anchoring and bad weather

J

jacuthbert

New member
I will be going to Lake Powell later this month alone. I have been there once before in the CDory, but I anchored overnight in the bay at Dangling Rope and spent the next night tied to the dock at Rainbow Bridge (I know, I know, you're not supposed to do that...but I didn't know that until the next morning when I read the very tiny sign...)
At any rate, I am one of those who sleeps lightly and awakens every 2 hours or so to sit up and see what's going on.
I have read everything about anchoring that I can find, not only on the CDory site but elsewhere as well. I have found out that I am completely confused and really unsure of my skills. I do not want to die, but I also want to see the sights and do as I wish.
I have been anchoring boats for years, but none as heavy or shaped like the CDory.
I think I can probably just drop the anchor with the windlass off the bow in some wide bay where there is nothing awful that might sink me if the anchor lets loose. I was thinking that after setting the anchor and watching things swing for awhile, I would let out more rode and tie that to one of the cockpit cleats, in case things didn't go well during the night. At least then I wouldn't have to squeeze through the front hatch to let the anchor loose so I could reel it in. I could walk out to the cockpit and let it go from there. (I certainly do not want to walk the plank along the side to get to the cleat on the bow in the middle of the night).
I have read about having a buoy attached to the anchor rode and stern lines and anchoring to the beach...blah, blah, blah...I am a graduate of Cal Poly and their motto is learn by doing. However, I do not wish to learn by dying. If my idea is really stupid (given bad weather) I need to know.
Hopefully, I will be able to cruise Lake Powell to Escalante and back with no incident(s) and perfect weather. My family would really be put out if I got hurt really bad or died though, so if you think you have some advice for me, I am certainly willing to listen.
I am especially interested in what thataway Bob, Casey and Tug have to offer, as I think they will just lay it on me with no reservations. Anybody else who wants to chime in is welcome too.

On another note, today I read about someone getting in a bad way with a tug boat wake. There was a lot of discussion about 90 degrees and 45 degrees and a lot of technical talk and I realized I should have really payed closer attention in geometry class. I learned to slow down in big waves on Lake Powell in 1986. Very scary time for me and all aboard. I found out I really do believe in God. Since then I have always approached waves and wakes at a sort of angle that felt comfortable given the size of the wave. The bigger the wave, the closer I turn to perpendicular to it. I always slow down, but keep enough momentum so the wave isn't running the show. Since those days on Powell when the waves were washing over the bow, and I was freezing to death with heavy winds and ice flakes, slowing down has seemed most prudent. I am interested in any advice you can give me to help me stay afloat and out of trouble in my CDory 25.
I thank you all for being there. You are a great comfort to me.
Amanda
 
While I am not Bob, or any of the other experts, I do know that anchoring can be very concerning. And I also know if you power set it with at least 5:1 scope or even a bit more (7:1) with a questionable bottom, it isn't going anywhere chances are. That is of course if you have a good anchor with the right amount of chain.

I frequently anchor in PWS and other places and I have only lost grip on the bottom a couple of times - and it was in good weather because I got a bit lazy. Of course as it happens it was the middle of the night during some gusts, rain, and the wrong tide that came in and the lesson was learned to set it right all the time.
 
If you set the anchor well, there's very little chance it will come loose in the middle of the night in Lake Powell unless there's really high winds (and such a storm would probably wake you up). However you can do better than that - most GPS units have an alarm you can set that will go off if the boat moves more than a certain distance. Use that and if your anchor drags, the GPS will let you know.

Finally, if you're going to sleep and you're worried that good storms might pop up, don't tied the anchor off at a cleat on the stern - use a cleat near the bow. In big waves, that will hold to bow into the wind and make for a safer night at anchor. Tying off at cleat that is reachable from the cockpit, can result in swamping the boat.
 
Amanda,

One of the first things to consider in the anchoring process is "where" to anchor.

If you choose a nice, sheltered spot (small cove or little bay) that doesn't have a lot of exposed area (...called 'Reach) you'll already be off to a good start. And find that "perfect" spot early enough in the afternoon so you have plenty of daylight to get settled, then drop your anchor, set it, and see how it seems to hold for an hour or so while you fix dinner, have a toddie or whatever.

As you're cruising, notice where other boaters choose to anchor - you can learn from them. Look at your charts and you can probably find areas that look promising.

I don't remember if Pohaku has radar or not. If not, think about laying-in a couple of waypoints if there are noteworthy hazards near your anchoring locale. If you have to "relocate" in the dark, having a couple nearby waypoints highlighting places to avoid can really make it much less stressful. (And have a good spotlight - see my recent C-Brat thread on the subject.)

As you're poking along and exploring on Lake Powell you will see countless "Perfect" anchorages. Make note of their locations (I like to 'waypoint favorite anchor sites) so you can easily return to them. This works well on a given trip, but with changing lake levels what was a great site on a previous trip may be completely gone now. Dang.

