Anchor alarms....

[GHA]

Not sure if anyone above has mentioned the Open CPN alarm which I find excellent.It does exactly what the OP describes.You can simply shift the circle centre or change the radius +- later on when you see the pattern.View attachment 85112

I find the anchor pro android phone anchor alarm better than the Opencpn one but running a raspberry pi onboard & USB GPS dongle it is indeed great to have opencpn running in the background on little power
Plus you can put the GPS offset in to see just where the boat is, and look at the grib overlay for wind forecast.

2 hooks down

(slight thread drag, but with a Pi running openplotter/signalk you can save ais data to a file with no downside really just in case someone does something stupid like bang into you, unlikely but it will run in the background unnoticed.)

 

[differentroads]

Lots of people do, no downside really. mA of current draw, anchor pro is an excellent app, sits quietly keeping an eye on things for you. Easy to spot wind shifts & you can set various zones shapes, anchor history can come in handy as well.

But this being a web forum you get all sorts of entrenched viewpoints often based just on some weird opinions rather than open minded experience.
Give anchor app a go and make your own mind up, no downsides

WAIT!! You can change the shape of the alarm circle?! ? I never knew that. That's the rest of this morning blown then. ?

 

[Neeves]

Sorry yeah I'm just talking about when on or in sight of the boat I suppose
And yeah I get that you can drag anytime - it's just at night it's surely a different ball game entirely because, well, you're asleep -and to my mind that's where the alarm could be a lifesaver
Cheers

sailaboutvic made the comment

When you drag you feel it, the yacht 'moves' differently and you are instantly awake - depending on how you set your alarm, before the alarm goes off. SMS messages etc are great - but that depends on having mobile coverage. We have learnt to live without phone (communication. and weather is HF) - that's the reality. We could of course buy or rent a sat phone - but we have found we don't need it.

Interestingly the previous generation of yacht owners - also did without anchor alarms and had anchors not as good as those available to us.

Jonathan

 

[Zing]

One advantage of this option is you can keep a similar eye on other boats in the anchorage (I am more worried about other boats dragging). This obviously only works for boats with an AIS transmitter, but this is becoming common on cruising boats and more and more seem to be transmitting their position at anchor.

Much more useful is radar. I can lie in my bunk and watch the boats around me at night this way. Also, with a remote desktop repeater app you should be able to get the same image when in the restaurant, assuming you use a PC plotter and that the boat is 4G connected. (Note in theory only, I’ve not tried it). Most boats don’t have their AIS on, but radar will see all of them.

 

[Neeves]

Much more useful is radar. I can lie in my bunk and watch the boats around me at night this way. Also, with a remote desktop repeater app you should be able to get the same image when in the restaurant, assuming you use a PC plotter and that the boat is 4G connected. (Note in theory only, I’ve not tried it). Most boats don’t have their AIS on, but radar will see all of them.

I agree with your comment on radar. We would use radar to support where we anchor - as the distances are more accurate than anything else. We are less concerned about other yachts - few travel down the west coast of Tasmania, possibly like the west coast of Scotland, but those that do - usually know what they are doing. Radar does tend to be power hungry.

Compromises, compromises

Jonathan

 

[noelex]

Much more useful is radar. I can lie in my bunk and watch the boats around me at night this way. Also, with a remote desktop repeater app you should be able to get the same image when in the restaurant, assuming you use a PC plotter and that the boat is 4G connected. (Note in theory only, I’ve not tried it). Most boats don’t have their AIS on, but radar will see all of them.

Radar gets a thumb up here as well. On modern equipment you can monitor the radar from your tablet or phone so it can still be seen from the bedroom.

But radar does not work from the pub like AIS at least on my equipment. It would be nice to know exactly how to set this up if it is feasible.

 

[noelex]

Anchor alarms can also be set (even the apps that only have a circular guard zone) so that they will wake you in the event of wind or current shift, even when the boat is not dragging.

This can be useful on occasions.

