How Long Will You Leave Your Boat ?

[unbusted67]

How long would you consider leaving your boat unattended at anchor in a friendly port in regular weather conditions, say 20% chance of showers, winds 10 to 15 knots

[MarkJ]

If we had been in that anchorage for a week of so and knew we were well dug in and had swinging space so we could put out a lot of chain....
We would leave it overnight.

Gee, we haven't left the boat often on the pick overnight.


If there was someone else in the anchorage we would give them the keys show them where the windlass remote is.

Did it one night in Cairns in very deep mud..., One night in Indonesia in v deep mud but had boat boy sleep on deck! LOL

Other overnight trips we have waited till a cheap marina appears

[unbusted67]

What about right when you get to the anchorage after a long tedious sail. Will you go ashore and leave her unatended?

[Vasco]

I feel uneasy leaving my boat at anchor unattended overnight, can't remember the last time I did it. It's always comforting to see my boat still at anchor, in the same spot, when I return from a day ashore.

On another note, friends had anchored in the east end of Nassau harbour, came home late at night and the boat was gone. The tide and wind took the boat right out of the harbour. They were lucky, they found it before anyone else.

[fishwife]

I'm in the 'Big is beautiful Brigade' when it it comes to anchors and I know my rode will hold the boat safely in 40 knots winds on most bottoms. Still, I can't bring myself to leave the boat overnight unattended. Even a few hours away with no one on board and I'm starting to fret. After one unfortunate incident when we dragged the whole mooring for 300 metres or so, I can't bring myself to trust them either, even after I've dived and checked that all seems in order.

P.

[Ziggy]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

What about right when you get to the anchorage after a long tedious sail. Will you go ashore and leave her unatended?

Not overnight.

[RaptorDance]

We only leave Raptor Dance for a few hours MAX, during daylight, when we know we're dug in. Even then when we are ashore, we keep an eye on her.

[Surveyor]

In the past, my only problem has ever been other people anchoring too close to me.

If I knew the boat was going to be attended to by someone trustworthy that I paid to watch it, then I might consider leaving it a day or two in a calm harbor with other boats.

[bewitched]

Depends on two things for me:
the anchorage (whether I think it will drag or be dragged into)
the location (whether I think theft will be an issue)

If I'm happy with both I'll comfortably leave it for a few days and if someone is looking after it, perhaps a week.

If I need to be away for longer, I make a more permanent arrangement - mooring / marina

[Minggat]

I know of spots in the Sea of Cortez where people leave their boats for months. Seems to work.

I'm not trying it.

I have hear from some who stay thru the off season that the boats that get lost during the hurricanes are the ones with nobody aboard.

Mines on the hard there.

[sailorboy1]

Wow, discouraging in how little belief people have in thier anchors. But at the same time I have read many comments here on how some trust thier anchors WAY more than a mooring. So are people not leaving thier boats for more than a few hours unless they are in a slip?

[Ziggy]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

Wow, discouraging in how little belief people have in thier anchors. But at the same time I have read many comments here on how some trust thier anchors WAY more than a mooring. So are people not leaving thier boats for more than a few hours unless they are in a slip?

My mooring is a 3000 lbs block of granite, set in a mud bottom. It's not going anywhere, short of a cat 5 hurricane

[maxingout]

I am not afraid to leave my boat alone as long as there is someone who is watching it for me. Once I put down my 70 pound Beugel anchor, I am ready to go. But if I am going to be gone overnight or longer, I don't leave without putting someone in charge of the boat, and I give them the keys.

I am mainly concerned about someone dragging anchor into me, or someone getting on board to rip off the boat.

[Pelagic]

If I understand the OP’s question correctly, this is about anchoring in cruising destinations and leaving the boat alone at anchor?

For me it is all about security and if you have strong ground tackle well set into a good holding bottom, then the anchor aspect is not an issue.

However, I believe there is no such thing as a “friendly” Port.

Wherever you go, there can always be thieves or rascals to take advantage of your absence…. be it simple pilferage or destructive vandalism by some drunken misfits.

There is also the issue of tender security when left alone on shore in 3rd world cruising destinations or poor seamanship by another boat infringing within your swing room.

These are the practical reasons why world cruising insurance for boats is hard to get.

That is why I prefer to have a slightly larger boat so that when we are away on a cruise, I have room to hire a boat boy who amongst other duties provides that third person to keep the boat secure when we are ashore for any length of time.

Keeping an onboard presence he does tender runs and can contact me by cell phone if he has any concern.

The small cost and real value of that solution is much better than any insurance policy

[Bash]

Overnight? No. It's not that I don't trust my anchor, I just don't trust yours.

I'm comfortable going to a restaurant ashore where I can get a table with a view of the anchorage. Beyond that I begin to worry unless there's a watcher. The longer I'm gone, the more I worry. The point comes when I'm no longer enjoying myself away from the boat.

I've "boat sat" for others, and had them "boat sit" for me. Works nice. You go visit your castle on Monday while I watch, and I'll go visit my cathedral on Tuesday while you watch.

Otherwise, it's marina time. When cruising, we're more likely to use a marina when we're not on the boat than when we're aboard.