There is really nothing quite like being secure at anchor. After all, to properly anchor a sailboat takes preparation, the right gear, and a bit of skill. Whether you anchor a sailboat overnight, a quick lunch stop, or a multi hour break to refit or repair something , all competent skippers have had to learn about this one question….
How do you anchor a sailboat?
To anchor a sailboat
- find a good spot
- reverse slow and lower the anchor
- let out suitable ‘scope’
- ‘dig it in’ using full reverse
- check landmarks.
Anchoring a sailboat safely and securely begins long before you arrive at your destination. Properly checking your anchoring setup, having a sail plan and an informed anchoring location, following proper procedures, and regularly confirming your confidence in your set anchor are the basic principles behind any secure anchoring.
Feeling secure “on the hook” is never something a new sailor fully allows him/herself to feel. Even for seasoned skippers, this is no time to fully let your guard down. When it comes to anchoring your sailboat, even seasoned skippers are skeptical. After all, the vessel you are piloting is immeasurably valuable to your comfort and style, your quality of rest and relaxation, your sleep, and ultimately – possibly – your survival.
Some definitions of terms in this article:
Anchor – the big heavy hook looking thing. You’ve seen an anchor before. There are many different designs, each with specific functions for specific environments and boats.
Chain – a series of linked metal rings. You need at least 3 boat lengths worth of chain.
Rode – the rope that connects the chain to the boat. It’s good to have about 200ft. aboard.
Cleat – a fixed point on the boat that the rode can be easily and properly secured to.
Scope – the angle of the rode between the bow, where it is cleated off, and the surface of the water. Good scope and poor scope are described later on in the article.
Preparing For Your Trip
To anchor a sailboat, there are a few things regarding safety that you should do before you even head out for a day of sailing. Adhere to these pre-trip principles, and you will be set up for success.
Plan your trip and know where you want to anchor. Have a backup plan if your planned anchorage is not available for whatever reason. Tell someone your plans and your expected return date.
Check the charts and tide tables to see if you have an adequate anchor for the bottom, and sufficient rode for the water depth. Cruising guides will also tell you if the anchorage you are planning on is typically busy, and what time to get there to ensure you get a spot.
Always ensure that the anchor, the chain, and the rode are in good condition. Anchors will rarely have a problem in and of themselves if they are not damaged or bent, chain tends to last a very long time, and the rode, although very long and tedious to check over, usually will last several seasons if treated properly.
Important Anchor Check Points
- the place where the rode connects to the boat (called the bitter end)
- where the rode joins the chain
- where the chain joins the anchor. These joints are usually in the form of shackles, and shackles have moving parts that wear.
Inspect the entire length of the rode for fray, but especially where it meets the chain. This end of the rope has a metal loop called the thimble, and this is where the shackle joins the rope to the chain. Rope securing metal loops is not a perfect system and may break down over the years.
Check the movement of the shackle parts and inspect the pin that holds it all together. Sand and salt wear on these parts every time you use the anchor, and if there is a failure in your anchoring system, you have to consider this as a very probable culprit.
OK, so you’ve checked over your anchoring system before you set sail, and everything looks good. Now it’s time to select some possible anchorages and evaluate them in line with your needs.
Characteristics of a Good Anchorage
- The area is sheltered from wind and waves, and will be for the duration of your stay.
- The water depth is sufficient for your vessel, and will be sufficient, for the duration of your stay. Always note the high and low tide depths for the area you have selected.
- There is adequate “swing room”. Some anchorages are very popular for the above two reasons, and thus may be quite congested in the peak seasons.
- The anchor you have aboard is suitable for the bottom and will hold.
Let’s look a little deeper into each of these four areas
1. Shelter from wind and waves:
Wind and Weather
Often when you pull into an anchorage, there is a feeling of serenity about the place. This feeling is certainly amplified by the fact that you were just contending with the wild natural forces of wind and waves, and now you are ready for a reprieve from the fray.
