Anchoring overnight rather than mooring ...

BumbleAbout · 27 May 2008, 17:29

Apologies if this is a really stupid question, but I've searched around and can't see the answer anywhere obvious ...

In the last few years whilst down in Devon, I have either moored overnight at a pontoon or at a prebooked mooring. However, this year it would be more convenient to anchor overnight in a cove (no nasty signs forbidding anchors on the chart) which is part of the harbour area. There will be nobody on the SIB overnight (or at least I hope not !) and there will be an anchor light. I can't see anything in the harbour bye laws which forbid this, but just wondered if I'm missing something obvious which says you have to use the provided moorings rather than anchoring ?

codprawn · 27 May 2008, 21:31

You are even allowed to anchor in the Thames so there shouldn't be a problem!!!

BumbleAbout · 27 May 2008, 22:33

Fair enough - so the convenience of a mooring is the increased probability of your boat being there the next morning (and roughly in the same place) !

I've got a 6kg chinese copy Delta on order after reading the discussions here and a 1.4w eBay LED anchor light - so just the 5m of 6mm chain to get next.

Observer · 27 May 2008, 23:38

I've left my 6m RIB at anchor (a 3kg folding anchor) in Salcombe Harbour on a number of occasions without any problems but only in settled weather. I'd guess a 6kg Delta will hold your 4m easily in stiffer conditions.

prairie tuber · 28 May 2008, 06:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by BumbleAbout

I've got a 6kg chinese copy Delta on order after reading the discussions here and a 1.4w eBay LED anchor light - so just the 5m of 6mm chain to get next.

I just bought one earlier today as well (5kg). The thing looks like it would dig it's way right back to China.

BumbleAbout · 28 May 2008, 10:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

I just bought one earlier today as well (5kg). The thing looks like it would dig it's way right back to China.

Perfect - I'd quite like the boat to be there in the morning ! Although I'm going to over-engineer the solution and also use the folding grapnel on another warp in shallow water so that I can hopefully pull the boat towards shore without too much swimming.

SeaSkills · 28 May 2008, 11:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by BumbleAbout

:I can hopefully pull the boat towards shore without too much swimming.

Sounds like a running mooring would be a good idea, and cut out swimming altogether??

BumbleAbout · 28 May 2008, 13:45

Thanks - "running mooring" - that's what I should have called it !

For security, I intend to leave the shore side anchor under a foot of water at low tide so that it is not too obviously a pulley system to retrieve the boat (more paddling than swimming hopefully).

prairie tuber · 28 May 2008, 13:59

I don't have to deal with tides where I am, but I came across this site which shows a very clever (yet simple and cheap) system.

http://www.neilmoomey.com/howtos/anchor_buoy/

Cookee · 28 May 2008, 17:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

I don't have to deal with tides where I am, but I came across this site which shows a very clever (yet simple and cheap) system.

http://www.neilmoomey.com/howtos/anchor_buoy/

Obviously put some thought into that one, but a simpler solution and one that will annoy harbour masters a lot less is a trip anchor - balance anchor on nose of boat and attach trip line to anchor - push boat out and pull anchor off bow with trip line - tie trip line to rock and pull anchor and boat in when you've had enough - KISS principle!

BumbleAbout · 29 May 2008, 11:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cookee

annoy harbour masters a lot less is a trip anchor

Presumably because it's one anchor line to shore rather than a double line ?

Cookee · 29 May 2008, 13:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by BumbleAbout

Presumably because it's one anchor line to shore rather than a double line ?

No because it's just an anchor with a line to shore rather than a running mooring

prairie tuber · 29 May 2008, 13:33

He does actually run another entirely separate line from the boat to shore in addition to anchor-pulley line system.

captnjack · 29 May 2008, 18:11

He is in Alaska too. Anchorages are not exactly crowded up there.

