jacket! and with a firm grasp on the rail] at idle speed forward. I can work the throttle to slow myself so that I come to a near standstill over the anchor point and I have access to the thrusters and the wheel if I need them. I have set up the Garmin for anchor watch and I engage it as I come on top of the anchor point. I then move forward and drop the anchor with enough rode out to reach the bottom plus about 20 feet. Moving back to the window I can bump briefly into reverse so that the boat goes astern a little faster than the wind/current are taking me. I usually find that I get back to the windlass as the extra 20 feet is being taken up and I can pay out additional rode until I have about half the calculated required length over the bow. Now I go back to the window and put the engine astern at idle speed. If the anchor is well set [and it almost always is] the rode will pull bar tight and hold the boat against the engine. I can then put the engine to neutral and pay out the remainder of the rode as the boat drifts astern. After tying off the rode at the cleat I check the distance to the anchor point on the Garmin.

After I am safely anchored I watch the Garmin from time to time to see if I am swinging in a nice curve and the distance to the anchor point remains about the same. Of course as the wind/current change the track may run over itself but I should not exceed the original distance from the anchor point. I have tried using a couple of apps on the iPhone/iPad but I have never slept comfortably. That's just me being perhaps overcautious but I would rely more on the Garmin GPS than the iPhone. I do understand the desire to save battery overnight but I've never had a problem.

What I described above works for me and I'm not suggesting it is either the perfect way to anchor solo. Perhaps take a couple of ideas and find a routine for yourself that works.

I will say that on the Chesapeake I had a rode that was very different because I was anchoring normally in 10 feet of water with, at the most, 3 feet of tidal range. There I had 10 feet of chain behind the anchor, 20 feet of line, 10 feet of chain to act as a kellet and 100 feet of line. It's all about adapting to local conditions. I fully agree with an earlier posting that the kellet can help with swinging or "sailing".