Anchor Alarm

[RichardS]

I just remembered that I took this screenshot after using Anchor Watch Pro on my tablet a couple of weeks ago. The shot is zoomed in so you can't see the coastline of Susak but you can see how much the boat moves around the anchor but all within the alarm zone I set up.

Richard

 

[Seajet]

Seajet , Angus .
You two need to give it a rest before one of you end up saying some thing and getting band .

SailaboutVic,

that's a brilliant idea - Angus and I should form a band - surely we'd sell enough tickets !

Now we'll argue about who gets the Keanu Reeves/ Mike Myers part, which of course would be me. :encouragement:

 

[sailaboutvic]

I just remembered that I took this screenshot after using Anchor Watch Pro on my tablet a couple of weeks ago. The shot is zoomed in so you can't see the coastline of Susak but you can see how much the boat moves around the anchor but all within the alarm zone I set up.

Richard

Can you enter the anchor Lat and long in that app Richard ?

 

[GHA]

Can you enter the anchor Lat and long in that app Richard ?

Don't think so. Never thought about it, I use a mobile phone and either hit the button as the anchor hits the seabed or use the bearing and distance.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Don't think so. Never thought about it, I use a mobile phone and either hit the button as the anchor hits the seabed or use the bearing and distance.

We use anchor watch , what I tend to do is mark the anchor drop , then at a later time enter the lat and long on the app , that way if for some reason it crashes I can re enter it . Or to save the battery's on my iPad , set the alarm just before I go to bed . It also mean I can alter the lat and long if need be .

 

[RichardS]

Can you enter the anchor Lat and long in that app Richard ?

I just checked and with Anchor Pro you can't. When you tell the app where the anchor is it fills in the "Anchor Position" coords automatically and these then stay fixed. The "Current Position" coords change with the boat of course.

Of course, like GHA I'm always too busy doing other things when we drop the anchor so I never remember to press the button. However, once the anchor is down it's easy to estimate its direction and distance and input those manually.

Because the app also displays the Google map coastline its also easy to double check that the position you've entered looks right compared to the coastline and also set the trigger distance so that it's not too close to the estimated anchor position but also not too close to the shore.

I think the free version comes with adverts but I liked it so much that a paid a couple of quid for the Pro version.

Richard

 

[sailaboutvic]

I just checked and with Anchor Pro you can't. When you tell the app where the anchor is it fills in the "Anchor Position" coords automatically and these then stay fixed. The "Current Position" coords change with the boat of course.

Of course, like GHA I'm always too busy doing other things when we drop the anchor so I never remember to press the button. However, once the anchor is down it's easy to estimate its direction and distance and input those manually.

Because the app also displays the Google map coastline its also easy to double check that the position you've entered looks right compared to the coastline and also set the trigger distance so that it's not too close to the estimated anchor position but also not too close to the shore.

I think the free version comes with adverts but I liked it so much that a paid a couple of quid for the Pro version.

Richard

I did try the free one out the other day , I meant to ask you the other week while on board what you used .
The anchor watch also has Google maps and it can send you a text to let you know the boat moved , I have to say it a bit of a pain to be woken up by a text at the same time as the alarm going off , maybe best to enter your number Richard , then you can call me ,

 

[RichardS]

I did try the free one out the other day , I meant to ask you the other week while on board what you used .
The anchor watch also has Google maps and it can send you a text to let you know the boat moved , I have to say it a bit of a pain to be woken up by a text at the same time as the alarm going off , maybe best to enter your number Richard , then you can call me ,

Haha .... just don't rely on waking me up after a few glasses of Grasevina. We picked up 18 litres at the Lidl in Sibenik on the way home ....... £35! We've downed 3 bottles already trying the rekindle those Croatian memories.

Richard

 

[Uricanejack]

OK, maybe not the most successful thread I've ever started.

I'll maybe wait a few weeks and ask the question again.

As I said in the original post, I don't have a smartphone. Buying one just to get an anchor alarm seems a bit overkill. I could probably fit a Garmin display next to my bunk, but that still wouldn't be a cheap solution.

I've also anchored in a fair few places that are flat bottomed, such as Loch Ryan or Carlingford Lough where I'd really like to know the anchor is dragging before I reach the channel and bounce off one of the ferries, so depth is no substitute.

Thanks to those who have tried answering. One idea is to use my old Garmin 128 just for the alarm - it was always good enough, but I'm sure there must be a better solution.

I'm not so sure its entirely unsuccessful. Anchor watch isn't feature I would have particularly looked for if at the GPS shop. Maybe questioning how loud the alarms are would be a thing to check when selecting a new GPS or Plotter thingy. or even an MFD( I know what they are now).

Or just by second hand CQR. you'll be fine

 

[lpdsn]

Or just by second hand CQR. you'll be fine

Ah now, I'm not so sure about the CQR. My Delta hasn't dragged yet (albeit it doesn't set well amongst pebbles) but one day I might buy a fancy new style anchor.

I'll work on the anchor alarm first though. I mean that wouldn't be controversial at all...

 

[lpdsn]

I think I'll probably try messing around with OpenCPN and plug ins.