And if worse comes to worse, it's the middle of the night an you've got to "relocate" knowing where the nearest floating porta-potty dump station is located can be a good emergency tie-up location. The NPS probably wouldn't like it too much, but in a critical situation they offer a decent alternative. (But try to tie-up on the upwind side!)

Relax.
Just Go Do It.
You'll Have a Ball.

Casey
 
The one thing that gives me cause with your post is
"tie that to one of the cockpit cleats
Click to expand...

You should never anchor your boat by the tail. always anchor by the bow. I see it done from time to time and just shake my head in amazement. in flat calm water with no tide or wind for lunch you can get away with it, but do not anchor this way for the night. The square stern of a boat has much more drag area then the bow. if you are going to lessen strain on the anchor then a bow tie would be much better. by stern tying you increase the chance of dragging anchor.
 
Amanda,

Good points so far. You have a way to tell the depth now, and your anchor rode is marked in segments. I will help to know which direction the prevailing weather will come from in order to find a sheltered location. Find your little piece of heaven, and make sure that you have about 10 times the depth to the nearest hazard. Say your depth is 15 feet. You need to be no closer that 150 from any shore or rocky outcrop. Lower your anchor to the bottom, and then slowly back away in the direction opposite the prevailing weather. As you back, pay out your rode, until you have 75 to 90 feet of rode out. Slowly reverse until you feel or see the bow visibly dip and the anchor line tighten. Once that happens, give some more reverse power, a little at a time, noting if the boat is actually moving in reverse or just tugging on the line and the bow is still pulled down. Release the reverse, and see the bow come back up, the line slack and the boat move forward slightly. your hook is set. Set your anchor alarm on the GPS, and alow for the 75 - 90 feet swing, but less that the 150 feet to the rocks. Now for the warm tea, and sleep tight. And don't forget, more than half of us are jealous that your are spending boat time at Powell and we are working :roll:

It might help to know what anchor you have, and what length of chain too. the more chain, the better hold on the bottom you will have.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

IMGP2460.thumb.jpg
 
Ditto...NEVER tie your anchor rode to anything but a bow cleat. Make sure you have a good amount of chain on your anchor before line. The chain will help dig the anchor into the ground and serves as a catenary (arc to help absorb shock when the wind blows). 7:1 is a safe rule of thumb - for every foot of water depth put out 7 feet of rode. Now, there are times when this is not possible and doing so creates more hazzards. You just have to learn with practice how and where you anchor. Choose the most protected spot you can ideally on the lee side of the weather if possible (i.e. if the wind is out of the north, anchor on the south side of the island for example so the island serves as a shield).

When you drop your anchor and let out your desired rode length, take it OFF the windlass and tie it securely to a cleat. The cleat should be taking all the load, the windlass should only ever lift it up and down. Once secured to the cleat, hold the line in your hands, you will feel it if it's skipping on the bottom or if it's dug in good. Once it appears secure, you can back down with your engine a bit (like setting a hook when you get a fish bite). Don't crank it, but just a little tug to make sure your stopped. Then take some time to relax and take some visual references of your position. Use these references to see if you have moved over a period of time indicating a bad anchor set.

If you see you are drifting, repeat the above process.

When it comes time to leave if your anchor is really dug in, pull in all the rode you can with the windlass, tie it to the cleat again, and use engine power to break it free before returning it to the windlass to continue the lift.

Never go on the water with weather data less than 6 hours old. Then when you get there, put on the weather station and listen for a few minutes.
 
Amanda,

All good advice from folks who are undoubtably more experienced than me.

One thing for Lake Powell I would stress is to really keep your eye out for underwater hazards (rocks!) that are always changing with lake levels.

Also, if you watch the shape of the bottom on your depth finder you will often see that what might appear to be a nice, open bay or cove may have a rough bottom that may be very rocky, or smoothly rounded shapes indicative of slick rock/ sandstone. When you see a relatively flat bottom you've probably got some good mud to set your anchor.

Lastly, as you seem to be very much aware, the wind on Powell is the real wild card, especially in the spring and again late summer monsoon. Particularly at this time of year it is very blustery and all over the compass. You may set anchor expecting wind out of the west but get mostly everything else. It has been an unusually windy spring this year, but it's also about time for it to settle down. I hope this is helpful, but also realize I'm probably preaching to the choir!

We anchor out all the time because it is just easier than tying down to shore, I'm on the lake by myself a lot and I almost always anchor out when I'm on my own.

We're hoping to be back on the lake the last half of May so maybe will see you up there! If we're in the slip you will find us on A-dock (Wahweap).

Hope you have a wonderful time on Powell!

Dalton
 
Just our personal preference, but we never anchor out on Lake Powell. Find a sandy shore off of the main channel, run the bow onto the sand, and set the anchor 20' to 30' up the bank. We enjoy walking the beaches and ridges. I have recovered, after the lake receded, several anchors that were stuck and lost by other boaters. Much of the lake bottom is a boulder pile, not a mud flat.

