Phone anchor alarms

[Neeves]

The purpose of the thread was to make users of phone anchor alarms realise - they are not infallible. The thread does indicate weaknesses with a reliance on an aerial buried under winches, booms etc.

As web craft implies - anchoring remains an art and demands some luck - you may power set but there may be an old beer can 10mm from the toe of your anchor, it will cause your anchor to drag - at just the time your satellite signal is compromised. Sandy is correct - don't assume your phone app is 100% reliable.

Jonathan

 

[Rocksteadee]

That does sound nifty, and would alleviate my repeated drag-panic when I'm ashore out of site of my Moody 31 (hopefully inappropriately named) "Drifter".
Even better if it provides the facility for me to query the anchorwatch device (about every 7 minutes) asking "Are you still there???".

Which app are you using, may I ask?

Anchor Pro. By peckish sloth
to get the text and email feature a subscription is need £6.99 or there abouts

 

[ctva]

Hope you stay lucky. It is always possible for an anchor - any anchor - to fail to set 'hard' on reversal, especially in a weedy seabed.

Happened to us ten days ago. The anchor alarm allowed us to monitor the (slow) drag and survive until morning without having to take drastic action.

Invaluable IMO.

- W

Luck has nothing really to do with it. I take my time to get a good location and anchor although we do not always have a good choice. Dragged slowly like you once in Lowlandmans bay with an easterly so reset eventually when it didn't settle. All done with Mk1 eyeball.

Know the weather
Know the seabed (as far as you can without actually seeing it)
Know your position
Know you and your systems limitations
Know when to stay up and when to move (sounds like Kenny Rodgers song... )

@Sandy is right that we are too reliant on electronics.

 

[RupertW]

People are becoming to rely on electronics too much.

Rely is the wrong word. We anchored for decades before using a phone alarm but it’s a free and 30 second job to add it as an additional aid. I would anchor without concern without it, but if I do wake up in the middle of the night and feel it suddenly more blowy, it’s very nice not to leave the duvet and just have a look at my phone. In previous times I might have got up to look around and then maybe stayed up a bit to thoroughly check.

 

[sailaboutvic]

There no doubt anchor alarm are more reliable then the one I used before internet days , which was an old frying pan on a bit of string with a small spider anchor on the other end , the idea was you would throw the spider anchor over board once anchor was set and put the frying on top of the coach roof just above where we slept , if we started to drag the pan would slid of the roof and land just above my head , now if anyone wants to wake up quickly and sh@t him self at the same time try that , what was worst there wasn't much room so as the noise of the pan hit the grp you would sit up and bang your head on the ceiling,
Believe me anchor alarm are much safer and less dangerous then it was then .

 

[Sandy]

Rely is the wrong word. We anchored for decades before using a phone alarm but it’s a free and 30 second job to add it as an additional aid. I would anchor without concern without it, but if I do wake up in the middle of the night and feel it suddenly more blowy, it’s very nice not to leave the duvet and just have a look at my phone. In previous times I might have got up to look around and then maybe stayed up a bit to thoroughly check.

I used the word rely with great care. I've spent my life in engineering and have seen the move from using electronics to check an answer to providing an answer and never questioning it. As a lovely maths tutor used to say, "does the answer feel right".

The last time we anchored in a blow, 50 kts, we ran an anchor watch (crew of 24) allowing the skipper to sleep and if he wanted to open an eye from the comfort of his duvet there is a chart plotter with anchor watch in his cabin. Being able to see a transit I find 100 times more reassuring than checking that a very weak signal from a few boxes zooming about the sky.

 

[FlyingGoose]

Using an anchor alarm only adds more tools to your chest, as I suspect many do not drop their hook press a button and walk away.
I know there are exceptions to every rule
If one is to reliant on modern technology , then radars, aid, auto pilots, mfd, computers, binoculars than can take a digital bearing, DSc radios etc.... must not be relied on either.
A simple Gps location in the phone with correct input from the user is pretty reliable , might not tell you you have dragged a few feet but it will if your heading out to sea . And I will use it as long as it let's the wife sleep at night.
Last time we were in a blow she secretly downloaded it on her phone and prepared a grab bag beside the bed and never told me.
I sleep deep

 

[RupertW]

I used the word rely with great care. I've spent my life in engineering and have seen the move from using electronics to check an answer to providing an answer and never questioning it. As a lovely maths tutor used to say, "does the answer feel right".

