Can you anchor in 10ft of water?

[boatman61]

10ft MLWS... no problem..

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Aythya, as I said, pound 'em down flush. At that point that are no scarier than the auger stems, or common rocks on the bottom...................

Thanks, I was aware of your suggestion to pound them flush and I'm aware of debris, but I often cruise in those shifting rockless sands of Florida that you despise. I don't want any more crap in the water and I'll want to continue pushing my limits when gunkholing.

[JRM]

Originally Posted by nimblemotors

With a setup like I'm contemplating, if I can't find 10ft of water, or the auger won't go in, I would have to relocate. I'm not allergic to marinas.
I don't see this as a lot different that with a traditional anchor, what do you do if your anchor won't set???

If the only Channel Island you intend to visit is Catalina, you should be fine. That would be a bummer, because the northern Channel Islands are amazing. Otherwise, I doubt you'll find an anchorage from Anacapa to San Miguel that would be safe at the 10' mark. There are no marinas, and no moorings available to the public.

It seems like, at least around here in the Santa Barbara/Channel Islands area, you would be limited to marinas or moorings, which means harbors. If you're willing to accept those limitations, then save the trouble of dragging that thing around and just stay where you can pay. It may not be super popular around CF, but there's lots of folks down here that do just that.

It seems like "drop the hook in 25 to 35 feet of water" is the most used phrase in Fagan's book on cruising these parts. If it isn't, it should be.

Good luck.

JRM

-- oh, and if my anchor doesn't set I move. But I'm not trying that trick in 10 feet of water. Most anchorages at Santa Cruz Island, if I had my stern planted on the beach my bow would be in way more than 10' of water anyway.

[Ryan H]

Hi Nimblemotors,

When posting about either an idea or something new my general rule of thumb has always been that for every forum post that is possitive or is in agreement with you, you'll get at least four that are discouraging. I don't want my post to be one of those. I like the theory and I think theres plenty of proof that a helix style screw can definetly hold your boat. That said if you're trying something new I can't really see the downside of also having a traditional anchor with you as backup or to increase your options for whatever you find out there. Hopefully your system will work exactly how you want it to from the get go and you'll never be in a situation where you have to pull the anchor out from its locker, but I still think a solid backup is a good idea no matter what your primary anchor is.

That said, if it works could you send me a version that'll act as legs for my sailboat

[nimblemotors]

Originally Posted by Ryan H

Hi Nimblemotors,

When posting about either an idea or something new my general rule of thumb has always been that for every forum post that is possitive or is in agreement with you, you'll get at least four that are discouraging. I don't want my post to be one of those. I like the theory and I think theres plenty of proof that a helix style screw can definetly hold your boat. That said if you're trying something new I can't really see the downside of also having a traditional anchor with you as backup or to increase your options for whatever you find out there. Hopefully your system will work exactly how you want it to from the get go and you'll never be in a situation where you have to pull the anchor out from its locker, but I still think a solid backup is a good idea no matter what your primary anchor is.

That said, if it works could you send me a version that'll act as legs for my sailboat

Why would you want legs on your boat? Don't you want it to thrash about in the waves, isn't that what being a sailor is all about? How about wheels too so it can go ashore? blasphemy!

The downside of a many hundreds of pounds of anchor and chain, a massive winch and a whole lot of prime space to store a bunch of dirty wet stuff seems obvious to me. Plus the cost of it all.
The fellow who almost lost his fingers in his winch, he might see a downside.
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...tml#post399596

Not to say I won't have one (or two or three), but I see plenty of downside to it. (my boat already has two anchors, lots of chain and rode)

A boat that can use its motors to hold its position,
why would it need an anchor? Hit a button labeled "anchor", and you are done. That works at any depth.

JackB

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by nimblemotors

A boat that can use its motors to hold its position,
why would it need an anchor? Hit a button labeled "anchor", and you are done. That works at any depth.

JackB

Which is common for mega yachts.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Which is common for mega yachts.

And drilling rigs........but who wants to do the DP dance for days in a secluded cove?

[Greggegner]

I wouldn't leave with at least 200' on the primary, 30' of chain. In addition you need a second anchor with similar scope. As mentioned the anchor is a safety item similar to life jackets. Don't go short on either. The good nights sleep will be worth it. Also, it is not that expensive, heavy, or bulky to have a good setup. As far as depth, that is 100% situation dependent. Tide, current, space, bugs, view, hot chick in next boat all affect where I want to anchor. I not talking type of anchor so the anchor wars will not start up, but find one you like....if you get back and have only use the top 40' what is the harm?

