Bouying your anchor

[LouisBrowne]

I never bouy my anchor partly because I avoid places where the pilot book warns you to do this and partly because I worry that, at low tide, the line might get wrapped round the keel, rudder or some other projection.
Is this concern illusory?
If not what do other forumites do to avoid the problem?
Would a piece of chain or some other weight hung 3 metres below the surface be a solution?

 

[bbg]

I never bouy my anchor partly because I avoid places where the pilot book warns you to do this and partly because I worry that, at low tide, the line might get wrapped round the keel, rudder or some other projection.
Is this concern illusory?
If not what do other forumites do to avoid the problem?
Would a piece of chain or some other weight hung 3 metres below the surface be a solution?

My father used to use a block on the bottom of the float, with a line that ran up through the block (from the anchor) to a lead weight - a kg or so.
Float stayed directly over the anchor.

 

[Kukri]

I do as you do, and rely on the Hiscock loop of chain trick*.

It’s worked for me a couple of times, but I use old CQRs. If I had £££ worth of new generation anchor on the end of the chain I migh be less sanguine!

* Get the chain up and down, as tight as you can. Shackle a loop of heavy chain round it. Attach a strong warp to that, drop the loop down the taut chain, then slack off the chain very quickly and dump a lot of chain on the anchor. Haul on the rope. Up comes the anchor.

This works well with CQRs and ought to work with others.

 

[NormanS]

I detest using an anchor tripping line and buoy, but equally I detest getting my anchor immovably caught under an old chain, as happened to me a couple of weeks ago. Luckily, I was in semi civilization, and was able to get a diver.

 

[prv]

I've never done it, but in case I ever feel the need I do carry a small (dinghy-sized) fender marked with the boat's name and an anchor symbol and "Do not pick up!" .

The line is only going to be slightly longer than the high-tide water depth, whereas the anchor cable will be several times that, so I'm not concerned about the boat getting tangled in the buoy line. I'd consider using the weight technique (line through the eye of the fender and chunk of metal on the end) but more to keep it over the anchor as a position indicator.

Pete

 

[sailaboutvic]

we very rarely use a tripping line but I wouldn't hesitate if I through there was any chance of getting caught up .
but the way I use it have change in the last month or so , I once use to the anchor and once it was set I would dinghy out remove the buoy and attach a sinking line and bring that back to the boat , in which case no one will get caught up to it or think its a mooring buoy , just lately someone suggested to tie the line to the anchor chain so it just above the water once you haul it up , in which case I can still use it and I wouldn't have to keep going back to remove the buoy . great idea 40 years sailing and there still move to learn if your open minded

 

[Rob Rover]

I saw a technique the other day, of using a polypropylene tripping line slightly longer than the likely depth of water, say 20m, and attached at one end to the anchor but the other to the anchor chain at 20m, so the line was held on the sea bed by the chain. That way it would stay out of anyone's way until you lifted the anchor, but would then be available if needed if the anchor was stuck and needed tripping.

It seemed like a good idea to me, and I'm thinking of trying it - saves all the bother of buoys, weights and so on - so what's the catch?

 

[Rob Rover]

Hah! Great minds and all that...

 

[sailaboutvic]

I saw a technique the other day, of using a polypropylene tripping line slightly longer than the likely depth of water, say 20m, and attached at one end to the anchor but the other to the anchor chain at 20m, so the line was held on the sea bed by the chain. That way it would stay out of anyone's way until you lifted the anchor, but would then be available if needed if the anchor was stuck and needed tripping.

It seemed like a good idea to me, and I'm thinking of trying it - saves all the bother of buoys, weights and so on - so what's the catch?

Well it works fine

 

[RupertW]

I saw a technique the other day, of using a polypropylene tripping line slightly longer than the likely depth of water, say 20m, and attached at one end to the anchor but the other to the anchor chain at 20m, so the line was held on the sea bed by the chain. That way it would stay out of anyone's way until you lifted the anchor, but would then be available if needed if the anchor was stuck and needed tripping.

It seemed like a good idea to me, and I'm thinking of trying it - saves all the bother of buoys, weights and so on - so what's the catch?

