How does everyone pick an anchorage?

"Scotty" wrote:
I look for a spot where there's no powerboats.


Me too.
Also no French people.

Joe wrote:
Add enough room to swing,deep enough to not be on bottom at low tide,
and shallow enough that a ship would run aground before hitting you.


What about using a stern anchor in a tight spot? Or tying off to shore
to minimize swing?


Doug also be aware anchoring in areas with barge traffic.. try to
stay far enough out of the way, that a tug boat will ground it's props
as an empty can float in 12" of water, up a creek with a bend is the
best on the ICW here. The shallow water runover rule is null and void
in barge areas..I bet there are many small sailboats and trawlers
smashed deep into the mud that no one knows about.


Doesn't do much good to anchor in a shallow spot if the tow is 8x4 and
one of the empties runs you over before the tug's props hit ground.

Anyway, we haven't had any problems finding anchorages out of the
channel; we have had problems finding anchorages with sufficient swing
room or good holding.

In fact that's a subject worth discussion all itself... we anchor in a
number of places with a reputation for "poor holding" and find that we
can get an anchor set very securely. With very soft mud, or worse,
grass/weed over soft mud, the trick is to put get the anchor to sink
in and keep only a light strain on it for some time, while it digs in
deeper. Too hard a pull too soon will just yank it out.

We had one anchorage with difficult holding a few nights back... don't
know what the bottom was but I suspect it might have been like peat,
or perhaps a very very hard clay. The anchor came up with nothing on
it, no grass or weed. Wouldn't sink in or take any bite no matter what
we tried. Finally after literally an hour of light strain on 10:1
scope, it sunk in deep enough to hold well enough.

Anchoring on the rivers here is like anchoring in a tide, except when
the current swings it reverses directly and doesn't flow nearly as
strong.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King