Weather Information
The primary way to ensure wind will not pose a threat for you during your stay at anchor is to check the weather report. Weather reports are available over local AM or FM channels, by cell phone, at marinas, or, most reliably, found on the weather channel on your VHF radio – typically Channels Wx 01 through Wx 08.
Fellow sailors and boaters in the area can also be a great source of information regarding weather and almost anything else boating related. Most are in their “happy place” and thrive on being of assistance to others.
I have often found that boaters are helpful not because they are magnanimous or generous of spirit (although that may be completely true) but rather helpfulness comes from the opportunity to show how prepared they themselves are. After all who doesn’t like confirmation of their own excellence in their element.
However your obtain weather (or any other) data, if you can establish that winds will die down during your time at anchor, or for overnight stays, you’ve probably found a great anchorage. Even if the wind direction will be steady from one direction for the duration of your stay, you’re probably going to be OK, but this is not an ideal situation.
Definitely consider another anchorage, mooring buoys, or best case scenario, a marina if winds are going to be shifty, gusty, or if they are forecasted to increase hourly. You do not want to drag your anchor, run aground, or swing into another boat while you sleep.
Shelter and Protection from Wave Action
The main thing to look for in an anchorage when it comes to wave action, is to find a protected cove. This is obvious. Sheltered coves are characterised as having shore in at least two different directions, ideally three.
In sailing terms, you want to be in the lee of an island or headland. The natural or man-made breakwater of the shores ensure that your boat will be still and at rest, so you can be too.
In a quiet, calm anchorage, the only waves that are made are typically from smaller craft such as motorised rigid inflatable tenders, personal watercraft, and other smaller craft. It is common etiquette to maintain a “No Wake” speed in anchorages, so these sources of waves are not really much of a concern.
2. Sufficient Water Depth
If you primarily sail lakes, you do not have the issue of changing tides or currents. To anchor a sailboat is therefore relatively straight forward.
If you sail in the ocean, a great deal of care must be taken. Adequate water depth is certainly something to ensure, and this is best done when you use a chart of the area, a depth sounder, and a cruising guide.
Tide Tables will also indicate the times of the changing tides, and how extreme the lows and highs will be over the course of your stay. Checking with tide and current tables is not optional when you are sailing on the ocean. Failure to properly acquaint yourself to the area you plan to anchor could be disastrous.
3. Swing room
The majority of boats simply set an anchor and let the breeze and current swing the boat around that approximate area. When you select a place to anchor, it is essential that you provide sufficient distance between your vessel and the nearest vessel, so that both may swing freely during the time at anchor, and not collide.
The first boat in an anchorage must be respected and it is the second boat’s responsibility to ensure for adequate swing room. A few things to note regarding swing room:
- Boats with all chain rode typically don’t let out as much rode as a boat with rope rode, and will have a smaller swing circle.
- Setting anchor and stern tying to shore ensure that you will not swing at all. If you don’t swing, you can’t bump into other boats.
- Setting an anchor off the bow, then a second anchor off of the stern can also prohibit swing. Again, a viable solition if swing room is an issue. Caution: this is a recipe for seriously tangled up anchor rodes. This is not recommended!
All that being said, it is always better to err on the side of caution when anchoring and set your anchor where you are more than confident you will not be bumping up on other boats during the night.
The Best Anchor Setting System
OK, you’ve checked over the anchor, chain and rode, and you’ve determined that the little cove you’ve sailed into is going to serve as a safe and enjoyable anchorage. It’s not too crowded, plenty of water depth for your boat’s draft, and there is ample protection from winds and waves. Time to prepare your anchor, chain, and rode for deployment.
The procedure to anchor a sailboat:
- Identify a place where you would like your boat to end up once the anchoring process is complete.
- Slowly, under motor power, (by slow I mean idling in gear) move your boat “ahead” of this spot,upwind is highly recommended. This could be 30, 60, or 100 feet ahead of where you actually want to anchor depending on the scope you need. This distance you move ahead is effectively going to be the amount of chain and rode you will be letting out.
