Anchor Holding

[DarBay]

My wife and I went out for a nice Holiday cruise. We cruise the sea of cortez in a C34. While out a real nasty storm kicked up with 40mph + winds. Luckly we were anchored in a real nice bay. San Pedro Bay north of San Carlos. As you can imainge I was up every 1/2 hour or so checking to make sure we were not slipping our hook.
We have a 35lb CQR and I had 100 ft of chain out plus 20ft of rode.
We did not silp. All was well.

Here is my question. Can you feel if your boat slips the hook? I would think things would get smooth all of a sudden. But don't know for sure. Has anyone been on a boat when it slipped the hook? How did it feel?

 

[Johnb]

I have had infrequent experiences of an anchor just slowly giving over time and dragging some hundreds of feet over maybe 4 hours while we fished. I suspect it was due to soft muddy clay on a hard packed bottom. This is unusual but obviously can happen. I would not rely on a difference in feeling to sense an anchor problem. The other thing is it seems like the wind is continually varying in strength and direction and with the boat dancing around that also confuses the issue.

 

[zeehag]

we slipped hook many times in gulf of mexico--is more a "feeling" than feeling it. you see it, you can sense it-- and always happens whenye least want it-- 0200, 0300, when dinner is cooking, and whenye want to visit with folks next boat over in the anchorage. watching bubba daboatkat sail was weird. cat was only one on the boat and boat was dragging anchor at ship island. oops. we were dining with friends in another anchored boat-- they had no problem, we dragged.......(no, wasnt my boat)
other times i could feel the rudder dancing on the sand as we dragged closer to islands----wind shift, tide shift--another oops...

 

[shemandr]

Oh yeah, you feel it - unless you're dead. On our H356 the bow, with its windage and light weight, heads to lee in a hurry.
Since the boat snaps up on the anchor, I'm always in tune with the situation. Sometimes to the detriment of sleep.
I love our anchor, the Manson Supreme, as it has afforded me more sleepful nights than any previous anchor.
Yes, you feel it.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Rock-a-bye-baby

If you slip or pull out for long, the boat will typically lie beam to the wind and rock side to side. So, you'll know.

 

[Benny17441]

It is very hard to tell from inside the cabin. I will usually look out the portholes and stablish a couple of points of reference. That way I'll wake up and look around and if in any doubt I will go up and check. We carry an old hand held Garmin 84 as a back-up but more important it has an anchor alarm. When the winds pipe up I will define the desired radius according to the scope of the rode and turn the alarm on and set it close to me. If the boat moves out of that radious the alarm goes off. The chartplotter also has an anchor alarm but it cannot be heard below.
The h320 swings at anchor like a drunken sailor so we upgraded to a 35 lbs CQR and 30' of chain and have not dragged since. I have gotten a good feel for the conditions we have repeatedly sustained and as long as the conditions are not exceeded or the botoom holding is not suspect I will go to sleep in fair confidence but I will wake up 4-5 times a night listen for the wind and just look out the portholes for my reference markers.

 

[Ross]

When ever I have any doubt I let out more rode. I often ride to a 10:1 scope

 

[sailaway78]

Most of the time

Usually I can feel an anchor let go. On occasion, a strong tide change can swing you around and break an anchor loose, without feeling it. But most of the time, is is obvious if your attuned to it.

 

[slr]

It's VERY hard to feel, I always find it best to simply set an anchor alarm on the gps for extra piece of mind at night.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Simply dragging or Slipping Out

If you're dragging, slowly, then you can't tell easily unless you're using bearings or alarms. I thought the question was about slipping the anchor free, whereupon one would start to drift beam to the wind, most likely. Which is it?

 

[John]

dragged once

I dragged anchor once. I was lying in a hammock strung up on deck and I could instantly feel a difference in how the hammock was swinging.

 

[Bill Roosa]

Drop a weighted line over the stern when the boat is in mid swing (on the anchor). Run the line around the handhold atop the companionway and down to the cabin floor and tie a light weight pan to the end. As the anchor drags the pan is pulled higher and begins to bang giving a clear indication of something amiss. It also sounds on the change of the tide (when most anchors let go) so you will be up fixing the pan and can take a look at the anchor also.
I have used a dingy anchor as the overboard weight but anything of sufficient weight to hoist the pan will work.

 

[Bill Roosa]

And lest you think I'm bright, I stole this from an old mariners book (the circumnavigators handbook). those old geezers really had some great ideas

 

[fourbabygrands]

awoke one morning when the wind freshened and my anchor was dragging, you'll feel the inertia of moving astern and as the anchor moves over the bottom, I felt the "bottom" through my line and even heard the anchor moving over the bottom. This was only in 8ft of water, so I imagine it's easier to hear/feel and less easier the deeper you anchor. I added more chain to my setup and this seems to have corrected my set.

 

[zeehag]

with htis formosa, anchored in old harbor, mazatlan, boat will "walk" across the lil harbor slowly until a biog wind comes-- the holding is poor so re setting of anchor is important to do at least every week. when the chain isnt muddy when picked up, aint set. when it is muddy, safe, sorta...doesnt move as fast

 

[Rick486]

When ever I have any doubt I let out more rode. I often ride to a 10:1 scope

Aviators say altitude above you or runway behind you are useless. Same goes for rode in the anchor locker.

 

[Nodak7]

Sounds good until you are in an anchorage that is too small for sufficient rode! What do you do then? The best we can do is 4:1. Would more chain or heavier anchor work better?

 

[Bad Obsession]

Nodak.....You want to look into the anchor you are carrying and figure out the best kind of anchor to use on a short rode.

I have drug a few times. If you aren't dragging at some point you aren't anchoring. The worst result for me was being grounded on a sand bar at high tide. Luckily I woke up, as Z said at 3 in the morning, because I noticed that the waves were hitting the side of the boat. I figured out what happened and winched myself off of the bar. I went out and reset the anchor a bit farther out.

I don't anchor on a danforth anymore. I use a Bruce type with 30 feet of chain. I have had less problems and sleep more secure.

There are a lot of fans of Manson Supremes here and that will probably be my next anchor if I switch. Right now my Bruce works great in the Chesapeake Bay.

Oh....I am using a 33lb Bruce with a Catalina 30. I was told that I could use the 22lb but I feel better with the 33lb in the mud.

One last thing.....I back down on my anchor really hard and for a good amount of time. If your boat springs forward when you put it in neutral and you aren't moving in reverse you have a good chance of holding well.

 

[Ross]

Might or a different anchorage.

 

[Nodak7]

Ross that would be the real answer but difficult since there is no protection outside the bays. We usually "shore up" but sometimes that is not possible. I carry a Bulwagga Anchor and it works great however it is marginal for our boat. I just need to locate a bigger one (44#) for this boat with it's big windage. If you know anyone that has one please let me know.