Dumb question about where to tie anchor line to the boat

[NewBoater]

Sorry for the newbie questions fellas but want to make sure I don't look like a dummy rolling out to the beach area for the first time this weekend and using be anchor for the first time.

Mostly what I read online says they get attached to the eye in the front of the boat that you use for trailers. But my anchor locker has a spot that looks like it was made for the rope to be tied to.

So guys let me know where to I tie it off, inside the anchor locker or on the front of the boat (the part used for a trailer).

Here are a few pics..

Thanks!

 

[spaz944]

When I tie up to anchor, I let out enough rope/chain to get the anchor to set and then tie the rope around the nearest cleat, which are the chrome "T" pieces on your boat. Sorry if I dunbed it down too much and I hope this answered your question.

 

[Speedling]

I don't know if it was intended as such but i use that as a fail safe. If for some reason my tie off comes undone that will keep me attached to the anchor, and keep me from losing an anchor!
Also, i let my anchor out what distance is appropriate (i have tied single hitches at 20 and 40 feet for reference) and tie off to a side cleat. I have had to tighten them all down over the years but no problems so far. Even have had enough jolting around to we broke my father in laws rope off the cleat. It will handle a lot of abuse.
Ideally i would say the eye at the fro t of the boat but it is far from ideal to get to in most conditions.
I also use the anchor locker to store the excess line so it isn't dangling around. Last thing you want is a line getting caught somewhere it shouldn't be.

 

[2nazt]

I also tie to a cleat whatever side the boat will drift away from. Just remember to set it far enough to have proper amount of rode out, or it won't hold and you will be resetting and drifting. To much is better than to little in that matter. If you are with a spouse or friend tell them what to do, IE when to drop, when to hold, when to pull etc. I would do a dry run(not dropping in the driveway though) but pulling the anchor out of locker,always make sure no line is wrapped around limbs when you throw or other people, show them how to tie a cleat hitch. A lot happens fast and can be stressful on both parties, just relax and enjoy! Do you have two anchors? As unless you beach or tie up to another boat, IMO you need to to hold in place. I do not beach so I always need two anchors. If you update your profile to show location we can better help give advise on tide, bottom conditions or even be out to help ya!

 

[jawsf16]

I tie off to a figure 9 carabiner clipped to the bow eye, then run slack and tie off to a cleat then have it attached in the anchor locker. Redundancy and keeping the anchor line from the bow reduces oscillations usually.

 

[Gym]

@NewBoater. The only dumb question is the one not asked. Pic 1 is the appropriate place to attach the end of your anchor line to the boat. You will rarely use all of your anchor line so pull out the amount you need and attach it to one of your bow cleats. On choppy or windy days I often tie it to both bow cleats.

 

[Devildog]

I'm kinda of a freak when it comes to anchoring, but better safe than sorry. Just wanted to share some additional anchoring suggestions.

One thing that I did was measure off my anchor line in 10 foot increments. I just used electrical tape or gorilla tape as a marker. That way you know how much line you are are putting out to make sure that you have enough. With a normal fluke anchor, use a ratio of 4:1 when anchoring for the afternoon. So determine your water depth + the distrance from the water line to your boat cleat and multiply it by 4. This is the amount of line that you should put out for best results. If windy, you may want to increase to 5:1. It may seem like a lot of line, but that is what many experts suggest.

Box anchors (slide anchor) seem to be the rage these days in my area and the ratio is 2:1 which helps when you are anchoring around a lot of boats. I just bought one and it has been awesome and very reliable.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[Zeus2013]

I would not trust that bracket. It has sharp edges and if you do not check it, I bet it would eventually cut through the the rope. Had it on my SX190. I use one of the bow cleats.

 

[scokill]

Bow eye.

 

[subysti]

Anchor line needed is about 7 feet of line for each foot of water. 3 feet of water is 21 feet of line to get the proper angle for the anchor. Don't forget to add the height your cleat is above the water. For windy days it should be closer to 10 feet of line per foot of water. You can also add A bow cleat like I did.

 

[2nazt]

Don't forget to have proper length of chain also.

 

[Bennie]

I'm with @Gym on this one. The eyelet in your first picture is what your "bitter end" is attached to. That is the very last piece of rope that would leave your boat if the whole thing went overboard. You should never really have to use this for any kind of pulling needs. I suggest a minimum of 100ft of rope plus at least 4ft of chain (pvc coated...inho) attached to your anchor. (these are absolute minimums.. you may require more for your use/location)

The cleats (the tie off points on the side of the boat) are what you tie off to to after you throw in your anchor and rope/chain. Those cleats are engineered to support the forces that will be applied as the wind/waves/wakes pull you around and put stress on the anchor line.

Most importantly --- great job for asking! We are here to help! I can not tell you how great it is to have a forum like this that we can feel free asking any question at all and never have to fear receiving a rude comment back. Thank you to everyone!!! MikeyL would be proud of us!!

 

[dansshin]

Anchor line needed is about 7 feet of line for each foot of water. 3 feet of water is 21 feet of line to get the proper angle for the anchor.