- Now that your boat is upwind or “ahead” of your desired position, lower the anchor quickly to the bottom. Do not drop or toss the anchor and chain in all at once! Lower it hand over hand, intentionally, and with expedience so as not to tangle the chain in the anchor.
- As the anchor and chain descend to the bottom, have the helmsman begin reversing at idle speed back to where you ideally want the boat to end up. The wind will also push you back. What you need to visualize at this point, is gently and purposefully laying the anchor and chain down in a line along the bottom as you reverse.
- When you have reversed to the place you want the boat to stay, cleat off the anchor rode to your bow, continue to reverse for about 10 – 15 seconds, and wait for the anchor to “catch” on the bottom. You will definitely feel the boat react to the friction of the anchor and chain on the bottom. If not, try steps 1 to 4 again.
- The anchor is set! The anchor rode will all of a sudden tighten, and the boat will studder or jerk to a halt when the anchor catches. Now it’s time to really dig it in. While still in reverse, increase throttle to about 25%. This will set the anchor into the bottom, much like a hook sets when you’re fishing.
- If there is no further reverse motion at 25% reversing throttle, you can be reasonably confident the anchor is set and holding you firmly in place. Keep the throttle at 25% and move on to the next step.
- Now it’s time to test your anchor and indeed your confidence in it. As a last step, roll on the throttle in reverse from 25% to about 75% and check with fixed landmarks off your beam at different ranges in the distance. For example the top of a tree on the beach overlaying a mountain peak way off in the distance. If your boat does not move relative to these paired landmarks, the anchor is properly set.
- Use about 5 to 10 seconds to throttle down off of reverse and power down the motor. This avoids the bounce back action of the chain sinking to the bottom and literally propelling the boat forward. Again, site two points in the distance off your beam and make sure you are not moving. You should site these two points several times in the next few hours. If they haven’t moved in relation to each other, then neither have you. Congratulations on properly setting anchor!
How much rode do I need to let out?
To anchor a sailboat for a quick lunch stop, you will only need to let out a ratio of 3 times the water depth you’re in. For calm overnight anchoring, the standard is to let out about 5 times the lowest water depth; and for overnight in heavy weather, let out 7 to 10 times water depth.
When figuring out scope, always add the height of the bow off the surface into your water depth data. This is especially important in tidal areas where the minimum water depth is nearing your boat’s draft. Check your charts and always prepare for the lowest tide!
The Bottom Should Suit Your Anchor
Be wise about where you set your anchor. An anchorage may look idyllic at the literal surface level, but the bottom, the ground in which you anchor will settle and hopefully set, may be highly unsuitable for the anchor you are have aboard. Be sure to consult the corresponding chart to the area you intend to anchor.
Nautical charts contain (or should contain) this seafloor data because all boaters need this info. Make sure you purchase and use nautical charts with this data.
Is the bottom gravel, mud, or pan-flat bedrock? Are there submerged cables, sunken vessels or barges, dead heads or other things that can seriously catch your anchor and potentially claim it for all time? Proper analysis prior to dropping anchor can save you an immense amount of headaches.
Anchoring Misconceptions
Contrary to popular belief, the anchor itself is not necessarily keeping your sailboat in place once it has been set. Anchors are often less than a hundred pounds. A sailboat’s momentum can easily drag around an anchor, and we will discuss anchor drag later in the article. Rather, the anchor digs into the bottom and effectively secures the chain to the bottom. This is a critical principle to understand.
It is the horizontal friction of the chain along the bottom that keeps the anchor from moving around, and keeps your sailboat in place.
The fact is, the flatter or closer to horizontal your rode is; referred to as the scope, the more secure you should feel about your anchor’s effectiveness. A flatter scope means you probably have the entire length of chain on the bottom, and none of it is suspended by the rode.