I downloaded the Watchdog plug-in for OpenCPN and found a suitable .wav file (I was really tempted by a barking dog, but after ten minutes research failed to find one I liked, so just went for an alarm type alarm sound). Tested it at the weekend and it worked well.

 

[RichardS]

I downloaded the Watchdog plug-in for OpenCPN and found a suitable .wav file (I was really tempted by a barking dog, but after ten minutes research failed to find one I liked, so just went for an alarm type alarm sound). Tested it at the weekend and it worked well.

Out of interest, why didn't you just use the anchor alarm which is built into OpenCPN?

Richard

 

[lpdsn]

Out of interest, why didn't you just use the anchor alarm which is built into OpenCPN?

Richard

I went onto the OpenCPN web site and searched for anchor alarm. I saw the watchdog plug in so gave it a go. It's a bit easier to configure than the default alarm if you want to vary the radius according to circumstances and I liked the idea of playing with .wav files.

 

[MarcJ]

I've just read the whole thread - my main problem with anchor watch apps is that they go off if the GPS signal is lost. So having an abandon ship style alarm going off at 3am as a false alarm, is not conducive to peaceful rest! I'm surprised that hasn't been mentioned. I don't have OpenCPN or Apple devices - just android.
Thanks Seajet for mentioning depth alarms - I should have set that when we were off Bardsey last week, and the wind kicked up, if we'd have dragged about 30m our depth would have changed by a lot, goes from 6m to 25m - then you're headed off into the blue!

 

[sailaboutvic]

I've just read the whole thread - my main problem with anchor watch apps is that they go off if the GPS signal is lost. So having an abandon ship style alarm going off at 3am as a false alarm, is not conducive to peaceful rest! I'm surprised that hasn't been mentioned. I don't have OpenCPN or Apple devices - just android.
Thanks Seajet for mentioning depth alarms - I should have set that when we were off Bardsey last week, and the wind kicked up, if we'd have dragged about 30m our depth would have changed by a lot, goes from 6m to 25m - then you're headed off into the blue!

Some devices have very poor GPS , my partner one once left sight of the sky is US , my IPad one works fine in and out of the boat , if you had an android with poor GPS signal in side the boat , it wouldn't be much good , but after saying that altho my partner devices won't work inside , it's so loud that leaving it in the cockpit would still wake up the died .

Depths alarm have there uses , but it won't stop you hitting any boat in the same depth as your self or stop you going aground when the depth drop quickly .

 

[lpdsn]

I've just read the whole thread - my main problem with anchor watch apps is that they go off if the GPS signal is lost. So having an abandon ship style alarm going off at 3am as a false alarm, is not conducive to peaceful rest! I'm surprised that hasn't been mentioned. I don't have OpenCPN or Apple devices - just android.
Thanks Seajet for mentioning depth alarms - I should have set that when we were off Bardsey last week, and the wind kicked up, if we'd have dragged about 30m our depth would have changed by a lot, goes from 6m to 25m - then you're headed off into the blue!

The GPS signal for my tablet comes via the 158i and an antenna on the pushpit. I'd probably want to be woken if it were lost.

 

[gasdave]

Mmm, well that's been an interesting and mildly entertaining thread
A few weeks ago we spent a windy night anchored in The Wig in Loch Ryan before our crossing to Bangor. On that location I wouldn't be happy using a depth alarm as the change in depth is so gradual that if you were to drag it would be some distance before an alarm would be triggered. But you'd be incredibly unlucky to hit another boat - our nearest one was the P&O ferry on the other side of the loch.
I use Anchor Alert on my android phone (I know the OP isn't looking for smartphone answers but others might be interested). The screen looks very like that shown on another post here, although I think it was called Anchor Watch (?). Easy to set - point at anchor drop position for bearing, enter distance and drag limit and bingo. All it needs is a decent GPS signal (my accuracy was 3m and works inside cabin by my head), it uses very little battery and the alarm, when I tested it by changing drag distance, is loud enough to safely wake me.
I've also used an alarm on my Garmin Montana (on the marine charts card).
I agree that technique (and anchor kit) is more important than relying on an alarm but I know I wouldn't sleep well at all on a windy night without an alarm. I now use a Delta 20kg (slightly overspec'd for our 37' boat) and all chain rode. So far it has set hard first time every time and never budged. But I'll still set my alarm!

 

[JeroenAdam]

About reliable (external) anchor alarms...

I really like the loudness and cadence of my Raymarine ST60 instruments at the helm, I cannot imagine being asleep right below in the aft cabin and not hearing the alarm (compared to a smartphone/tablet).
I was thinking about letting OpenCPN create an alarm state on this Seatalk network using a SeaTalk NMEA Link (cost 125 EUR). http://www.gadgetpool.de/bestellen/...language/en?osCsid=d1pp3suanbvuhhob0f6o864cp1

Any alarm in OpenCPN would mean a loud and unmissable alarm at the helm.
I have no idea how I could trigger such an alarm, maybe let an OpenCPN send a fake wind speed value in NMEA language to this Seatalk NMEA Link device, it would be translated into Seatalk and trigger the Raymarine alarm (in case a second wind speed sentence would be supported on the Seatalk bus).

Any thoughts?