Anchoring

Not only does a bridal / snubber gets the windlass out of the primary load path but it also unloads the chain through the anchor roller and keeps it from banging around all night.

my3sons said:

We also use anchor. And have experienced that it works better (more accurately and no false alarms) on the I-pad vs the phone. Probably a better GPS. I can't hear the MFD/anchor watches that are up on the bridge down in the stateroom.
1 thing is for sure, nothing but nothing gets your butt up and out of that bed faster than that alarm going off in the middle of the night. Thankfully our only panic was a false alarm when I set the swing zone a little too tight.

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I found ‘Anchor!”, by Marie Hullo, and Anchor Pro, by Peckish Sloth, and Anchor Alarm, by B2N. Of course, Anchor, is an app for podcasting, so I’m guessing not that one! All on the iOS App Store, are you using “Anchor!”? I’m going to try this on my phone, paired with my watch, should wake me up, but not the wife.

Todd320 said:

I found ‘Anchor!”, by Marie Hullo, and Anchor Pro, by Peckish Sloth, and Anchor Alarm, by B2N. Of course, Anchor, is an app for podcasting, so I’m guessing not that one! All on the iOS App Store, are you using “Anchor!”? I’m going to try this on my phone, paired with my watch, should wake me up, but not the wife.

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I just downloaded it yesterday as well based on the suggestions. It is the "Anchor!" one - with the exclamation mark.

So what about anchoring on the east coast, I’ve heard you have to take extra precautions because of the huge tidal swings up north, like 10 feet, is that right? We want to do the great loop in 5-6 years, so that might come up. Of course, my wife enjoys marina visits way more than on the hook.

Blueone said:

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Believe this is called a Prusik knot. I follow a blog from Denali Rose and remember him talking about how he attached a bridle to his chain rode (apparently works on a rope rode as well). It apparently is a knot easy to loosen and allow the rode to slide thru, which would make it invaluable in an emergency (Tom (ttmot), a new knot for you based on your Caribbean experience!) https://svdenalirosenc43.blogspot.com/p/everyone-and-every-boat-has-their.html

Lots of other good information (and humor) on their blog.

rcknecht said:

I use one of these hooked into my chain... I have all chain... I Hook one end on my center cleat, and the other through the chain.
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Do you use this with the anchor deployed? I can see it helping on smaller boats with any shock loads under light conditions … I wouldn't feel comfortable with it overnight or heavy loads.

Todd320 said:

So what about anchoring on the east coast, I’ve heard you have to take extra precautions because of the huge tidal swings up north, like 10 feet, is that right? We want to do the great loop in 5-6 years, so that might come up. Of course, my wife enjoys marina visits way more than on the hook.

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maybe we'll see you on the loop … same timeframe for us. We'll be the ones anchored with a bridle, 3 anchor alarms, flashing lights and warning banner

Todd320 said:

So what about anchoring on the east coast, I’ve heard you have to take extra precautions because of the huge tidal swings up north, like 10 feet, is that right? We want to do the great loop in 5-6 years, so that might come up. Of course, my wife enjoys marina visits way more than on the hook.

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When Looping, the largest Tide swings would be in very north Florida and Georgia. We had 8-9' in Georgia. Depending on conditions, that may or may not be the highest tidal currents.
You'll catch on quickly. Look to see what other boats in the anchorage have for rode. Combination and all rope swing boats differently than all chain. First to anchor dictate what others do. If they are chain and you are rope, you will move more than they, leave more room. Sailboats react to tide over wind, powerboats (without big keels) swing to wind before tide. Do not assume that when the wind or tide changes, you will all swing together. This is kind of important because in the intracoastal, there will be a lot of sailboats anchoring. Know the tide state when anchoring, if it is low and the tide will rise 10' overnight, let out an extra 50' (5:1) or more. Know what the wind will do overnight. "Set" the anchor, don't ever drop it and assume that the pull of the drift is good. It is not. I'm not big on trip lines, but that's another personal decision, just like most anchoring methods.

