On Sat, 27 Oct 2007 12:59:39 -0400, Rosalie B.
wrote:

hpeer wrote:

As to a GPS anchor watch I note these two incidents:


Someone asked Skip if he kept an anchor watch. Normally once we are
anchored, the anchor watch is my responsibility. Probably because
once Bob is asleep, he's asleep. This is roughly what I do.

First, I have no experience in this, just reading.
If I were close to other boats in a tight anchorage, I probably
couldn't sleep except in ideal conditions without a watch.
No matter how anchor savvy I thought I was.
It seems that if Skip had a GPS alarm to would have avoided the 1/4
mile or so drift he just had.
There's been a bit here recently written on GPS alarms, and some swear
by it.
But here's what I was thinking I might try, and maybe some here have
thought of it or care to comment on it. No GPS dependency.
A fishing sinker, maybe take 6-8 ounces to sit on the bottom
withstanding tides.
Nice if it can be deployed when the anchor is set down, near the
anchor. But the anchor and rode can't foul it.
At the other end is a fishing rod, with reel drag set loose.
Once the line is out where swing won't unspool it further, a line from
an alarm - could be a windup - is attached to the rod line.
Might work. As I said, not for tight anchorages.
Biggest issue would be to set it up so the rode and anchor can't foul
the weight or fishing line keeping the alarm from sounding.
False alarms because of debris snagging the fishing line might happen,
but hey.
Another thought is a sharp stick/rod stuck in the mud just upwind
of the set anchor, and attach the fishing line end to that.
Shallow water, proper suitable muck only.
Won't work if the wind does a 180 and the anchor/rode fouls the stick.
Same problem not getting the weight/fish line fouled.
GPS might be the best, and what I'm talking about used as backup.
Or discarded out of hand.

--Vic

Vic Smith wrote:
On Sat, 27 Oct 2007 12:59:39 -0400, Rosalie B.
wrote:

hpeer wrote:

As to a GPS anchor watch I note these two incidents:

Someone asked Skip if he kept an anchor watch. Normally once we are
anchored, the anchor watch is my responsibility. Probably because
once Bob is asleep, he's asleep. This is roughly what I do.

First, I have no experience in this, just reading.
If I were close to other boats in a tight anchorage, I probably
couldn't sleep except in ideal conditions without a watch.
No matter how anchor savvy I thought I was.

In my younger days I slept so soundly I was terrified of sleeping
through a grounding. On more than one occasion I forced myself to stay
up for a late weather front or tide change. Now the "call of nature"
gets me up several times.

A telltale compass mounted above my bunk is handy if you suspect a shift.

It seems that if Skip had a GPS alarm to would have avoided the 1/4
mile or so drift he just had.
There's been a bit here recently written on GPS alarms, and some swear
by it.
But here's what I was thinking I might try, and maybe some here have
thought of it or care to comment on it. No GPS dependency.
A fishing sinker, maybe take 6-8 ounces to sit on the bottom
withstanding tides.

I used to have a small anchor attached to an old pot that would rattle
around on deck. But there were too many false positives - I decided it
was better to learn how to anchor securely.

Actually, my new GPS is accurate enough that I might start using its alarm.