Anchoring

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May 26, 2004
204
Macgregor Venture 25 Trailer Sailor
We will be experiencing our first night at anchor when we visit the Apostle Islands in eighteen days. I have my anchor gear ready (except for some anti-chafe gear). I only have one bow cleat so I will be adding a six inch cleat. I understand my scope requirement and will anticipate wind shifts. I will set an anchor waypoint on the GPS, but it doesn't have an anchor alarm. I'm hoping that I can pick a good spot to anchor. I've read Bonnie's book and have established anchor waypoints. We have only set lunch hooks before and I guess I'm getting apprehensive about this new sailing experience. Do you use an anchor watch? What am I missing?
 
Apr 30, 2006
610
Macgregor 26s Kemah, TX
Everybody has an opinion about anchoring. You should get plenty of responses. Here's mine. In my experience, a good brand of anchor, one size above that recommended for boat length, with plenty of chain, will probably be fine 95% of the time. An anchorage with good protection is helpful, too.
If you want to see how your anchor holds in your particular anchorage, drop the anchor, and back directly into the wind to set it against the wind. Then put the engine in neutral and let the boat drift with the wind. This should pull the anchor out and cause it to reset just as it would if there were a wind or current shift. If the anchor resets, you can probably feel comfortable about where you are. If it doesn't, you could set two anchors opposite each other. That way, the anchors should remain set in wind shifts. If you do this, the boat won't swing so you can't be anchored near another boat.
If your depth sounder has an low depth alarm, you could set that.
The great majority of the time, a good anchor works just fine.
 
O

oreana1234

anchor

Chain, definitely chain

Some anchor designs are better at resetting themselves, in the case of windshifts.

If you have a black plastic (stock) cleat, you realize that the whole rig is hanging off of that sun-baked piece of..... plastic.

I like to set the anchor for the night, stow all the necessary gear, then spend some time watching the swing of the boat, picking out geographic points to refer to, but also letting some time go by just observing. Helps to be a light sleeper.

Many trailer sailors don't use an anchor. Fewer sleep onboard trusting their anchor skills. The real test will be when you leave the boat while it is anchored and unmanned and out of sight.
 
May 4, 2005
4,062
Macgregor 26d Ft Lauderdale, Fl
-another thought, is to use the bow eye, as a fair lead.

run the rode tail, thru the bow eye, then to the bow cleat. this way your pulling point is lower, but you can release or adjust the rode from the bow.

-what I actually do is pull the middle of the rode thru the bow eye, and the tail end to the bow eye... so its a quick release. (only have to lean over the bow 1x to set.)
 
Jun 4, 2006
133
Macgregor 26X Gray Hawk, KY
For peace of mind at night, I use my handheld GPS. I set to the lowest scale, about 80 ft, and turn on Tracking. After awhile the track scribes an arc on the screen as the boat swings at anchor. I put the GPS under my pillow. When I wake up and worry about the anchor holding, a quick glance confirms the arc is unchanged or has moved.
 
May 26, 2004
204
Macgregor Venture 25 Trailer Sailor
Do you use a GPS antenna?

For peace of mind at night, I use my handheld GPS. I set to the lowest scale, about 80 ft, and turn on Tracking. After awhile the track scribes an arc on the screen as the boat swings at anchor. I put the GPS under my pillow. When I wake up and worry about the anchor holding, a quick glance confirms the arc is unchanged or has moved.
I don't think mine would read under the pillow.
 

cscott

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Oct 18, 2007
188
Macgregor 26S - 1993 Aumsville, OR
When I anchor, because of the scope, I want others to know where my anchor is. I tie a line to the back of my anchor and run it up through a pully on a small float. I than tie about a one pound weight on the other end. As the float goes up and down with the tide, the weight keeps the line tight and the float over the anchor. Others can than see where your anchor is. If the anchor gets stuck, you can use the line to pull the anchor up backwards. Use enough line for the depth of water you anchor in plus the tide.

Chuck
 

walt

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Jun 1, 2007
3,511
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
Ive never anchored overnight - but since Ive made a lot of bad decisions about weather, its of course on the list.

Water has a very unique characteristic (very high dielectric constant) that allows it to very effectively attenuate RF signals (such as what comes down from the GPS satellites). Very little water - like 1/4 inch deep - is enough to pretty much kill the GPS satellite signal. If the GPS works under the pillow, it must not be exactly under your head as the water content in your head would no doubt completely attenuate the signal. Maybe needs to be moved just a few inches from directly under your head.
 
Jun 5, 2004
997
Macgregor 26D Boise
My Garmin has an anchor alarm, you set the circle diameter. It is on the shelf when I sleep. It also makes a great alarm clock.
 
May 20, 2007
50
Macgregor 26X Maryland
The biggest, best anchor you can handle is very cheap insurance; and taking the time to set it right is necessary to get that insurance in force. My back-up anchor is a Fortress FX-11, which is a size up from what their catalog suggests for a boat the size and displacement of a Mac 26M. (My main anchor is a Raya Tempest, sized to hold a 33-foot boat of twice the displacement in 60-knot winds ... now that's overkill!)

Once I've chosen my spot, I will bring the boat to a stop, then lower the hook. I use a trip-line with a float on the back of the anchor, to keep track of its position and to haul it up when I'm ready to move on. I let the wind push me backwards and let out about a 4:1 scope, then put a little tension on the rode (by hand) - this is to start its set. I pay it out, under tension, to 7:1 scope, then I cleat it off ... and wait a couple of minutes, then put my hand on the rode to feel if it's dragging. Assuming it isn't, I go back to the helm and back the engine, at idle ... go forward and check if it's dragging ... back to the helm, add a little power, check for dragging again ... then I pull it at half-speed for a minute or so, ease back to idle for half a minute or so, and finally shut down the engine. It's set for the night.

Last time I did this, the Raya Tempest dug so deep that I was swinging on the end of the buried chain of the rode! I had a rough time dragging the anchor out by the trip-line, and it came up with 20 pounds of thick Chesapeake mud on the chain and the anchor fluke.
 
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