Leaving the boat alone while at anchor

Jeremygavin

Jeremygavin

Well-Known Member
Mar 6, 2012
2,054
Cape Cod, MA
Boat Info
2011 520 Sedan Bridge
2016 Sea Ray 19 SPX OB
2019 Walker Bay Generation 340
Engines
Cummins QSM11s
Mercury 150 Fourstroke
Honda 40hp
We just purchased a 520DB and plan of spending more time overnights on moorings and anchor. I didn’t stay on the boat much on anchor on the 340DA because my wife didn’t love the idea of being stuck out there relying on me to bring here in to shore when she wanted to. She is consenting to the idea more now that slip fees will be so much higher with the larger boat.
So my question is, when you are at anchor how comfortable do you feel leaving the boat alone while going ashore? For how long would you leave it? What do you do to prepare for that? Check anchor set Etc? I have a Siren Marine system on board that I installed this winter that has a geofence so I could set that fairly tight and it would let me know if the boat is dragging but wouldn’t it be too late?
When I am on anchor I always feel like I am watching to make sure I haven’t moved but I never do and don’t usually have a problem with setting the anchor where we boat. It is usually a muddy bottom and we have 150ft of chain so we usually have a good hard set.

Thanks for the insight
 
Hi Jeremy,
We anchor out a lot and are often away from the boat for long periods of time (or sleeping through the night on the boat) - I like to wait through a tidal swing before we leave the boat unattended - I also check if wind is due to intensify or change directions - depending on conditions, I like to see at least 5:1 scope - while even more would often be ideal, we are usually limited in tighter harbors by other boats close to us that are on a shorter scope. I have never used any kind of alarm or tracking, but heard of an app called "drag queen" that a lot of people seem to use.....another Tip, if returning to your boat after dark, have a handheld GPS with it pre marked, or some other means locating it - the boat can be hard to find.......ask me how I know LOL - Mike
 
Pretty much what has already been stated. Overnight I like to get up during a wind or current change to make sure we aren’t moving or someone else isn’t moving toward me. Also I use an app called “Anchor!” When I leave the boat. Best feature is that if you run it on your iPad on the boat and take your phone with you, it will alert you on the phone or your boat drags. Piece of mind
 
I rarely sleep well on anchor in weather, if at all. Even with an anchor alarm. Then I set the parameters too tight and during a wind shift it wakes everyone up 3-5x times a night. I end up staying up until the wind dies. Cruising can be so relaxing! If it's blowing or funky weather around, I don't leave the boat at anchor for long. I dinghy family ashore so they can go hang out and I'll go back.
 
tiara in the snow 01.JPG
We don't hesitate leaving our boat at anchor although we are not gone for more than a few hours at most. We sleep while at anchor, but always in well protected anchorages and don't give weather a second thought. It depends on crime in your area and the quality of the anchorages. We tend to go to areas that have good holding grounds and have very solid ground tackle. In new areas we would be cautious about checking for dragging. In places we know, we might get up to check the weather but really just to watch a good light show.
 
Everybody has concerns when first starting out or if they do not anchor often, those will lessen with time and experience.
If you use good equipment and practice good anchoring technique, there is not much to worry about.
We like the app "Anchor". We don't bother with it when we leave the boat, but we run it at night on an Ipad.
We originally started using it on an IPhone and the gps function was not the greatest and we got a couple of false alarms when the phone would lose a fix or margin of error would increase because of poor gps reading. Let me tell you that nothing gets you out of bed at 3 in the morning faster than that alarm. No issues at all on the I pad.
 
Thanks for the replies so far. Those are all things to consider. As well as the concern of change of wind and/or tide, I worry about other boats dragging or anchoring too close. So many times I have been in an anchorage for a day and people come by and anchor right on top of us. I worry if I wasn’t there to deal with it what would happen.
 
Only other problem I've had when other people anchor too close is that can pull your anchor when retrieving theirs. Luckily I was on the boat as the anchor didn't reset and was drifting into traffic.

Also had a chain swivel shear and lost my anchor so make sure all your tackle is in top condition.

For the above reasons and all other possibilities I prefer to use a mooring where possible if leaving the boat.
 
