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Old 12-02-2014, 04:39   #16
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Re: Unattended at Anchor

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Originally Posted by sailorboy1 View Post
It is always amazing that with all the anchor talk we have on the site that people don't have much faith in them.
We have lot's of faith in our anchor, but very little faith in the skills and anchors of other boaters. Have you ever been in a crowded anchorage or even an uncrowded anchorage when the wind kicks up just a little? Our boat seems to become a magnet for any boat that drags.

Stuff happens when the boat is left unattended.
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Old 12-02-2014, 04:46   #17
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Re: Unattended at Anchor

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We have lot's of faith in our anchor, but very little faith in the skills and anchors of other boaters. ...........
'good point! Most of us have seen others do some scary anchoring maneuvers.

When we leave our boat at anchor we are most confident if we have set well at that anchored position through a bit of a blow.
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Old 12-02-2014, 05:22   #18
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Re: Unattended at Anchor

A buddy of mine (albeit a boat owner, not a cruiser), has left his boat on 2 hooks (bow & stern) for ……………..5 years now IIRC! It is still there; saw it yesterday.

If a sheltered area without a lot of fetch, I would have no problem leaving the boat unattended for a while. Many people in Key West have boats they only SEE once or twice a year sitting on only one hook. Yeah, a couple (out of hundreds) break free in every good blow, but the incidence is startlingly low.
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Old 12-02-2014, 05:35   #19
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Re: Unattended at Anchor

I see boats left unattended at anchor all up and down the Waterway. For the most part they are not well kept boats and every year I see one or two on their sides, blown ashore and abandoned.
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Old 12-02-2014, 07:04   #20
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Re: Unattended at Anchor

In my mind it does not make sense. Besides leaving the boat, you need to get back and forth to the boat. Leave a day earlier and "stage" yourself for an early next day departure. If the weather turns or something else comes up to delay departure, have a plan B. Chuck
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Old 12-02-2014, 07:10   #21
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Re: Unattended at Anchor

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Working on a plan for a departure date. something that would help would be to get my boat and anchor her closer to an inlet the weekend before as my marina is 8 hours away. Holding and current protection in that area is supposed to be great. I have two anchors I could put out. Would you leave your boat sitting unattended for a few days ?
I wouldn't hesitate since, as you say, the holding is great and you are able to get it out of any strong currents that might cause your boat to reverse direction and pull the anchor out. If you're going cruising I assume you've got at least one really good, at least slightly oversized anchor with all chain rode and know how to set it. I'd take a look at the weather reports for the next few days and as long as there wasn't a really hard blow forecast, just set the anchor (7:1 at high tide) in the direction that offers best holding from the forecast strongest winds, turn on your anchor light, and you'll be fine. After all, that's all a mooring is, a good, well set anchor with a chain rode. As someone else mentioned, your insurance policy might be an issue to think about, and also vandalism or theft in a remote area (of course they don't know for sure that you're not aboard or when you'll return) but as far as the anchoring part of it, I wouldn't worry about that a bit.
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Old 12-02-2014, 07:17   #22
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Re: Unattended at Anchor

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I wouldn't hesitate since, as you say, the holding is great and you are able to get it out of any strong currents that might cause your boat to reverse direction and pull the anchor out. If you're going cruising I assume you've got at least one really good, at least slightly oversized anchor with all chain rode and know how to set it. I'd take a look at the weather reports for the next few days and as long as there wasn't a really hard blow forecast, just set the anchor (7:1 at high tide) in the direction that offers best holding from the forecast strongest winds, turn on your anchor light, and you'll be fine. After all, that's all a mooring is, a good, well set anchor with a chain rode. As someone else mentioned, your insurance policy might be an issue to think about, and also vandalism or theft in a remote area (of course they don't know for sure that you're not aboard or when you'll return) but as far as the anchoring part of it, I wouldn't worry about that a bit.
But anchoring in this situation is far more than placing the anchor and depending on the boat not moving. It does include the actions of others whether passers by, other boaters, vandals, or thieves.