Brent
 
You people are amazing!
I have been searching the internet, reading books and generally quizing everybody I know about anchoring and in a few short and concise threads you guys have given all the information I need (and I might add in very understandable terms). Thank you a thousand times. I will heed all of your good advice:
Especially finding a good sheltered spot, letting out significant rode, never cleat to the cockpit, and do all this well in advance of evening to make sure things are going to stick. When in doubt, beach the boat and drag the anchor onto the shore!
Muchas Gracias my Capitans!!!
Amanda
 
The guys at Starcraft in Oregon set up my anchor situation.
I have a "plow" anchor (I think) with a fancy windlass and I told them to set me up with something that I could use in the ocean. I don't know how long the chain is (it seems quite long). I know I have 150' of rope. The windlass is operated from the pilot chair. I have used it twice. The first time I did not cleat it at all and the next morning I had to use the little clutch tool to tighten things up until the machine would engage the rope and pull it up. The second time I cleated it to the bow cleat and I had no difficulties.
This trip to Powell has got me a little worried (actually I am having nightmares) because I have spent many days on Powell, actually a month one time, and I know that things can get ugly quickly. It will be my first time totally alone on the lake. I have people at home who I will communicate with daily, telling them my position and destination for the day. That won't help me alot if things go bad. I guess it is just that I am slightly afraid but intrigued and yearning to live my life fully.
Thank you for your interest.
Amanda
 
Powell is a delightful place to anchor. See if you can hook up with "hooked on Powell"--he now owns our ex C Dory 25 and really knows the lake! We usually put the stern on the beach, or at least in shoal water, and step off the stern to the beach--and we carry two light weight Guardian or danforth type of anchors for the sandy shore.

We have drug anchor once at Powell, and probably have spent over 60 days at anchor there over the years. That specific time, we just moved the boat a few feet, and got better protection and reset the anchor.

There are lots of very protected places. We perticularly like Oak Creek Canyon. The bottom is good holding, the shores are gentle and the hiking good!

I'll post more about technique--but you have the idea!
 
We like Oak Creek Canyon as well.

Another favorite: the big bends near the end of navigable water in upper Escalante Canyon. As you head up Escalante, you'll notice when the depth starts to be consistent and less than 50? feet or so, and the bottom is really flat. As in many of the canyons, that flat bottom is silt - great for anchoring. Sometimes you can see that flat bottom at 100 feet or more. When you can see it getting shallower and shallower on the fishfinder, even if you can't see through the water, you know you're approaching the end of navigable water. Up past the three-roof ruins there are a couple of big wide bends with tall cliffs overhead. Water depth is often 30-40 or less, and the bottom's flat as a board, with lots of swing room.

Anchor as others have described, with 4:1 scope or more, tug on it a bit to set, and give it a bit more power and watch and feel to check that you aren't dragging. If you're not single-handing, have one person on the bow feeling the rode as you apply some power - any dragging will be easy to detect by the vibration. Make sure that at the end of your swing on the anchor you're still in at least 10 feet or so, and away from the rocks and shallows, and you should be quite safe for the night.

We've sat through 45-knot spring winds there, swinging back and forth a lot, but without a bit of anchor dragging.

The one place we did drag in 30+ knot winds at Powell was in a fairly open area in Face Canyon. The bottom was probably sand that wasn't as solid as the silt that develops in more protected places further up in the canyons. Fortunately it was still afternoon, and we moved to a better anchorage.

It seems to us that the challenge at Powell is finding that good solid silt bottom, but in a place wide enough to have sufficient swing room. Sometimes we have to try two or three places to find one we can tell is going to be secure. Sometimes in the skinnier ends of canyons we use two anchors, fore and aft. It's a good bit fussier to get properly anchored, but sometimes it's the only solution. Our stern anchor is a Fortress, light and easy to deploy, and sets wonderfully in silt.

Every year is different, with different water depths, and different silt depths as well.
 
Thank you! Super advice. I will look into Oak Creek Canyon and anchoring to shore by the stern.
I do plan to explore Escalante, so I will look at anchoring there one night as well.
Thanks again for your willingness to help me.
Amanda
 
Amanda said: " I have people at home who I will communicate with daily, telling them my position and destination for the day."

You might think about getting a SPOT device. It will put your position out hourly/daily or whatever you set it to (I think). People can see where you go and some models have a "911" button that sends a distress signal.

Charlie
 
Another way to anchor at Lake Powell is like the houseboats do it. Put your bow on a sandy beach. Then carry two anchors on to the beach at about 45 degrees to each stern cleat. Use a small camp shovel to dig holes and bury the anchors securely. Then tie the anchor lines to each stern cleat.

I anchored this way in Oak canyon and we had a big black cloud come over us. It started raining and blowing way over 30 knots. We did not have any significant waves since we were in a protected area but the boat was getting sand blasted and pounded by the gusts. The upwind anchor line was tight as a board and the downwind side drooped in the gusts. It lasted for about an hour and then moved on.

If I had only put out a bow anchor I am sure we would have been blown side to the shore. Probably would not have hurt anything but might have been bumping the boat on the shore during the gusts.

Hope you have a great time.

Steve
 
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