How many anchors do you carry?

[Kettlewell]

A marker buoy for an anchor creates a hazard for other boaters, and yourself.

^^This^^

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

A trip line is definitely useful to deploy for special circumstances, but not for routine anchoring, and certainly not to mark where your anchor is. There is absolutely nothing wrong with other boats swinging within, or over, your anchor. In fact, this is the only way to allow the most people to use a limited space.

A marker buoy for an anchor creates a hazard for other boaters, and yourself. Like deploying multiple anchors, it is a tool that is useful in certain circumstances, but is not a good idea for general usage.

Wait till that 3 am when you have to untangle some idiots anchor from yours and his excuse will be I didn't know your anchor was there I thought it was someplace else.
Then there are chain floats that keep your chain from getting tangled with and damaging the bommies.

Not to mention it's actually required by law . ( At least In many locations around the world. )
33 CFR § 401.14 - Anchors, Anchor Marking Buoys
Section B reads as follows.
(b) Every vessel shall deploy the anchor marking buoy when dropping an anchor in Seaway waters

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by newhaul

Wait till that 3 am when you have to untangle some idiots anchor from yours and his excuse will be I didn't know your anchor was there I thought it was someplace else.
Then there are chain floats that keep your chain from getting tangled with and damaging the bommies.

Chain floats are another special purpose item. In some places you need them, in others they're just a potential headache with no benefit.

There are some cases where an anchor buoy is useful, but in many anchorages, all it does is take up a ton of extra space. Depending on where you are, there are plenty of anchorages where that could be the difference between fitting 3 - 4 boats comfortably in the anchorage vs being lucky to get 2 in there.

[Kettlewell]

Wait till that 3 am when you have to untangle some idiots anchor from yours and his excuse will be I didn't know your anchor was there I thought it was someplace else.

Is that after the 2am wake up when someone entering the harbor wound up your anchor float in his prop, tripping your anchor out and sending both of you off downwind?

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

Chain floats are another special purpose item. In some places you need them, in others they're just a potential headache with no benefit.

There are some cases where an anchor buoy is useful, but in many anchorages, all it does is take up a ton of extra space. Depending on where you are, there are plenty of anchorages where that could be the difference between fitting 3 - 4 boats comfortably in the anchorage vs being lucky to get 2 in there.

I would go with the 2 boats solution

[Kettlewell]

I would go with the 2 boats solution

What goes around comes around. My motto is, "There's always room for one more!" And, sometimes I've been that last one to squeeze in.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

What goes around comes around. My motto is, "There's always room for one more!" And, sometimes I've been that last one to squeeze in.

That's called rafting .

[mikereed100]

Originally Posted by newhaul

Using a trip line marker bouy saves all that wet diving and let's everyone know where your anchor is

Tried that. Never again. That is why we came up with the line attached to the chain thing. A short list of things that can go wrong with a trip line to a buoy;

1. Other boats entering the anchorage at night can foul your buoy, causing you to drag and possibly disabling the other boat.
2. Your own boat can foul your buoy if you drift over your anchor. When the wind comes up again you will find yourself dragging and disabled with a line in your prop or around your rudder.
3. Can make pulling anchor problematic, especially with lots of wind or current. In these conditions my daggerboards are like a buoy magnet.
4. As mentioned before, takes up valuable space in a crowded anchorage, annoying your fellow boaters.
5. High risk of becoming fouled by another boat as they swing in a crowded anchorage.

None of the above are hypothetical. They have all happened to me or were witnessed by me.

[Kettlewell]

None of the above are hypothetical. They have all happened to me or were witnessed by me.

And the funniest one is when a boat comes in and pulls up your trip line thinking it is a free mooring! There are harbors around here with moorings that use just a small lobster float on the surface that is attached to a light line that leads to the heavy mooring line. Looks just like an anchor float at the surface, or vice versa!

[Tsuru]

Aurora (44’x13’7”-16 ton) was set up by the previous owners with a 33 Kg Rocna bower, 300’ x 5/16” G7. With a 66# spade kept broken down in the laz, as a spare. We’ve added a 29# Guardian with 25’ chain and 200’ rode as a kedge/stern anchor and spliced 50’ 3 strand to the end of the bower chain, mostly to show the bitter end. We also have a small Guardian dingy anchor with a tiny bit of chain and rode.
We use a trip line attached to the chain as described by Mike in earlier comments. The only time we use floats is to protect coral.

On a cruising boat (at least for me) there is a constant battle of planning for contingencies and keeping the boat light for performance. IMHO it makes a noticeable difference even on a heavy displacement crusing boat.

[Thomas1985]

When the stern begins to lift out of the water I feel I have enough anchors on my bow pulpit

[Mike OReilly]

Newhaul, if you insist on deploying a trip line, there are ways to do it without causing problems for others, and yourself. Not to mention blocking out more of the anchorage than you actually need to anchor safely (and hence, block others from doing the same).

Yes, your scenario is possible, and does happen. In over two decades of cruising, sometimes in very busy anchorage areas, I've never encountered an anchor problem that couldn't be solved with a little effort, and some good will. Meanwhile, the negatives -- for everyone -- of routinely using anchor buoys are clear, and happen every time one is deployed in a busy anchorage.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Newhaul, if you insist on deploying a trip line, there are ways to do it without causing problems for others, and yourself. Not to mention blocking out more of the anchorage than you actually need to anchor safely (and hence, block others from doing the same).

Yes, your scenario is possible, and does happen. In over two decades of cruising, sometimes in very busy anchorage areas, I've never encountered an anchor problem that couldn't be solved with a little effort, and some good will. Meanwhile, the negatives -- for everyone -- of routinely using anchor buoys are clear, and happen every time one is deployed in a busy anchorage.

Especially when improperly designed units are used.
Also I don't use one unless it's actually expect a possible stuck anchor such as in really rocky anchoring areas

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by newhaul

Also I don't use one unless it's actually expect a possible stuck anchor such as in really rocky anchoring areas

Me too . I carry, and deploy, a trip line marked by an anchor buoy, when I have a serious concern that the bottom is littered with debris. Over the past two+ decades of anchoring, often in challenging areas, I've deployed my trip line perhaps a dozen times. It comes out to less that 1% of my time.

These anchorages tend to be marginal or challenging to begin with, so rarely attract many boats. I can only recall one or two times when I deployed by anchor buoy/trip-line that there was another boat in sight. There was no concern about blocking others, or risking the buoy being snagged by a passing boat.

In anchorages where there is plenty of space, and few, or no one, around, then an anchor buoy is no issue. Deploying a buoy just to mark your anchor, is a practice that should be discouraged.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Is that after the 2am wake up when someone entering the harbor wound up your anchor float in his prop, tripping your anchor out and sending both of you off downwind?

Indeed. Nearly exactly what happened to us, in Nassau harbour, three decade ago.
A commercial fishing boat, departing [just after midnight] picked up my marker buoy line, stalling his prop’, and tripping my anchor.
I had to release all my deployed ground tackle, to give him a running end, to untangle the mess, around his prop’.
I deployed a ‘spare’ anchor, without further incident, and was unharmed [tho’ it was an “exciting” few minutes].
After the fishermen got free, they dumped my anchor & rode, with a huge fender, buoying the end.
After I retrieved my tackle, I left their fender [marked /w their boat name], at the fuel dock.

It was the last time I deployed a marker buoy, though I have [seldom] used a marked trip line.