Below is a screen shot from an anchorage in S. Carolina. The app is Anchor. I marked it up to show you what you can expect in a typical tidal anchorage.
The anchor symbol in the middle is where we dropped the anchor.
The track to point 1 is us paying out the rode. At 1 we flip down the chain stop, make an initial set, On our boat, that's one shaft bumped in and out of reverse at idle. When we know the anchor has a hold, she releases the chain stop, attaches the bridle and pays that out. When that is out I pull with one shaft in reverse at idle and when the boat settles while pulling, I watch the gps and shore marks for drag. That puts us at point 2. Keep in mind the blue track is the boat movements, not the actual anchor chain. at that point, the chain is tight and straight between the anchor marker and point 2.
The rest is mother nature. Between the current and the wind, we would have settled in at a spot somewhere between 1 and 2. During the night, the wind lessens and the tidal current swings, taking us to point 3. Then again before morning the tidal current takes us to point 4. That's it. reel in the anchor and your off.
Now, for a moment, think through those positions, see how the furthest point from the anchor is when we pull to set (2). Wind dies, current shifts, and we swing upstream, but notice closer to the anchor at (3). Tide changes, we swing again and even closer to the anchor(4)
Picture the chain laying on the bottom, it snakes around between the anchor and the boat, never really pulling again on the anchor after the initial set, the boat's closer to the anchor all night. That is imo, is the biggest advantage of all chain rode. The weight of the chain and the force to over come the friction of dragging the chain across the bottom never, under normal conditions, forces the anchor to have to reset during the swing process. Rarely does it even pull on the anchor after the initial set. A lot to be said for, and we sleep like a baby with that weight laying on the bottom.



Also found this picture below of anchorage on Lake Erie. Follow the chain and see what happened over night as the wind turned 180 degrees and went to almost dead calm. Boat turned and drifted back over the anchor. The weight of the chain is holding the boat. You can see the chain running back, the anchor is almost directly under the running gear.
This is an example of why I really think before using trip lines with floats. BUT, Would an all rope rode allow this to happen? most likely not. So its just like everything else with boats, each has advantages and disadvantages.


We enjoy mixing anchoring with port calls to marinas, but when looping, there is a more social life to staying at marinas and of course you want to visit towns that you not been to before. Anchoring is a little more work also if you may have pets that need to make potty runs to shore. But with a dinghy, you can still manage.

my3sons said:

Also found this picture below of anchorage on Lake Erie. Follow the chain and see what happened over night as the wind turned 180 degrees and went to almost dead calm. Boat turned and drifted back over the anchor. The weight of the chain is holding the boat. You can see the chain running back, the anchor is almost directly under the running gear.
This is an example of why I really think before using trip lines with floats. BUT, Would an all rope rode allow this to happen? most likely not. So its just like everything else with boats, each has advantages and disadvantages.

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I'm curious, are you defining the Erie situation as a problem (provided the anchor was actually set to begin with)?

This kind of situation is common for us, we let out enough chain so that we can get a set to the anchor, and then add more chain to get the desired scope, and it's not unusual to have the anchor chain vertical into the water from the boat due to the weight of the chain alone (either staying that way because it was calm too begin with, or returning to that state kind of organically due to shifting winds pushing us back closer to the anchor drop location).

my3sons said:

When Looping, the largest Tide swings would be in very north Florida and Georgia. We had 8-9' in Georgia. Depending on conditions, that may or may not be the highest tidal currents.
We enjoy mixing anchoring with port calls to marinas, but when looping, there is a more social life to staying at marinas and of course you want to visit towns that you not been to before. Anchoring is a little more work also if you may have pets that need to make potty runs to shore. But with a dinghy, you can still manage.

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Wow, that’s a great post, extremely helpful, thank you!
Did you bring any additional anchors? I currently carry a stern anchor I use for keeping the stern towards shore when anchored for day trips. That works wonders since a passing boats’ wake is perpendicular to the hull and we never roll, but I have read others state you need 2 bow anchors, each a different type for different bottoms, and to allow you to deploy both on a 60 degree angle.

mobocracy said:

I'm curious, are you defining the Erie situation as a problem (provided the anchor was actually set to begin with)?