Anchoring Hints and Tips
Here are a couple of hints and tips to anchor a sailboat. These tips make the entire process of anchoring a great deal easier. They also make you look like you know what you’re doing.
Get help
First, to anchor a sailboat, like most of sailing, is best done with help. At least two people working together make anchoring so much easier. One person needs to be at the tiller or wheel to pilot the boat. The other needs to be at the bow. The bow person lowers the anchor safely, ensuring there are no tangles or kinks in the chain or rode. He/she also cleats off the rode to the bow once the anchor is set. This is important if you have a windlass as well.
Communicate Effectively
It can be a real challenge for your crew to hear you when you’re a boat length apart. For the sake of efficiency, it is important to develop some simple hand signals. I’m often quite amused, and embarrassed for, those couples who yell and holler at each other while attempting to anchor. Miscommunications abound. Entertainment at its finest!
Hand signals need not be any more complicated than thumbs up for “in gear: forward”, and thumbs down for “in gear: reverse”. One finger up for 25% throttle, 2 fingers for 50% and 3 fingers for 75%. Simple, effective, you look like a well oiled machine, and no embarrassing “pontificating” between you and your crew for the entertainment of those already at anchor. Although boat launches and anchorages are my two favorite sources of entertainment.
Stern Tying is Gaining in Popularity
Consider a stern tie when at anchor, especially if your anchor spot is relatively near the shore. This typically requires a spool of quarter inch nylon rope, about 300 or 400ft in length. Amazon stocks a great rope for this, and they are the cheapest I’ve found so far.
Stern tying prevents your boat from swinging at the whim of any breezes, and keeps you in line with your anchor. Be sure to secure the stern line to a tree or some other permanent object, and run the end of the stern line back to a cleat on your boat.
The tender is ideal for moving the stern line out to land, and is really the only way to stern tie. When you are ready to be under way again, simply untie the stern line off your stern, haul in and spool up the rope, power up the motor, pull in the anchor and you’re off.
Stern tying also enables you to raft together while at anchor. In this case, stern tying is actually necessary in order to keep the anchors that are out from crossing each other.
Retrieving a properly set anchor.
Well, you made it through the night. The anchor was properly set and there were no issues. Now it’s time to retrieve the anchor and be on your way. Many new sailors often ask “If the anchor can dig in and hold a sailboat in one place all night, how is it possible that something so stuck to the bottom can be pulled up by one person?”
In all honesty, this is no problem at all. The way in which an anchor is pulled up is more important than the strength it takes to pull it up.
The first thing to do when preparing to weigh anchor is to start the motor and let it warm up. Immediately take up all of the tender’s painter into the boat. Props are often fouled by the painter. Slowly idle in gear forward. Take up the rode as you motor towards the anchor. If you have 100 ft of rode out, then this will be no more difficult than pulling in 100 ft of wet rope.
Once the bow is directly over the anchor, stop all forward boat motion and pull the anchor straight up. This is where a strong back comes into play. The anchor will release vertically much more readily than horizontally. That’s why we lay out sufficient rode as to create almost total horizontal tension while at anchor.
As it comes up, have another crew member start feeding the rode, and then the chain, into the anchor locker. If it is put away in and orderly fashion, there will be no tangles when you set anchor the next time.
The Stubborn Stuck Anchor
Sometimes the anchor really sticks to the bottom. You may find that there is nothing you can do to physically pull it up. In this situation, secure the rode or chain to the cleat and use motor power to dislodge it.
If that doesn’t work, have all aboard come to the fore-deck as far forward as possible. This will cause the bow to dip deeper in the water than normal. Pull up as much rode as possible and cleat off the rode or chain to the bow cleat. When this is done, have everyone move back to the stern. This will cause the bow to raise significantly as the weight shifts, and the power of buoyancy will act against the stuck anchor.
The Dreaded Dragging Anchor
If you notice, during one of your anchor checks, that your position has changed or that you are drifting, you can reasonably assume that your anchor has lost its purchase and is basically sliding along the bottom.
