- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,145
Anchor experience from the Pacific NW
- Thread starter jssailem
- Start date
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,145
I have a a 35lb Mantus on the bow with 105ft of chain backed by 250 ft of rode.
A 33lb Bruce in the boat with 80ft of chain and 100 ft of rode, and a large dansforth fluke anchor with 200ft of rode.
When I head north into BC I'll have 500ft of rode to serve as a stern tie.
A 33lb Bruce in the boat with 80ft of chain and 100 ft of rode, and a large dansforth fluke anchor with 200ft of rode.
When I head north into BC I'll have 500ft of rode to serve as a stern tie.
I have also switched to a Mantus for my primary anchor. I have a 35lb on the anchor roller which is considreable oversized for a C30 but I sleep well at night. My windlass is gypsy only so it cannot pull chain. because of that, I have 30 of 5/16" chain and 200' of 1/2" nylon rode. When my windlass dies, I will get one that handles chain and go to probably 150' of chain plus rode.
Given our deep water and huge tidal swing, it is not uncommon to need to anchor in depths up to 50' with 35' being pretty normal.
Given our deep water and huge tidal swing, it is not uncommon to need to anchor in depths up to 50' with 35' being pretty normal.
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,145
Yep. Before I anchor, I always check the current tide and what the range will be for the time I expect to be there. Then I calculate the minimum depth I need for the lowest tide and the greatest depth I would be comfortable at the highest tide. I then scout around in circle to find a spot that will work with enough depth over the full scope circle.
The other thing to keep an eye on in the PNW is scope range. Lets say you anchor in 11' on a low-low tide in June. with 4' of free-board that is 15' total. 5:1 is 75' of rode length out. 6 hours later you are at high-high tide and now have 30' of depth. so now the scope is 75' / (30'+4') = 2.2:1 scope. 
This brings to mind a question I’ve never really settled in my mind - how to deal with the difference in swing radius between all-chain and combo-rode setups in the same anchorage. Exacerbated greatly by PNW tidal swings.The other thing to keep an eye on in the PNW is scope range. Lets say you anchor in 11' on a low-low tide in June. with 4' of free-board that is 15' total. 5:1 is 75' of rode length out. 6 hours later you are at high-high tide and now have 30' of depth. so now the scope is 75' / (30'+4') = 2.2:1 scope.
Using Hayden’s example:
I anchor at low-low tide. 11’ + my 2’ of freeboard is 13’. Knowing that high-high tide is coming, I do the calculations: 26’ + 2’ freeboard = 28’.
Let’s say I set 6:1 scope. Not quite the recommended 7:1, but reasonably close. That’s 170’ of rode. Fine; I have plenty. But that’s a big swing circle. And the other boats in the anchorage are on all-chain rode, and setting 3:1 or 4:1. Even if they remembered the coming high-high tide (and set 90-120’), I’m still swinging a LOT farther - a circle almost twice the size of some all-chain boats (and it’s even worse if they forgot the high tide and end up at 2:1 - which they can sometimes get away with on all chain).
I’m always nervous I’ll swing into someone when the tide changes. And through little fault of either of us - we each set the ‘right’ amount of rode, but the ‘right’ amount is a lot different for all-chain and combo-rode setups.
I started carrying a laser rangefinder to calm my heart a little - at least I can know how far away the next boat ACTUALLY is - usually farther than my paranoid estimates.
Any other advice? Besides the obvious 1) Arrive really early and plant myself in the middle of the anchorage; or 2) Carry more chain (which I’d certainly do if we ever buy a bigger boat; but 30’ of chain is already a lot of weight on the bow of a 22 footer).
40 pound Danforth primary and a 25 pound CQR spare that came with the boat, which I have never used.
@AaronD if I am on the boat, I will shorten the scope after the anchor is deeply set down to 4:1 at high tide if the wind is light and 3:1 if the wind is calm. The worst time for swing interference is when there is no wind and everyone is drifting around to their own drum. If the wind picks up, I go out and make adjustments as needed. I am not a set it and forget it kind of guy.
My worst problem anchoring was on a calm night where I drifted all over the place and tied my 7:1 scope around a dozen sunken logs. That night, a 3:1 would have been fine and caused no problems. I do set a tight anchor alarm so that if I move at all past where I should be, I get notified.
My worst problem anchoring was on a calm night where I drifted all over the place and tied my 7:1 scope around a dozen sunken logs. That night, a 3:1 would have been fine and caused no problems. I do set a tight anchor alarm so that if I move at all past where I should be, I get notified.
This problem only gets worse as we go North. On the east coast you move into the Bay of Fundy with 35 ft. tides, on this coast tides get bigger as we go north to Alaska. Prince Rupert for example has 25 ft. tides.The other thing to keep an eye on in the PNW is scope range. Lets say you anchor in 11' on a low-low tide in June. with 4' of free-board that is 15' total. 5:1 is 75' of rode length out. 6 hours later you are at high-high tide and now have 30' of depth. so now the scope is 75' / (30'+4') = 2.2:1 scope.
I’m going to be 71 this year. The windlass on my last boat was 22 years old when I sold it, and still working. At some point it becomes a question of what/who dies first.
I get what I want for my boat - pretty soon after I decide. LOL
I run a Spade that is two sizes above recommended for my boat size as my primary bower. It has 200 feet of chain with 300 feet of additional rode, if I need it. I'll have to add it on if the need arises. I also have a Fortress with 50 feet of chain and 200 feet of rode. I may carry an old CQR as a back up but not sure yet I'll have the space. I also carry a spool of line - not sure, might be 1000 feet.
dj
I like that idea. I’d be very careful about avoiding other people’s eyes. Lasers are no joke. I already have one of those and used it on the ICW to verify bridge height in certain situations. I have a pretty good eye for relative distance and lining up other boats with shore landmarks but sometimes it’s good to have more empirical info.
Edit - I also use my own boat's length as a comparative measure in estimating how far we are from other boats.
Last edited:
Agreed but my sailing plans are leading me far from the US East Coast. Heading to Europe in May if all goes to plan. I wish to be prepared for anchoring in places like the Norwegian fiords....
dj