Wow, I had no ideal about this rule. No wonder why my anchor never holds the boat. I been just giving few extra feet of rope for the depth.... I was ready to buy a heavier anchor to solve my problem but I'll have to try this before deciding. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Sotally Tober]

Box anchor paired with the anchor buddy is the way to go. I typically use two. I simply throw one off the bow and clip (not tie) the end of the anchor buddy to the bow eye . The second gets thrown off the stern and clipped to stern. Boat stays put in crowded party coves.

 

[scokill]

Wow, I had no ideal about this rule. No wonder why my anchor never holds the boat. I been just giving few extra feet of rope for the depth.... I was ready to buy a heavier anchor to solve my problem but I'll have to try this before deciding. Thanks for the tip!

Here is a good article. http://www.boatus.com/boattech/casey/anchors-and-rodes.asp

 

[dansshin]

Here is a good article. http://www.boatus.com/boattech/casey/anchors-and-rodes.asp

Thank you. Very informative article. I think my chain is only ~4' which is far from 20' or 30' he mentioned and getting to 10/1 scope seems to guarantee holding power which means you need a lot of rope or can only drop anchor in shallow waters. Is there general rule about anchor weight by boat size/weight? I think the anchor I have is too light.

 

[Bennie]

I'm a little skeptical of that article -- especially when it comes to our general applications. IMHO

I boat in the Intercoastal Waterway and Gulf of Mexico. We have a high amount of boat traffic, large vessels and sea swells/waves. I use the danforth that fits in the bow of the boat with 4' of chain and a 5-8:1 ratio (depending on location).

When you're in a lake or low wake/wave environment I do not see any use for 20-30' of chain. That would be almost impossible to deploy in our boats. We aren't sailing 40 ketches or huge yachts... just 19-24 jet boats. A danforth anchor (#10-13), 4' of chain (I prefer the PVC coated option to not hurt my baby.. er I mean boat), and 100-200' of rope will more than suffice.

Location of course plays a major role but how many of us are really anchoring in 30' plus water on a continual basis?
I might play in deeper water.. but I anchor at the beach. How about you guys?

 

[NewBoater]

Awesome day out on the water today. The beach was jamming with boats and jet skis and paddle boaters and all kinds of water sports. It was actually very easy beaching it. Just pulled in not even really too fast and it went up and off on the sand and the sand was super soft and no rocks so that was great! Just took the anchor right over to the sand. And pushed the boat back out when we were done. Brought a big lounging tube to tie off to the boat and float and relax. Kids and parents liked it We brought our Daughter and our friends and their 2 kids and everyone had a blast. They loved jumping off the swim platform into the water. That was a big hit! Supposed to rain for a few days so took the boat back to Boatel tonight and fully detailed it. If the weather changes and it's nice we will go get it again on Monday the 4th. Nice to have it out of the salt water and clean for a few days regardless. I enjoy making it shine again. Took a few pics of it cleaned tonight also when I finished and happy to report no damage underneath from the beaching. Super soft sand at our local spot will be nice over the years. The action pics of my daughter and her friends jumping off the platform were the best pics of the day

Side note question. When beaching and the boat is not running how much can you use the radio and not worry the boat won't have enough battery to start up. Can you run it 30 min safely? An hour? Longer? It worries me so I only did like 10 minutes.

Hope everyone has a great and safe rest of the weekend and 4th!

 

[Bennie]

That's great @NewBoater!! Those action shots are the whole reason we have these boats. Glad the family had a blast.

Looks like you have the same nice soft sand we have near us. I did the beaching technique for a year...and it SHOWED!

I highly recommend investing in a Keel Guard over the next month or so. It's just an insurance for your very nice investment (toy).

She looks great btw, nice detail job!

 

[dansshin]

Awesome day out on the water today. The beach was jamming with boats and jet skis and paddle boaters and all kinds of water sports. It was actually very easy beaching it. Just pulled in not even really too fast and it went up and off on the sand and the sand was super soft and no rocks so that was great! Just took the anchor right over to the sand. And pushed the boat back out when we were done. Brought a big lounging tube to tie off to the boat and float and relax. Kids and parents liked it We brought our Daughter and our friends and their 2 kids and everyone had a blast. They loved jumping off the swim platform into the water. That was a big hit! Supposed to rain for a few days so took the boat back to Boatel tonight and fully detailed it. If the weather changes and it's nice we will go get it again on Monday the 4th. Nice to have it out of the salt water and clean for a few days regardless. I enjoy making it shine again. Took a few pics of it cleaned tonight also when I finished and happy to report no damage underneath from the beaching. Super soft sand at our local spot will be nice over the years. The action pics of my daughter and her friends jumping off the platform were the best pics of the day

Side note question. When beaching and the boat is not running how much can you use the radio and not worry the boat won't have enough battery to start up. Can you run it 30 min safely? An hour? Longer? It worries me so I only did like 10 minutes.

Hope everyone has a great and safe rest of the weekend and 4th!

I only have 1 battery and run my radio pretty much the whole day while I'm out there and have not had any issues yet. Engine is off while radio is on greater part of the day as kids are swimming around the boat or we are just eating, laying out and catching sun while relaxing. I did the same thing last year without issues as well. I think having a second battery would be good insurance, just in case.

I believe there is battery gauge in the cockpit you could keep your eye on. Not sure what level would be danger level where engine wouldn't start. Can anyone confirm?