The last time we anchored in a blow, 50 kts, we ran an anchor watch (crew of 24) allowing the skipper to sleep and if he wanted to open an eye from the comfort of his duvet there is a chart plotter with anchor watch in his cabin. Being able to see a transit I find 100 times more reassuring than checking that a very weak signal from a few boxes zooming about the sky.

Well obviously in 50 knots but normally it’s not me checking the boxes it’s the phone which also alarms for weak signal. I am amused by the concept of checking transits from under the duvet, or even in the cockpit unless you always anchor in a city.

You seem to be stating that people only use the phone. It’s a nice extra bit of redundancy on top of the important things.

 

[TernVI]

I suspect a phone anchor alarm might have saved that boat which went on the beach at Penzance?

Some times you don't need the fine detail.
Equally a depth alarm might have done the same.

 

[noelex]

You seem to be stating that people only use the phone. It’s a nice extra bit of redundancy on top of the important things.

I think this is the key.

The primary system is great anchoring gear combined with a careful choice of anchoring location and a sound technique. This is vital.

However, the concept that any secondary systems, such as an effective electronic anchor alarm, are therefore no longer needed is not sound practical advice. Nor does it fit in with with general sailing ethos of belt and braces.

The good news about anchor alarms is that equipment is already installed. There is usually no extra cost. Why not take advantage of an electronic crew member that continuously monitors your position? The electronic crew member does not even drink my scotch!

There is a surprisingly amount of skill needed to set an effective anchor alarm. If done correctly the alarm can alert the skipper to small movements in the anchor without any false positive alarms. What is not to like?

We set an anchor alarm every time we anchor and I would encourage others to do the same.

 

[dune16]

Anchor Pro. By peckish sloth
to get the text and email feature a subscription is need £6.99 or there abouts

Unfortunately they lost the text facility due to changes in android. You can now use an instant messaging facility but my testing of that has proved less than reliable

 

[Rocksteadee]

Unfortunately they lost the text facility due to changes in android. You can now use an instant messaging facility but my testing of that has proved less than reliable

I still have it under test

 

[RupertW]

I have never relied on an anchor alarm.

A good anchor, chain and setting should be enough. If it is that bad or iffy to need an anchor app, stay up or move.

Nobody needs an anchor alarm but it’s a nice free addition

 

[Neeves]

Maybe another way of putting it

Nobody should NEED an anchor alarm but its a nice free addition - sometimes.

We would not rely on one - you need to use other means.

Down in the southern part of Oz is a well known feature - Wilsons Promontory - part of the State of Victoria and the promontory sticks out into Bass Strait - and catches all the southerlies as they come of the Southern Ocean. The west coast is exposed to the worst of the winds and there are a few anchorages on the east coast - one of which is aptly named Refuge Cove.

The Cove is small, not much room for many vessels and when southerly Storms strike the bullets whistle into the cove at 180 degree angles.. The hills around the cove are steep and reception is awful - you cannot rely on a phone app as if you aim for a modicum of shelter, getting close to shore - you lose satellite coverage.

I would hazard a guess that there are many similar locations round the world, Labrador and Patagonia come to mind, and some closer to (your) home often used by members here

Shore lines simply remove the need for an anchor watch - if he you have the rope (and imagination). Shore lines also allow more yachts to use a confined space.

If you rely on a phone app and have nothing to use as shore lines - you will need other means to allow a settled night.

'Anchoring' is not restricted to an anchor and a length of chain.

Know how: Expanding your Anchoring Repertoire

Jonathan

 

[sailaboutvic]

Hand up , I set mine to day , we expecting 45 plus for 48 hours it just starting at the moment we getting 25 kts I have no intention of getting up every so offer to check .

