Can you anchor in 10ft of water?

[bobconnie]

Any time Im at San Fran or north of there on the coast I start looking for at least 20 ft of water. and north of the Columbia river, I start looking for 30 ft ! but then Ive never had a westsail that can take a beating on the bottom LOL Down here 10 ft is plenty!!

[hellosailor]

Jack, is there any reason why you didn't just take a chart and draw a red line through the ten foot soundings, to see just where you would have to anchor?

[nimblemotors]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Jack, is there any reason why you didn't just take a chart and draw a red line through the ten foot soundings, to see just where you would have to anchor?

because that would be a lot of work!! i tried this before, and the free charts don't cover a lot of area. note my boat is still under (re)construction, i'm not actually going anywhere in it for some time.

[Dsanduril]

On the Pacific Coast of NA you're looking at 4-6 foot tidal range in Southern California, 6-8 foot range in Northern California, and getting to 8-16 feet in Washington (and even more in BC and Alaska). 10' feet as a maximum depth means that except in Southern California you will likely be aground at low tide on a pretty regular basis.

[cwyckham]

Plenty of anchorages here come up pretty steep. Couldn't do out here at all. 150' of rode minimum, 200' is better

[JonJo]

We have a cat, 3' draft (mini keels), and anchoring in 10' is not an issue but,

On the west coast of Tasmania (just off the deep ocean) tides can be 1' but in shallow Bass Strait, (North coast of Tasmania) - so just round the corner - tides can be 12' (same day). If any seas coming into an anchorage where you are anchored then if 10' is high tide you can find that the sea break at low tide and if they do not break might steepen giving bigger 'swell' effects - so making it uncomfortable. And you will not know this until it happens (unless you have been there before - in which case you probably would not have asked the question). Up in the Whitsundays (where they have huge tides) multi owners often anchor and simply dry out (but the anchorage needs to be very sheltered and known) But drying out without mini keels - can damage a hull, you have no idea what might be in the seabed.

Though we have a cat we like sea room, we do not want to be near the beach where the waves break ( if nothing else too noisy) so we would be looking at a minimum of 3m under the keels at low tide (but we use an all chain rode).

[Ryan H]

I'd have to go with everyone else on this one and call it imprudent. If its a matter of weight a combination rode with a few hundred extra ft of nylon wouldn't really amount to much. You can still anchor in shallow water with a good sized anchor rode. However you can't anchor deeper, or compensate for a large tidal range, or likely keep yourself off the shore during engine failure, or increase scope with a shorter line.

On my boat I've got a combination rode with 25' of 1/4 chain, and an extra 30' of 1/2 chain I can shackle to my main anchor in case of a storm or for anchoring in extra depth. Can't hurt to carry extra rope/chain somewhere on your boat, then you can choose whether or not you want to use it rather than not have the option at all.

[Tim Godber]

True, the tidal range here is up to 40', plays havoc with the amount of chain to put out! 10' at low, 50' at high!

[Talbot]

The question is posed from the view of a sailing vessel. assuming a 3 : 1 scope and all chain onboard, then there is approx 40ft of chain (or rope and chain).

Any sailing boat has additional rope, even if it is the spinnaker or genoa sheets.

I once anchored in the middle of the english channel during a race when the wind died and the tide was against us. We used every piece of rope onboard as it was 60m depth. (took us 30 minutes to weigh anchor once the wind and tide had changed sufficiently to achieve motion in the right direction).

[Vasco]

Try the Bahamas, seldom anchor in more than 10 feet of water. Try for seven or eight most of the time.

[forsailbyowner]

Which brings up another question. Without deep water nearby to make waves that are using up stored energy, how much water do you need under your keel? I was waiting on a tide to get in a shallow channel in about 6.5' of water. Of course a storm came in before the tide soon I was being pitched around a bit. I never contacted bottom but was wondering how close I was getting. Also reminds me of the key west anchorage where there are many boats anchored in 6' through all kinds of weather.

[Dsanduril]

Everyone assumes scope, but the OP said he has an interesting anchoring arrangement in mind. Maybe a spud pile that gets driven into the bottom at each anchorage? That would certainly account for a fixed maximum depth.

[zeehag]

moorings in sd were made in 10 ft mean low tide--i found 17 ft under my boat in high tide.

in a protected anchorage in a sheltered bay, 10 ft is no big deal.

i generally anchor in 20 ish ft of water here in mexico, and there are still rocks beneath my keel.

i still itch when i hear the crashing of surf on the beach and rocks....lol..is a wonderful life and someone has to live it....

[nimblemotors]

Originally Posted by Dsanduril

Everyone assumes scope, but the OP said he has an interesting anchoring arrangement in mind. Maybe a spud pile that gets driven into the bottom at each anchorage? That would certainly account for a fixed maximum depth.

Indeed, something like a Helix anchor screwed in to the bottom is what i'm thinking of. It would be essentially a portable mooring. But at more than 10ft, it couldn't be easily be put in. And yes I'm an engineer.


I noticed someone asked about this a couple days ago,
auger-as-an-anchor

JackB

[hellosailor]

"because that would be a lot of work!! i tried this before, and the free charts don't cover a lot of area. "
So you post a global question to a global audience, which only makes sense if you're going circumnavigating? I can scarcely wait to see the blog "Around the world with only 70 feet of rode!"

Now, if you're thinking about augers...ain't gonna work on rock bottoms, is it? Perhaps a nice set of built-in hydraulic legs, like Citroen once used?<G>


Ah, free charts will cover the entire US and significant other places. Won't buy you Canada but for long-range planning, cheap used old charts are plenty good enough, as as chart books or other reproductions. Rock bottoms, like the Pacific NW and BC, don't change much over the years. If you want to see where you can go, ergh, stop, you'll need charts anyhow.


And asking about depth, while ignoring bottom types, means you won't be doing any engineering at all. Unless you've got one of them freeze-dried five ton granite mooring blacks in mind.