The worst sleeps of my life have been at anchor. That's not to say it cannot be done, but for many of the reasons mentioned, I simply prefer a designated mooring/berth.
 
We boat in some pretty remote locations and spend much time at anchor. I think the key is to know the area and the characteristics in order to set up a good anchorage. We also leave the boat at anchor quite a bit while diving and fishing in areas, many times, several miles away. I do all of this with some good confidence the boat is sound. A couple of helping things for you that we do:
When the anchor is set we make sure it is set and back the boat down a bit on it.
We avoid anchoring in a grass bed; simply haven't had good results holding.
Usually we will dive the anchor if there is any question as to the quality of it's bite.
Plenty of scope and in our case all chain scope.
If for over night, or bad weather, or we are leaving the boat the bridle gets installed on the anchor chain and the load is removed from the windlass.
If currents are high and/or switching or bad weather is coming we will set two anchors and splay the boat between them.
At night I have an anchor watch app on the Ipad (the old Drag Queen) and also Anchor Alarm app on my cell phone.
We sleep very well...
 
Last edited:
ttmott said:
We boat in some pretty remote locations and spend much time at anchor. I think the key is to know the area and the characteristics in order to set up a good anchorage. We also leave the boat at anchor quite a bit while diving and fishing in areas, many times, several miles away. I do all of this with some good confidence the boat is sound. A couple of helping things for you that we do:
When the anchor is set we make sure it is set and back the boat down a bit on it.
We avoid anchoring in a grass bed; simply haven't had good results holding.
Usually we will dive the anchor if there is any question as to the quality of it's bite.
Plenty of scope and in our case all chain scope.
If for over night, or bad weather, or we are leaving the boat the bridle gets installed on the anchor chain and the load is removed from the windlass.
If currents are high and/or switching or bad weather is coming we will set two anchors and splay the boat between them.
At night I have an anchor watch app on the Ipad (the old Drag Queen) and also Anchor Alarm app on my cell phone.
We sleep very well...
Click to expand...
Did you buy a bridle, or make your own? We plan on anchoring or mooring much more often with the 500. Cooped up on a 320 wasn't going to happen with 6 aboard. Mike
 
spikedaddy99 said:
Did you buy a bridle, or make your own? We plan on anchoring or mooring much more often with the 500. Cooped up on a 320 wasn't going to happen with 6 aboard. Mike
Click to expand...

If you have all chain, it should be mandatory to have a chain bridle. We cruised with a couple on a new to them 40 something sedan bridge and they had all chain. After the first heavy air night on anchor they had to leave the group because the noise of the chain on the anchor pulpit was maddening. They never cruised with us again. They may have even sold the boat.
 
onthejob said:
If you have all chain, it should be mandatory to have a chain bridle. We cruised with a couple on a new to them 40 something sedan bridge and they had all chain. After the first heavy air night on anchor they had to leave the group because the noise of the chain on the anchor pulpit was maddening. They never cruised with us again. They may have even sold the boat.
Click to expand...
Duly noted. back to my question: buy one or make one? Where do you buy them?
 
onthejob said:
If you have all chain, it should be mandatory to have a chain bridle. We cruised with a couple on a new to them 40 something sedan bridge and they had all chain. After the first heavy air night on anchor they had to leave the group because the noise of the chain on the anchor pulpit was maddening. They never cruised with us again. They may have even sold the boat.
Click to expand...


So they sold their boat instead of getting a bridal? Or didn't cruise again? Hard to believe
 
Havana Shamrock said:
So they sold their boat instead of getting a bridal? Or didn't cruise again? Hard to believe
Click to expand...
They were novice boaters with a lot of money. Truth be told she hated it which is why his first boat 40'+ in order to keep her happy with all the amenities. I don't think it worked. We tried to help him out but that's a huge learning curve.
 
I have been looking online for a bridal. I had made one myself for my 340DA but with 50k Lbs pulling on it I think I will leave the splicing to the experts for this boat.
 
My bridal works great and may be a little overbuilt. I do use a mantus hook on the end.
No problem holding our boat and no chain noise any longer
 
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