It's a.bout time some one invented an app to tell you if some one dragging near you And yes I have heard of radar .

App alarm work well as long as you remember they not 100% .

By the way a little while ago we had to sound our fog horn to alarm another boat he was dragging at some speed and heading for the shore ,
Maybe I go over once it all over and show him what he could get free of charge .

 

[RupertW]

Maybe another way of putting it

Nobody should NEED an anchor alarm but its a nice free addition - sometimes.

We would not rely on one - you need to use other means.

Down in the southern part of Oz is a well known feature - Wilsons Promontory - part of the State of Victoria and the promontory sticks out into Bass Strait - and catches all the southerlies as they come of the Southern Ocean. The west coast is exposed to the worst of the winds and there are a few anchorages on the east coast - one of which is aptly named Refuge Cove.

The Cove is small, not much room for many vessels and when southerly Storms strike the bullets whistle into the cove at 180 degree angles.. The hills around the cove are steep and reception is awful - you cannot rely on a phone app as if you aim for a modicum of shelter, getting close to shore - you lose satellite coverage.

I would hazard a guess that there are many similar locations round the world, Labrador and Patagonia come to mind, and some closer to (your) home often used by members here

Shore lines simply remove the need for an anchor watch - if he you have the rope (and imagination). Shore lines also allow more yachts to use a confined space.

If you rely on a phone app and have nothing to use as shore lines - you will need other means to allow a settled night.

'Anchoring' is not restricted to an anchor and a length of chain.

Know how: Expanding your Anchoring Repertoire

Jonathan

In extreme conditions I would still do an anchor watch but I agree the security of three lines - two shore and one anchor at 120 degrees to each other is very secure.

 

[Neeves]

We have a compass, standard bulkhead compass with a light, in our berth, at the foot of the bed. I built it into some storage. If something goes amiss the bearing will change, we drift beam on, and if a front is going to come through we can see when the wind changes. Normally if we set an anchor alarm it includes full swing room (and +) but we often sail with a front and then the alarm would not be triggered but the change of bearing of the yacht is indication its time to get up. I actually installed it so as to know when fronts arrive so as to negate the need to stick my head outside and look.

Jonathan

 

[duncan99210]

Anchor alarms are much like any other bit of electronics: they’re a tool at your disposal. You can use them or not depending on your personal preference.
If I’m setting an anchor, I will tend to use transits to check if it’s properly set. Transits also provide a quick reference to check all is well (or not). However, they only work if you’re actually up and looking round and can still see the transits marks.
But there are no end of ways of spotting that your anchor is dragging, transits, bearings, the feel of the boat, radar and so on. The downside of all of them is that they don’t wake you up with an ear splitting noise just by your head.
Of course if there’s a blow forecast, I’d mount a watch. Generally when we do, we have the engine running and the radar on so as to monitor the position of the boat.
But the beauty of a gps based anchor alarm is that it’ll wake you up if the unexpected happens. Not every thunder cell is forecast, not every 15 minute blow is predictable. But if you do get hit by something of that sort and the anchor does drag, then the alarm will wake you up in time to deal with it. That’s what I like about it.

 

[sailaboutvic]

However, they only work if you’re actually up and looking round and can still see the transits marks.
But there are no end of ways of spotting that your anchor is dragging, transits, bearings, the feel of the boat, radar and so on. s

Duncan you forgot the rumble of the keel as it rubs along the sea bed

I think some of us manage to anchor safely before anchor app we even manage to sail thousand of miles before GPS , it just nice to have something else now to add to our skills the important bit is not to for get our old skills.

 

[Solent sailer]

our old garmin gps had an anchor alarm feature that worked great, the furono we have now doesn't and the one on the raymarine plotter isn't much use on deck!
I have tried most of the android ones and never go a full nights sleep without it going of at some point even when the swing is set to 150~200m with 20m of chain out, I think the gps goes to sleep despite all the settings being as recommended by the app developers (tried it on 3 phones and 2 tablets - all Samsung), I just put more chain down and trust to a good anchor.