Anchor Trip Buoy - worth it?

[markc]

So fellow SoF boaters, how useful would it be to deploy one of these regularly? To trip the anchor if necessary, but maybe more likely to prevent someone picking up my anchor.

I like this one as it will stay in position and adapt to the anchoring depth

 

[Hurricane]

I use one of these
Self Adjusting Anchor Buoy
https://www.swi-tec.com/product/self-adjusting-anchor-buoy/

We have had it about 5 or 6 years.
We don't deploy it every time - usually only if there is a danger that our anchor would get stuck.
It is also great to see where your anchor is relative to the boat.

Here is a cartoon description of the Self Adjusting Anchor Buoy



EDIT
It is quite difficult to recover it from a high bow.
So, I made about a 18" loop of floating rope that I attached to the ring on the top.
The loop floats flat on the surface of the water which makes it easier to recover with a boat hook.
Without the rope loop, you end up chasing the ring on the top round with your boat hook.

 

[Portofino]

Busy anchorages in high season tend to be shallow , snorkelable .
You and the offending Franch boat can see if there’s an anchor snag .
If you are not asleep I tend to stand on the bow and frown at opponent arms on my hips and point at where I think it is .
The knack is to embarrass him before he turns off his engines , they move .
If you arrive early at a known hot spot you can tie a inflatable diving bouy , the red circle with a short flag over the anchor via snorkelling.
If the opponent is a “ gillet jaune “ type of bloke he will ignore it any how .

Anyhow when it’s time to leave just carry on a normal and he will move when it’s apparent the chains are snagged .

Unfortunately in the SoF there’s no real effective way of preventing them anchoring too close or crossing your chain .
If you find one tell everyone ps .

 

[Bouba]

What I’ve noticed is that a lot of anchorages in the SoF have remnants of mooring buoys still underwater. Concrete blocks, chains and ropes still attached, these make excellent traps for anchors. So some sort of system, whether it’s an attached line or snorkeling gear, is a good idea

 

[jrudge]

I had one on a t40 and never used it once. There was a post on here the other week where someone tied up to the trip line !

 

[vas]

Busy anchorages in high season tend to be shallow , snorkelable .

you can indeed snorkel on nice clean water, so no need for that then, but it's not the only case in eastern med/Aegean

What I’ve noticed is that a lot of anchorages in the SoF have remnants of mooring buoys still underwater. Concrete blocks, chains and ropes still attached, these make excellent traps for anchors. So some sort of system, whether it’s an attached line or snorkeling gear, is a good idea

that's my problem, especially going stern to on a island marina with god knows what's down at the seabed! I once just managed to lift up a massive piece of rope around 30mm dia , couple of times snagged on neighbouring boat chain...
That's my main concern when going to a foreign port. And no, none has lazy lines to grab, you have to use your own gear

I use one of these
Self Adjusting Anchor Buoy
https://www.swi-tec.com/product/self-adjusting-anchor-buoy/

thanks Mike, will probably order one, not v.happy with the almost 300euro pricetag though

cheers

V.

 

[jfm]

I think they need using sparingly. Perfectly ok in a quiet anchorage if they float yr your boat, but in a busy anchorage I think they’re a selfish nuisance. They get in the way of other boats anchoring or manoeuvring. In a busy anchorage it’s perfectly right that a later arrived should be able to anchor with their boat on top of an earlier boat’s anchor, but these things stop that happening. They are very useful when berthing at a dock stern to using anchor rather than ground lines, but only if the space in front of berthed boats isn’t a fairway. All imho obvs.

 

[BobnLesley]

I had one on a t40 and never used it once. There was a post on here the other week where someone tied up to the trip line !

We've had that half a dozen times over the years, usually by small dayboats. We now only ever use one if we know/suspect that the bottom might be foul AND the depth's too great or water too dirty/too much current to untangle the snag using a snorkel.
If you do deploy one, clearly mark the buoy with an anchor symbol and the boat name, it won't prevent all the pick-ups, but some understand.

 

[vas]

They are very useful when berthing at a dock stern to using anchor rather than ground lines, but only if the space in front of berthed boats isn’t a fairway. All imho obvs.

+1
usually down here we don't have tight arrangements with isles/fairways, just a long concrete dock and if you're lucky a breakwall sort of vertical to it (and all that if you're lucky and do get a spot in port

Mike, how does the mechanism winding the belt thing in works, you need to wash it with freshwater often, is it robust?

V.

 

[MapisM]

I like this one as it will stay in position and adapt to the anchoring depth

I never came across that solution before, but it does sound simple and effective indeed. These yatties definitely know some tricks!
The only obvious problem is that the tripline length (e.g. 30' feet, in the video) can only work in anchorages whose depth is anywhere between that and its half.
But still, not bad at all for something that costs close to nothing!

 

[Bouba]

, not v.happy with the almost 300euro pricetag though

cheers

V.