If you are worried you might swing too close to obstruction, shallows or another boat with a particular wind direction the anchor alarm can be set to wake you for a check that everything is OK in the event the windshift does eventuate.

There are also low depth alarms. I rarely set one of these, but these different options can occasionally be helpful.

 

[Refueler]

Never been one for 'phone apps' until I started using Blackberry (sad day when BB got f***** by ***) ... and also Android for flying camera drones ....

Downloaded .... Anchor from Play Store ... and actually I like it ... simple ... will be trying it out later when season starts ...

 

[Zing]

But radar does not work from the pub like AIS at least on my equipment. It would be nice to know exactly how to set this up if it is feasible.

Lots of ways to skin that cat. Microsoft have a built in free feature in Windows 10. I’ve used an app called Splashtop with some success for other purposes. There are lots of other solutions too. Just google ‘remote desktop access’ or do the same search in the App Store/Google Play. You will need a 4G router or a wifi internet connection on the boat as well as an internet connection to your phone/iPad.

 

[GHA]

Radar gets a thumb up here as well.

Can't remember ever using radar on the hook, most of the time so far if a blow is forecast (or even a bit of sea breeze on July/Aug afternoon..) direction will be known and it usually makes more sense to move to windward so the charter boats and weekenders drag away from you.

 

[Zing]

Can't remember ever using radar on the hook, most of the time so far if a blow is forecast (or even a bit of sea breeze on July/Aug afternoon..) direction will be known and it usually makes more sense to move to windward so the charter boats and weekenders drag away from you.

Good idea, except these days they are all catamarans and they will be in front of you probably. It’s a competition that is hard for a monohull to win.

 

[Travelling Westerly]

Radar gets a thumb up here as well.

Thats what we use in the RN in addition to visual fixs every hour when on the hook

 

[Skylark]

............And like any half decent seaman, ...............................in tricky conditions I take compass bearings, plot escape routes and wake up from time to time to eyeball the situation.

You seem to be the only one in about 50 posts to advocate using eyeball (and other senses) rather than blind faith in electronics. Glad that I'm not alone

 

[Refueler]

You seem to be the only one in about 50 posts to advocate using eyeball (and other senses) rather than blind faith in electronics. Glad that I'm not alone

Post #4 ..... where I say I feel more secure checking position ...

I prefer to set it to a small area and then have alarm triggered when boat swings with tide etc. I then do a check of position and feel much more secure than having a larger radius - which may put you in conflict with another boat.

Basically I never feel as though I can leave a boat at anchor completely unless its a drying out location.

 

[GHA]

You seem to be the only one in about 50 posts to advocate using eyeball (and other senses) rather than blind faith in electronics. Glad that I'm not alone

you never sleep then??

 

[LittleSister]

And yeah I get that you can drag anytime - it's just at night it's surely a different ball game entirely because, well, you're asleep -and to my mind that's where the alarm could be a lifesaver

That's the trouble with the youth of today! What's wrong with getting up to check every 30 minutes/change of tide or whatever? It's character forming!

 

[sailaboutvic]

You seem to be the only one in about 50 posts to advocate using eyeball (and other senses) rather than blind faith in electronics. Glad that I'm not alone

It's not the first time we anchor where it's so dark you couldn't see anything .
What you going to take bearing off .
Working ok in some river but in a bay with no street lights .

 

[sailaboutvic]

That's the trouble with the youth of today! What's wrong with getting up to check every 30 minutes/change of tide or whatever? It's character forming!

as we anchor every night it mean I would never get a whole night sleep ,

 

[LittleSister]

as we anchor every night it mean I would never get a whole night sleep ,

Toughen up man! Sleep is over-rated. Call yourself an adventurer?

Either that, or buy one of them there new generation anchors: I hear they only drag in daytime.

 

[Refueler]

It's not the first time we anchor where it's so dark you couldn't see anything .
What you going to take bearing off .
Working ok in some river but in a bay with no street lights .

Street lights ???? Couldn't find a car park then ?