Anchoring a boat off a beach..?

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Topic: Anchoring a boat off a beach..?
Posted: 15 May 2009 at 5:35pm

Wanda_Ra

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Location: Cambridge NZ
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I currently own a 6.8 metre boat and want to start heading away overnight and anchoring off beach's etc at night.Until now i have only ever owned tinnies etc up to about 14foot and have always pulled them up onto the beaches,taken the outboards off and slept under them etc. Now what i want to know is how to properly anchor a boat for the night.I am assuming that you anchor it facing Into the waves and off the bow.Can you also then run a second anchor from the stern up onto the beach? Also,many of you who have more experience with doing this will no doubt have stuff to point out i would only find out the hard way..

If you think you are too small to make a difference,try sleeping with a mosquito in your tent.

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Posted: 15 May 2009 at 10:24pm

Steve63

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I'd stick to well used anchorages until you gain confidence. Watch what/how the other boats anchor.

You'll need an anchor sized correctly for your boat, anchor chain should be a minimum of the lenght of your boat then at least 40m of rope. With your bow facing into teh wind drop the anchor until it hits the bottom then slowly reverse back while paying out line. You'll need a ratio of at least 3 times the depth but generally 4 or 5 is better and even more in high winds. Once you have sufficent line out. dig the anchor in with a couple of squirts of throttle. A sternline is generally only used where you are anchored in close to cliffs in deep water.

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Posted: 16 May 2009 at 9:04am

Hurf

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If you have a gps put it on anchor watch you should be able to set the distance allowing for swing and change of tide/wind. Make sure you wake up when it beeps.

THE FLOGGINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORAL IMPROVES.

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Posted: 16 May 2009 at 12:24pm

Wanda_Ra

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My plan is to start going out and exploring further afield to places that i kayak to a few times a year but never been to in a boat before,like Slipper island,and camp there a few days and Otata island,and stay in the bunkbeds in the house there.Both palces seem to have reasonably good anchorages so i guess i will have to just practice beach anchoring with a few practice runs and sleep on the boat as well.The only thing with that is i can stand any weather/roughness standing or sitting but as soon as i lie down i get Violently seasick. thanks for the replies guys,

If you think you are too small to make a difference,try sleeping with a mosquito in your tent.

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Posted: 16 May 2009 at 4:01pm

Phecda

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Well, Slipper Is is a bit exposed with only 1 proper anchorage as I recall, exposed to the W or SW, and I would only ever anchor there in "settled weather".

Things to check are the bottom (like sand or mud, cant remember at Slipper) i.e. the "holding". Mud or muddy is better holding. You may need an anchor quite different (and higher spec'd) for overnight anchoring vs day fishing, where you are on watch anyways.

If you do have a GPS, allow more room than you think and use the Anchor Alarm. This will indicate dragging long before you hit New Zealand and wake everyone there up, provided you allow plenty of drag room of course.

And very importantly, get used to sleeping light, having a look out every time you wake up, familiarity with boat motion, things like that. Maybe being seasick in a bunk is similar to an old overseas single-hander trick, drinking lots of water before they retire to wake them up...

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Posted: 16 May 2009 at 4:23pm

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GoingHard - I have a 6.1m boat and absolutely enjoy overnighting in it. Safe anchorages etc abound, like at the Mokes, G Barrier, Tiri, even spent a few nights in Arkles Bay a few hundred metres from home 'cos I couldn't be bothered putting it on the trailer and just slept there the night. Touch wood I have never had the boat drag anchor. I use a Kiwene anchor with 8m of heavy chain, both anchor and chain are definitely the 'next size up' from standard. Nearly overnighted last week on northern Tiri, blowing 20-30kts, but the northern side was sunny and totally calm, the boat was drifting gently around 360 on its anchor and with everything always needed on board Big%20smile

I have also anchored out off the Nth Shore bays overnight a few times..just making sure that low tide the boat doesn't ground itself. Only real issue I have is the noise of the water on the tin hull!! Sleep incentives needed + earplugs are a must. I usually let out about twice the depth of water in length of warp in a calm little bay.
Good idea about the anchor alarm, I haven't used mine yet.

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Posted: 16 May 2009 at 4:28pm

Phecda

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The mokes may be OK but it isn't exactly "safe", Espresso. In the first place, it's about as exposed as you get. In the second place, the book says there's all these anchorages and when you go into them it's 30m and not much further to the shore. Lastly, I anchored there on a protected shore, in the morning it was a lee shore, and the runabout next to me dragged. After a bit of horn-blowing, they got the motor started within jumping distance of the shore.

I just think it's an exaggeration to describe the Mokes as "safe". (as anchorages go)

There are also UNSAFE places that LOOK SAFE. Examples are the far end of Whangaparapara (Gt Barrier), the western end of Jacksons Bay (end of Coromandel), because they have WEED. WEED will make you drag in a blow, unless of course your anchor happens to catch on the bit that Maui dragged up

(South East side of Little Barrier, is also a place where there is lots of WEED which may affect anchoring)

Anyone planning coastal cruising or anchoring should get a copy of the Royal Akarana Coastal Cruising Handbook, available at most stores. Although some of it may be obsolete, or locals may have a better description in their area, it's the ONLY handbook which describes anchorages around NZ (unless there's another one

)

Edit: the UNIVERSAL recommendation for rode-length is 3x depth, extending to perhaps 5 or 6 times whatever in bad conditions. (Per one of the other posts). It is possible to get away with 2x depth with an all-chain rode (though you wouldn't in severe weather). I have no idea why Espresso mentioned "2x". I have "tested" a Rocna anchor (one of the new more secure types) at 2x rode and it DID hold fine on that rode, but only tested in 15kn and I sure as hell wouldnt get any sleep that way. (Rocna claims about twice the holding power of the next-best anchor, I dont know, see their website)

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