I’m about to make you unhappier the wire basket that you use to store it on the bow railings is over €100:disgust:
The last boat show I went to, everyone was discounting these things, probably not selling well, but I remember thinking that the price was still too high

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I have had one of these on my bow for about 3yrs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXIvrU7OMk0

Fantastic product. Never used it

 

[vas]

I never came across that solution before, but it does sound simple and effective indeed. These yatties definitely know some tricks!
The only obvious problem is that the tripline length (e.g. 30' feet, in the video) can only work in anchorages whose depth is anywhere between that and its half.
But still, not bad at all for something that costs close to nothing!

oops missed what Mark posted, definitely looks easier. You could actually have two different lines setup in diff colours and according to depth use either. TBH, most ports I've anchored around here are between 5 and 8m. So if I do a 10m one I should be good for all cases...

I’m about to make you unhappier the wire basket that you use to store it on the bow railings is over €100:disgust:
The last boat show I went to, everyone was discounting these things, probably not selling well, but I remember thinking that the price was still too high

nah, I can make a hook and have it hanging on the railings if I ever get such a thing, or get the fantastic product that Mike had

I have had one of these on my bow for about 3yrs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXIvrU7OMk0

Fantastic product. Never used it

Mike where is it now? if you still have it and the line rolls in and out I'll buy it off you, serious
It's 170euro new but out of stock (which probably means it's not such a fantastic product or all are using the cheap raggie trick.

cheers

V.

 

[Piers]

I use one of these
Self Adjusting Anchor Buoy
https://www.swi-tec.com/product/self-adjusting-anchor-buoy/

We have had it about 5 or 6 years.
We don't deploy it every time - usually only if there is a danger that our anchor would get stuck.
It is also great to see where your anchor is relative to the boat.

Here is a cartoon description of the Self Adjusting Anchor Buoy



EDIT
It is quite difficult to recover it from a high bow.
So, I made about a 18" loop of floating rope that I attached to the ring on the top.
The loop floats flat on the surface of the water which makes it easier to recover with a boat hook.
Without the rope loop, you end up chasing the ring on the top round with your boat hook.

I use one as well. Perfect and easy.

 

[Bouba]

This is my (never tested before) system of anchor retrieval,
I have one of these magic Hook & Moors (they extend a long way)



And this is my anchor



I think I should be able to grab the roll bar, if not from the foredeck, at least from the dingy.
What do you all think of my chances

 

[vas]

This is my (never tested before) system of anchor retrieval,
I have one of these magic Hook & Moors (they extend a long way)



And this is my anchor



I think I should be able to grab the roll bar, if not from the foredeck, at least from the dingy.
What do you all think of my chances

so this extends to 5m then?

doubt its going to work...

 

[petem]

I have had one of these on my bow for about 3yrs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXIvrU7OMk0

Fantastic product. Never used it

Mike where is it now? if you still have it and the line rolls in and out I'll buy it off you, serious
It's 170euro new but out of stock (which probably means it's not such a fantastic product or all are using the cheap raggie trick.

Mike / Vas, that product is an anchor marker, not a tripline. The cord that you tie to your anchor is actually quite thin and certainly not something that you could use to dislodge an anchor. I did sell these for a while (good profit margin) however of the 4 or so that
I sold, one got lost very quickly. We have no idea what happened to it, the customer left it out overnight (marking his anchor) and it was gone the following morning. So it either...

a) got pinched
b) got run over
c) became detached

I managed to get the supplier to send me another FOC but then said they'd be unwilling to replace any more lost ones. I concluded that the product was a flawed concept and stopped selling them.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Mike / Vas, that product is an anchor marker, not a tripline. The cord that you tie to your anchor is actually quite thin .

Not true Pete. Whether it works or not, the line is stated as being high strength wire and supposedly capable of tripping the anchor

Anchor Retrieval Support
If the anchor gets stuck on the ground the very strong Dyneema cord can be used as trip line

https://camillerimarine.com/product/fender-design-anchor-roll-orange/

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Mike where is it now? if you still have it and the line rolls in and out I'll buy it off you, serious
It's 170euro new but out of stock (which probably means it's not such a fantastic product or all are using the cheap raggie trick.

.

Vas its still sitting on the bow of my boat in SoF. Unfortunately I wont be out there before Easter week but I'll happily remove it and send it to you then. PM me your address for delivery

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

What do you all think of my chances

Similar to Tottenham winning the Champions League this year ie close to zero

I have got my anchor stuck a few times over the years including, whilst anchored in Sardinia, under an electricity cable (it was marked on the chart but I missed it) and under mooring cables for a fish farm and, of course, under rocks and concrete blocks. For the latter, I'm not sure any kind of tripline actually helps but you can usually get your anchor up by by moving your boat around the anchor with tension on the chain, the idea being to rotate the anchor until you can pull it free from the other side. If its not too deep, it helps to have somebody in the water with a mask on who can watch the anchor and direct the helmsman in which direction he should pull the chain. Never lost an anchor yet