This kind of situation is common for us, we let out enough chain so that we can get a set to the anchor, and then add more chain to get the desired scope, and it's not unusual to have the anchor chain vertical into the water from the boat due to the weight of the chain alone (either staying that way because it was calm too begin with, or returning to that state kind of organically due to shifting winds pushing us back closer to the anchor drop location).

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No problem at all, happens quite frequently. I was using it as an example of why I don't like using trip lines. The trip line and float may get fouled in the running gear when the boat drifts back over the anchor with the middle of the night wind change. The anchor is still set where we set it.
I would be afraid that the wind might go calm, then turn and do what happened above. Set right over the anchor. The trip line would get fouled in the running gear and if the wind picks up, could break the anchor free.
Many anchorages listed on Active Captain, Waterway guide or Skipper Bob's or others may state "It is reported that this anchorage contains numerous dead fall, suggest use of a trip line". With a rope rode, the boat would most likely have drifted away from the possible entanglement because the weight of the chain wouldn't be holding it where it was, although it is possible that the props could have snagged the trip line on the way by.

Todd320 said:

Wow, that’s a great post, extremely helpful, thank you!
Did you bring any additional anchors? I currently carry a stern anchor I use for keeping the stern towards shore when anchored for day trips. That works wonders since a passing boats’ wake is perpendicular to the hull and we never roll, but I have read others state you need 2 bow anchors, each a different type for different bottoms, and to allow you to deploy both on a 60 degree angle.

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You do not "need" 2 anchors. I feel new generation anchors like Mantus, Rocna, Spade etc do a great job in most all bottoms. That said, I do carry a spare bow anchor. For spares I like Fortress. They are light, can be disassembled and stored, then reassembled and carried above deck for back-up, a Bahamian style set up (I've never done it) or in an emergency.
I carry a FX 23. It is not storm size for my boat, but I carry a storm size anchor as my main bower. It's a Rocna 33, it's 73 pounds.
If cruising I assemble the fortress and it rides nicely on the bow rails up front. I put some foam pipe insulation (or noodles that are hollow in the center, just split one side) over the rails anywhere the anchor would touch and make up some lashing to hold it. Picture back in post number 11 shows it. I slide the two lashings to the sides and anchor lifts right off. 200' of rope rode is right there. 15' of chain is hiding behind the fenders. Rode is not attached to the anchor because the shank almost touches my deck when stored. The chain would scuff the deck if attached, but I can get it hooked on quickly.
I also have a Fortress FX-16 in the transom locker as a stern anchor. The FX-23 won't fit in the transom locker, that's why it's up front. It's out of the way up there for us.

Tomco said:

Do you use this with the anchor deployed? I can see it helping on smaller boats with any shock loads under light conditions … I wouldn't feel comfortable with it overnight or heavy loads.

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I use the bungee as a snubber. If the winds pick up or I anchor over night, I will also use a rope with the bungee to relieve the stress on the windless...

Woody said:

If you have line rode why not just take it to one or the other bow cleats. I've done that and found the boat does not swing around so much.

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This approach works well with our boat. The pic shows our cleat locations. We have a small cleat centered on the deck (hidden by the burgey) but in a real blow I use the beefier bow cleats.

sbw1 said:

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This approach works well with our boat. The pic shows our cleat locations. We have a small cleat centered on the deck (hidden by the burgey) but in a real blow I use the beefier bow cleats.

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So let me understand...when you tie off on one of the two visible bow cleats, does the rode go from anchor, to cleat, up through pulpit to windlass...OR...from anchor, up through pulpit to cleat then slack line to windlass?

I set the anchor and then pull the boat forward to create slack and use the slack to tie off the rode to the cleat. Once tied off the slack is eliminated and the boat is anchored from the cleat which takes the full load.

Here's my setup. You can see there are 3 full-sized cleats on the bow. One Port, one Stb, and one just forward of the windlass. If I'm planning to stay on the hook overnight, I'll reach under the bow pulpit, grab the anchor rode and cleat it to either side, but normally will just cleat it by the windlass. Not sure if it prevents more pivoting on the side cleat or not.