Noticing position changes can be low tech, such as lining up ranged markers like a treetop and the lighthouse in the distance, and watching their relative positions change as your boat drifts. Or they can be more high tech. Technology such as GPS can notify you of coordinate changes. Depth sounders can be set to sound an alarm when you are moving a preset distance.
It is reasonable to assume that at some point, you are going to experience a dragging anchor. This is a real problem for skippers, but it is manageable if you keep your head.
Why Did My Anchor Drag?
Skippers that drag anchor and drift ashore or into other boats are usually guilty of far too little rode out. A near vertical scope is the telltale sign. These anchorage attempts often have only the anchor on the bottom with the chain and the rode scope angled nearly straight up and down, right under the bow.
Dragging Anchor Solutions
Anchors drag for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is because you didn’t let out enough rode and the scope is simply too steep. In this case the integrity of your anchoring is based almost solely on the weight of the anchor itself. With near vertical scope, you can be sure that the chain is not entirely on the bottom, and therefore you have lost the friction that chain was supposed to secure.
Other times the wind picks up and the consistent force pulls the anchor out. Maybe the anchor hooked onto a rock and wave action caused it to hop off. Other forces like extreme current may have been sufficient to pull the anchor out of its set place.
Whatever the case, the first step is always, pay out the rode. Allow the anchor and chain to properly sink to the bottom. You are trying to use the existing motion of the boat to reset the anchor. This can feel sketchy because your boat is adrift, it may be dark, and there may be other boats or shoreline that you are drifting towards. I always recommend starting the motor and keep it in neutral. Always warm up the motor and be ready to power away before you attempt any of these steps.
Bring your tender right up to the side of the boat and gather in all of the tender’s painter. The last thing you want is tender painter fouling your prop.
Drift back only until you get uncomfortably close to shore or another boat. If it seems that the anchor is not plowing itself in, stop the boat. Have the helmsman put the motor in forward and use power to combat the direction of the drift.
Make sure that all motion is stopped. You do not want to make any forward headway until the rode, chain and anchor are aboard. Just power ahead until you are essentially “stopped”.
Haul in all rode and chain, and have the anchor either aboard or a few feet under the water so as not to swing into the bow. Retry the anchoring process somewhere else.
Kedging: Other Uses for a Set Anchor
Anchors can also be put to use in case you run aground and are held fast. In this scenario it is assumed that the keel has made contact with the ground and not the hull. This self rescue option involves the anchor being placed in the tender and rowed out to deeper water. The anchor should be dropped directly off the beam of your sailboat. The technical term for this is kedging. Before boats had motors, this was how large ships moved about in close quartered harbors.
When you anchor a sailboat with scope of at least 7:1, you can use the near side winch to haul in on the rode. This effectively uses the leverage of the winch to pull you sideways into deeper water. In a falling tide, this needs to be done quite rapidly, but it will work.
Another variation of this would include attaching the rode to the main halyard instead of the winch, and hauling it up to the top of the mast, again using the leveraging power of the winch. This could of course require you set the anchor hundreds of feet away from the boat, and of course let out hundreds of feet of rode in order to attain the effective scope needed.
As the halyard and rode are winched up the mast, the boat will begin listing towards the set anchor. This will cause the boat to heel over, using the buoyancy of the hull to essentially float the keel off of the bottom. At the same time, the boat will be pulled towards the set anchor, setting you free.
Final Thoughts
To properly anchor a sailboat is a necessary skill every sailor needs to master. It is critical to get some practice with anchoring before you actually need to anchor a sailboat for real. It is also very convenient to have a crew member assist in the process.
Preparation is always key, especially for overnight stays when deciding on an anchorage. Make sure you are confident about where you will stop, and make sure you have a backup spot. This should not be left to chance as your daylight fades.
Rode, chain, and anchor need to be in good shape in order to be trustworthy. If you implemented the skills above properly, you should be more than prepared to take on any suitable anchorage in your sail plan.