Bigmuz7 · 29 May 2008, 22:39

Ive used my own setup pretty much like this but I use a block under the water instead. Its not really any good for safe tidal mooring though in shallows, which he mentioned (on the side) but works well in deeper water as a permanent mooring, which I've done before now, but only against a rocky landing platform which is not suitable for all boats, particularly if the sea is prone to any swell.

Also if you have many jelly fish in your area, you find invariably some big red ones may become tangled in the rope leaving their stinging tentacles all over the rope which will burn an ungloved hand when you try to retrieve it .. particularly after an overnight mooring

BumbleAbout · 30 May 2008, 10:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cookee

No because it's just an anchor with a line to shore rather than a running mooring

Ok - this is starting to make sense to me now - thanks !

I should have described this as a temporary (overnight only) running mooring - which (although I like the idea of an anchor trip line to shore) allows me to both pull the boat out to sea from the beach (after landing the family) as well as retrieving it the next morning. If I set up a permanent running mooring then I can understand why the harbour master might not be happy.

jwalker · 30 May 2008, 11:37

I've done this for a few seasons and for weeks at a time. I used a biggish anchor with plenty of chain (Why sleep badly?). A pulley was used for the rope to pass through at the seaward end. I found that without a pulley it could be almost impossible to make the rope run around a karabiner or similar if there is a breeze blowing and pulling the boat. Having a floating rope and a sinking rope for the running loop is a good idea because both ropes on the seabed roll about sideways with the motion of the waves and they twist together. It may be that this is impossible because craft might pass between your boat and the shore. If you choose not to use a pulley, then don't use twisted rope because it will twist up as it passes around the karabiner and the slack side of the rope may spiral into knots and these can become too big or awkward to pass through the karabiner.

The land anchor is important because it takes some of the anchoring load. If the wind turns off shore, it will end up taking almost all of the anchoring load.

You'll obviously buoy the top of the anchor line and I found a large buoy caused a lot of fretting of the rope. I ended up using a medium sized pickup buoy and attached it to the top of the anchor line with a short piece of chain. This also stopped the bobbing buoy wrapping itself around the running line so preventing the boat being pulled in.

Because my system was in place for a while, it wasn't long before I gave up using rope for anchoring and using chain throughout proved to be much easier and certainly more secure.

I agree with Bigmuz about the jelly fish tentacles.

BumbleAbout · 30 May 2008, 13:44

A wealth of useful advice - thanks.

I dare not use floating rope because of the potential for fouling other craft (or having the line cut) - but using braided rather than twisted rope (even if using a pulley) is something that I hadn't thought of.

Cookee's earlier comments about upsetting the harbour master make even more sense if it looks like I'm installing my own mooring by having buoys marking my anchor !

So I think that the very, very simple solution will be to set the seaward anchor and bring to shore it's trip line AND a second line from the stern to a shore anchor. As long as there isn't an onshore wind, then I shouldn't have to swim from the boat to beach !

Bigmuz7 · 30 May 2008, 23:22

JW is right .. I forgot about the twisting that goes on sometimes.

for a permanant mooring I had:

A plough with a bouy to surface on its tail.... 6 meters of chain to a mushroom ...6 more meters of chain to a swivel block in which was threaded a circular loop of rope (to which there was an eyelet that the boat was tied to) that went to shore, and was fixed there. Sometimes after some heavy tides and winds the pulley would have switched sides so often the boat was hard to pull in as the swivel rotated several times and spiralled the rope, and with a 1" rope.. you needed your weetabix sometimes to haul it in

Hightower · 30 May 2008, 23:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cookee

Obviously put some thought into that one, but a simpler solution and one that will annoy harbour masters a lot less is a trip anchor - balance anchor on nose of boat and attach trip line to anchor - push boat out and pull anchor off bow with trip line - tie trip line to rock and pull anchor and boat in when you've had enough - KISS principle!

I like the Idea of this technique, however what do you do if there is a shoreward breeze/wind? Would be almost impossible to push a RIB offshore enough to anchor safely. I guess you could drop anchor and row to shore in a little inflatable carrying your trip line.