And then it includes one other extremely important factor, your own personal comfort zone. There are many things that my wise mind may tell me could be done with minimal risk but my emotional mind tells me that I'd be worrying excessively about it the entire time.
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Old 12-02-2014, 07:41   #23
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Re: Unattended at Anchor

I recently purchased a alarm or monitoring unit from Siren Marine (No connection other than a customer.) With this you can set a Geo fence and it will text your cell phone if your boat moves out of the area set. It also has a high water alarm that will text your phone. Gives me some piece of mind as of this time i have not had any bad alarms set to me. Could be something to consider if leaving the boat.
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Old 12-02-2014, 08:53   #24
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Re: Unattended at Anchor

I agree with this below, the more I stay in the area the more confidence I get, but even when I was in my favorite honey hole, in the middle of the night, the wind shifted 180 and was blowing 30 knows (was not in the forecast) and I broke loose, I would hate to think how this would have turned out if I was not around, boat banging up on shore for a week doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

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I have a lot of faith in my anchor. It's just that a boat unattended in an unfamiliar spot is just looking for trouble. Especially where there is traffic and those NC inlets are not fun. Didn't somebody say "trust but verify"?
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Old 13-02-2014, 06:21   #25
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Re: Unattended at Anchor

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But anchoring in this situation is far more than placing the anchor and depending on the boat not moving. It does include the actions of others whether passers by, other boaters, vandals, or thieves.

And then it includes one other extremely important factor, your own personal comfort zone. There are many things that my wise mind may tell me could be done with minimal risk but my emotional mind tells me that I'd be worrying excessively about it the entire time.
Of course we all can only say what works for us personally considering our own comfort level and tendencies to worry, that's something the OP will have to decide for himself....and that is precisely why I said "I" wouldn't hesitate, and mentioned vandals and insurance issues as among those other things for each person to consider separately from just the ability of the anchor to hold the boat in position until he returned. The thing is, where I come from, if you're confident in your ability to deploy and set your anchor, there's really not much difference in leaving your boat on a mooring in its normal spot in the harbor versus anchoring it somewhere.

If someone wants to vandalize a boat, there's plenty of dark, foggy, nights right in the harbor where getting caught would be extremely unlikely. I've been boating for a long time and have never even locked up my boat unless I was inside and didn't want to be disturbed (sometimes I've hung the padlock there so it appears locked from a distance) and the only time I ever had anything stolen was when a boat show was in progress on land, someone apparently rowed out to my boat on its mooring and stole my spare sunglasses and fire extinguisher and they did that with thousands of people clearly able to see what was going on.
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Old 13-02-2014, 06:47   #26
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Re: Unattended at Anchor

The short answer is..... it depends.

If you are anchored in what amounts to a very protected anchorage from both wind and waves action with a good holding bottom and your anchor is really dug in and you have a rode or chain... ground tackle in good condition no problem. As the preceding are less than optimal it becomes increasingly unwise to leave a yacht on anchor for very long unattended.

Practically speaking you HAVE to be able to leave a yacht unattended at anchor because why else would you be cruising if not to be able to access shore side "things" from provisions, to sight-seeing and so forth.

You need to be confident in your anchoring technique and mindful of the predicted conditions when you leave a yacht unattended on anchor.

And then there is the vandalism issue which is a completely different calculus.
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Old 15-02-2014, 07:18   #27
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Re: Unattended at Anchor

Have done it often, some times for months, still do it for maybe a week …..i totally trust my ground tackle and technique never had insurance in those days either.Yeah but have always been a risk taker and( usually )lucky. More conservative these days now that I no longer have a steel boat .I was one of only three boats that did not drag in Beaufort Hbr. N.C. years back when a hurricane came thru and I was back in N.Y.. My hull had multi colored stripes from the various craft that hit me on their way downwind. It goes without saying that the anchorage should be moderately protected AND with good holding.
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Old 15-02-2014, 16:11   #28
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Re: Unattended at Anchor

Bad seamanship IMHO to leave a boat unattended at anchor. Everything after that is a compromise

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Old 18-02-2014, 06:58   #29
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Re: Unattended at Anchor

Its almost impossible to go cruising without leaving your boat at anchor. In all the years I have cruised leaving your boat at anchor is normal whether it be to provision,attend a beach potluck or go to a restaurant almost everyone leaves there boats at anchor. When you sail in areas that have marinas and you sail from marina to marina like the Med then of course its not necessary but in the less traveled areas where there are no marinas you are always on the hook and all the cruisers I ran into left their boats for different periods of time.
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Old 18-02-2014, 07:16   #30
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Re: Unattended at Anchor

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Its almost impossible to go cruising without leaving your boat at anchor. In all the years I have cruised leaving your boat at anchor is normal whether it be to provision,attend a beach potluck or go to a restaurant almost everyone leaves there boats at anchor. When you sail in areas that have marinas and you sail from marina to marina like the Med then of course its not necessary but in the less traveled areas where there are no marinas you are always on the hook and all the cruisers I ran into left their boats for different periods of time.
The OP was not asking about leaving the boat for a few hours while shopping or socializing. Of course we all do that. It is a different situation when you go off and leave the boat for a week or weeks. This is apples and oranges. Chuck
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