Anchoring a sailboat is not that difficult provided you can answer the following questions:

• How deep is the water?


• What is the bottom like?


• Which way is the wind blowing?


• Is the area sheltered?


• Is there sufficient anchor swing room?


• What is the tidal range?


• How much anchor rode do you need?


• Where is the traffic and where are other boats anchored in relation to you boat?

You will want to anchor in water that is about 10 to 15 feet deep. You will need a 7:1 scope on your anchor rode. (i.e. for every 1 foot of depth you will need 7 feet of anchor rode)

Depth for the purposes of anchoring is determined by adding the bow height above the waterline plus the actual water depth.

For water that is 10 feet deep with a bow height of 4 feet (total of 14 feet), you will need 98 feet of anchor rode or, 133 feet of anchor rode if the water is 15 feet deep.

You can see that anchoring in water deeper than 15 feet soon becomes impractical.

Bottom conditions will help you determine what anchor to use and the quality of the holding conditions.

Never anchor on coral - it is illegal and seriously damages the coral and the surrounding eco system.

Danforth Anchor: If anchoring on a sandy or muddy bottom you will want to use a Danforth anchor. The flanges on a Danforth anchor can dig well into a sand or mud bottom providing a secure hold. The Danforth is not effective in weed or rock bottoms.

Plow Anchor: The plow anchor is a good all purpose anchor. It is best for mud or clay bottoms but still has good holding qualities in sand. In weed it holds reasonably well but is not good in rock.

Bruce Anchor: The Bruce anchor is another good all purpose anchor. It works well in silt bottoms, may hold in rock but is not good in weed.

Grapnel Anchor: The grapnel anchor is good in rock and is generally onboard as a secondary anchor. It is not good in mud, clay or sand bottoms.

Fisherman Anchor: The traditional looking fisherman anchor is good in rock and weed. Again, this anchor is kept on board as a secondary anchor.

It would be unreasonable to carry onboard all the anchors mentioned. Generally most sailors will have two anchors on board and depending on the area they are sailing, most opt for the Danforth plus either the Plow or the Bruce anchor.

A change in wind direction will alter you anchor's holding ability. If you have an 180 degree wind shift you will drift over your anchor and likely dislodge it.

When you anchor, always make note of the wind direction. If there is a significant shift, you may have to reset your anchor.

You always want to anchor in a sheltered location. More shelter means less stress on the anchor rode and the anchor set. The constant jarring of the boat pulling against the anchor will eventually dislodge even the best set anchor.

Anchor in a bay on the leeward side. If conditions change, you may have to change your location.

When anchored from a single anchor, there is the potential for a 360 degree swing.

If you have 100 feet of anchor rode you could swing out 100 feet from your anchor in any direction. Make sure that the shoreline, shallows, rocks and other boats or obstructions are well outside the area of your anchor swing.

Never assume the boat anchored next to you is also on a single anchor and therefore, the two of you will swing in unison. If the other boat is bow and stern anchored they will have much less swing.

The water depth will vary with the phases of the tide. A 7:1 scope at low tide will not be a 7:1 scope at high tide.

If you have a tidal range of 5 feet and you are anchoring at low tide, you will need to add an extra 35 feet of anchor rode to allow for high tide situations.

Now that you have found your location, determined what anchor to use and how much anchor rode will be needed, made sure that you have allowed enough room for anchor swing, you are now ready to 'drop anchor'.

With the sails stowed, slowly motor to the spot where you wish to lower your anchor. With the boat no longer moving, direct the crew to slowly lower the anchor (do not drop the anchor as the term 'drop anchor' suggests).

When the anchor has reached the bottom, slowly back downwind. (If the wind is strong, you may just want to drift.)

You do not want any tension on the anchor at this point otherwise you will start to drag the anchor making it more difficult to set.

The crew should keep track of how much anchor rode has been let out. (Usually there are measurement markings on the anchor rode.)

At a scope of 5:1, you will want to set the anchor. Have a crew member wrap the anchor rode around a bow cleat and then rev the motor in reverse to dig the flanges of the anchor into the bottom.

If the anchor does not set well, you will have to start from the beginning.

Assuming the anchor sets at a 5:1 scope, continue to drift or motor back slowly until the scope reaches 7:1. (Remember tide conditions.)

Once you have reached the appropriate scope, cleat the anchor rode off to the bow cleat.

If you are using a windlass (winch), you may be unable to cleat the anchor rode. In this situation you will want to rig a snubbing line. A snubbing line runs from a bow cleat to a point on the anchor rode. The tension of the anchor rode is taken up by the snubbing line so that no pressure is placed on the winch.

Once you feel that you are securely anchored, turn off the motor.

You will want to fix your position by eyeballing fixed objects nearby. If you find the position of those objects has changed, you could be dragging your anchor.

If you grab hold of the anchor rode and feel a vibration, you are likely dragging your anchor. This can be corrected by increasing your scope. If this fails, you will have to recover your anchor and re-start the anchoring process.

To raise your anchor, start your motor and slowly approach the anchor site. Be careful to not drive over the anchor location otherwise you could start to tear out fittings on your boat plus snag the propeller etc.

When the anchor has been secured on deck, head out for a day of sailing.