Ok, with the collective wisdom of this group maybe I can find an answer to my anchoring question. If you anchor for the night and the wind shifts 180 degrees would your anchor still hold or would it break free? Thanks and Fairwinds!
Anchoring Question
- Thread starter SceptreSailor
- Start date
- Status
It depends on how strong the wind is, how well protected the anchorage is, what the bottom is made of, and what kind of anchor you're using.
And whether you wake up to reset it
If you sleep through a 180 degree wind shift of any strength, you probably aren't cut out for the cruising life.
It is a good question but the answer is largely irrelevant - perhaps a better question would be - "could it break free?" and as you can already infer from the previous answers, it can regardless of conditions, anchor, bottom, etc..
More important question
than will it break free. The answer to will it break free has pretty well been answered. The question you need to ask is will it reset. And how quickly will it do it.
than will it break free. The answer to will it break free has pretty well been answered. The question you need to ask is will it reset. And how quickly will it do it.
I'm sure any manufaturer will say it won't break free in the first place. It would depend on how much pull there is on the anchor. Then they'll say it will reset to the new direction. It would depend on how far it can drag to dig in. Logic would dictate if you got it to hold in the first place, it should reset on the new direction. Safety would dictate don't bet the boat on it.
Franklin brought up a good point
This entire scenario could/would depend upon the scope you had. If you were anchored with 3:1 there isn't much thats going to help you. At 7:1 or better, with a decent bottom, if it held in the first place, it should reset and hold, sooner or later.
This entire scenario could/would depend upon the scope you had. If you were anchored with 3:1 there isn't much thats going to help you. At 7:1 or better, with a decent bottom, if it held in the first place, it should reset and hold, sooner or later.
Go to the Rocna Website I have had one for 2 seasons and it is excellent at resetting. And yes I have had numerous 180 shifts and every time it has reset.
Is this a trick question? The answer is I cannot know. Even if I knew the composition of the bottom, the type of anchor, the depth, the scope, type of rode, the speed and direction of wind and current, the displacement, hull and windage characteristics of the boat, how was the anchor set it would be mere speculation on my part. But besides all that I concur it would be more important to know if it could reset and how fast.
I vote with those who say use lots of scope and lay down two anchors 180 degrees apart. I've only done this a couple of times and it worked fine.
I suppose that if you had enough scope and chain and a heavy enough anchor of a type suitable for the bottom where you are, you would be alright BUT if it were me I would get up and make certain before I relaxed again.
If you need to use two anchors on a regular basis, it is probably a good indicator that your primary anchor is TOO SMALL.
anchoring out
Every night I anchor out in the marsh I face at least one 180 degree shift. I don't lose any sleep over that. My Fortress anchor and 35 ft
of chain at the end of the line seem to work just fine on the sandy or muddy bottoms in GA. But with my fin keel I do lose sleep over wind against tide.
Every night I anchor out in the marsh I face at least one 180 degree shift. I don't lose any sleep over that. My Fortress anchor and 35 ft
of chain at the end of the line seem to work just fine on the sandy or muddy bottoms in GA. But with my fin keel I do lose sleep over wind against tide.
I'm trying to remember the last time...
...I did NOT experience a 180 shift while anchoring out. We have semi-diurnal tides here in California, which means you get a shift every six hours, which means that you will inevitably wake up facing the opposite direction than that in which you fell asleep.
What happens, usually, is the chain makes a big U and the boat hovers almost directly over its anchor. The anchor didn't reset itself because it has no idea the boat has moved. No big deal, except that people with nylon rodes sometimes get them wrapped around the keel.
I no longer bother with anchor alarms because they kept waking me up. Rather, I set out the rocna and the all-chain rode, and let nature take its course. Every once in a while I hear the chain moving along the bottom--this because the owner's stateroom is forward on our boat--but I've trained myself to go back to sleep immediately.
Anchor watches are for those with tiny hooks.
...I did NOT experience a 180 shift while anchoring out. We have semi-diurnal tides here in California, which means you get a shift every six hours, which means that you will inevitably wake up facing the opposite direction than that in which you fell asleep.
What happens, usually, is the chain makes a big U and the boat hovers almost directly over its anchor. The anchor didn't reset itself because it has no idea the boat has moved. No big deal, except that people with nylon rodes sometimes get them wrapped around the keel.
I no longer bother with anchor alarms because they kept waking me up. Rather, I set out the rocna and the all-chain rode, and let nature take its course. Every once in a while I hear the chain moving along the bottom--this because the owner's stateroom is forward on our boat--but I've trained myself to go back to sleep immediately.
Anchor watches are for those with tiny hooks.
anchoring part 2
That leaves us to what to do if and when the anchor breaks loose. If and when that happens
obviously you have to go on deck and reset it. If your worried about not waking up get a
Heavier anchor Namely about 2 steps up and double the chain length.
That leaves us to what to do if and when the anchor breaks loose. If and when that happens
obviously you have to go on deck and reset it. If your worried about not waking up get a
Heavier anchor Namely about 2 steps up and double the chain length.
I would offer an alternative theory Bffatcat -
if your worried about not waking up, you don't belong on an anchor (unless you have a very good anchor alarm).
if your worried about not waking up, you don't belong on an anchor (unless you have a very good anchor alarm).
- Status