[Ryan H]

Originally Posted by nimblemotors

Why would you want legs on your boat? Don't you want it to thrash about in the waves, isn't that what being a sailor is all about? How about wheels too so it can go ashore? blasphemy!

The downside of a many hundreds of pounds of anchor and chain, a massive winch and a whole lot of prime space to store a bunch of dirty wet stuff seems obvious to me. Plus the cost of it all.
The fellow who almost lost his fingers in his winch, he might see a downside.
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...tml#post399596

Not to say I won't have one (or two or three), but I see plenty of downside to it. (my boat already has two anchors, lots of chain and rode)

A boat that can use its motors to hold its position,
why would it need an anchor? Hit a button labeled "anchor", and you are done. That works at any depth.

JackB

Haha, actually my wife and I like the thrashing about. The standing joke is if you see the boat rocking.....

Sometimes I wish I had a windlass, although I haven't ever heard of anyone loosing a finger bringing an anchor in by hand. Never checked the weight, but its probably around 100LB although my boat is a little smaller than most.

With the fear of possibly turning the whole forum against me, my boat does have wheels. I welded up a trailer at an industrial machine shop out of a 26 ft trailer with electric brakes. Probably be easier for your multi to just bolt wheels direct with a hydraulic drive and drive it onto the beach, think of what you'd save in haulouts. Very James Bond : )

[hellosailor]

"A boat that can use its motors to hold its position, why would it need an anchor?"

Because an anchor never runs out of fuel, or fails to start. Never creates an exhaust noise or stink. Never heats up the boat. Never leaks illegal-to-discharge substances in the bilge.

[Kettlewell]

Even if you have some nifty device that is perfect for holding your boat in 10 feet of water I think you will find that many places that limits you to having your boat some place you really don't want to be. For example, in very urban areas you often don't want to anchor so close to shore that it is noisy or thieves may be tempted to swim out to your boat (has happened to us). In many tropical areas that is way too close to shore to avoid the bugs and often it means you don't get the cooling sea breeze. In many harbors there are restricted areas where either you can't anchor or you are required to anchor--what if that spot is more than 10 feet deep? But, the bottom line is that anchors are way more versatile and are an essential safety item to carry anyway--you might as well use them for anchoring for the night too.

[islandplanet]

Nimble,

This discussion strikes me a as a solution in search of a problem. We have friends, customers, and acquaintances with similar sized cats around the world. All manage well with their ground tackle. While I can certainly see bringing some alternative device like you've described, the thought of relying it as your primary means of anchoring seems daft.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by nimblemotors

With a setup like I'm contemplating, if I can't find 10ft of water, or the auger won't go in, I would have to relocate. I'm not allergic to marinas.
I don't see this as a lot different that with a traditional anchor, what do you do if your anchor won't set???

It seems to me an auger anchor has advantages, you KNOW if it has set properly or not, no guessing. There is very little scope, when the wind/tide changes it has little impact, the anchor is not effected.
One can be spitting distance to rocks, and no worries, dragging isn't possible.
With an 18in draft, I can get close to shore and stay there.
From all the reading I've done here, worry about an anchor holding is one
of the top concerns of a cruiser, and I can understand why.

Auger is fine when it works. You could operate with this as your preferred primary BUT I wouldn't contemplate it as my only ground tackle. There will be times you arrive in big weather or surf or dark. The last thing on your mind will be casting about in poor conditions looking for ideal bottem and depth. You may be unable to set the auger even with good bottom given the conditions. You should cary alternate tackle as we all do. My inventory is 120# Rocnal and 54# Bruce on bow rollers; 74# CQR, 35# Danforth, 180# Fisherman's are stored. We are also set up to use a spare as a stern anchor. The least expensive insurance you can own is an anchor that means business.

With shallow draft and multi-hull can you park up an estuary and let the water go out? In these images, accomodaton for bad ocean exposure and high tide is to head up the creek and settle in the mud. You can see the swing circle witness marks in the shallows. There are a few multi-hulls here too.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by nimblemotors

The downside of a many hundreds of pounds of anchor and chain, a massive winch and a whole lot of prime space to store a bunch of dirty wet stuff seems obvious to me.

Yes, the downsides are quite obvious to everyone. I don't think you have to tell anyone here what the downsides are.

It's just that, so far, no one has come up with a system that is better overall. Your system may well be better for shallow water with a soft enough bottom, but that's pretty limiting. If you can live with it, great. More power to you. If you can come up with something that works in any sort of bottom, and any reasonable depth, then the world will beat a path to your door.