Surely the idea of a tripping line is that it can pull the anchor up by the head if the anchor and/or chain have been caught. If you attach it to the chain then the rope itself will get caught too and you just have a rope/chain parallel rode?

 

[Seajet]

I very rarely use a tripping line due to the fear of someone catching it round their prop with disastrous results for them and me; I use a spherical fisherman's buoy with no handle, marked ' do not pick up ' with a skull & crossbones as hopefully international code...

 

[sailaboutvic]

Surely the idea of a tripping line is that it can pull the anchor up by the head if the anchor and/or chain have been caught. If you attach it to the chain then the rope itself will get caught too and you just have a rope/chain parallel rode?

that is possible ,
say if the chain got wrap around a rock , but then again if it was attach to a buoy you still have the same problem .

 

[johnalison]

Surely the idea of a tripping line is that it can pull the anchor up by the head if the anchor and/or chain have been caught. If you attach it to the chain then the rope itself will get caught too and you just have a rope/chain parallel rode?

I would imagine that most of the time it is just the anchor 'flukes' that get caught. If you wished, you could attach a float a short distance, say a metre, from the anchor to replicate the usual system without bringing it to the surface.

 

[laika]

I saw a technique the other day, of using a polypropylene tripping line slightly longer than the likely depth of water, say 20m, and attached at one end to the anchor but the other to the anchor chain at 20m, so the line was held on the sea bed by the chain.

Would you perhaps be better using line which doesn't float? if for whatever reason the inboard attachment end of the chain ends up right next to the anchor you've potentially got half the length of line floating up. If there's a big tidal range half the line you've got deployed to just reach the surface at high tide might be uncomfortably close to the surface at low tide

 

[laika]

Surely the idea of a tripping line is that it can pull the anchor up by the head if the anchor and/or chain have been caught. If you attach it to the chain then the rope itself will get caught too and you just have a rope/chain parallel rode?

I believe the idea is that if the anchor is snagged by a fluke you haul up chain until you get to the point where the line is attached to the chain, detach the trippping line, let out more chain, then use the line independently of the chain to trip the anchor. Wouldn't work so well if the anchor chain is caught under something.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Would you perhaps be better using line which doesn't float? if for whatever reason the inboard attachment end of the chain ends up right next to the anchor you've potentially got half the length of line floating up. If there's a big tidal range half the line you've got deployed to just reach the surface at high tide might be uncomfortably close to the surface at low tide

I think what Rob Rover mean is the depth was say 7 mts you would use a 7 mts line , I think 20 was just a figure he plugged out . I not anchored in 20 mts ever, I think the deepest in Croatia was 15 mts

 

[LouisBrowne]

Thanks very much to everyone; I think BBG's block under bouy with a weight idea sounds a very neat and simple solution if one is going to use a bouy.

 

[laika]

I think what Rob Rover mean is the depth was say 7 mts you would use a 7 mts line , I think 20 was just a figure he plugged out . I not anchored in 20 mts ever, I think the deepest in Croatia was 15 mts

The shallower you go, the bigger the problem. Say 1m between surface and where you can reach it so 8m. half is 4m so with a 2m fall in tide you have the polyprop line at 1m below the surface at low tide in a worst-case scenario (all measurements approx

 

[sailaboutvic]

The shallower you go, the bigger the problem. Say 1m between surface and where you can reach it so 8m. half is 4m so with a 2m fall in tide you have the polyprop line at 1m below the surface at low tide in a worst-case scenario (all measurements approx

yea sorry mate I been away from tide for so long now I keep forgetting some of us still have to deal with them

 

[stevie69p]

Well I have to make a trip in to the sailors' confessional here...

I wanted to anchor in a 'recommended anchorage' in Loch Long this weekend just gone. When I arrived there, I realised said anchorage was chock full of moorings, and not very much room at all to anchor. However, I decided to have a bash closer in to the shore, but thought I would try out a tripping line and buoy for the first time in case of old moorings below.

Somehow, on lowering the anchor and tripping line, I managed to get the tripping line under the anchor chain which promptly took the buoy down to the bottom with it! Much cursing ensued, followed by anchor being raised, bothook deployed to retrieve the line and float, and then I motored away in a huff after seeing an assembled family at their lounge window watching my botched proceedings...

Oh well, it was a learning experience I suppose!