Anchor watch with GPS
 

Does anybody know of a GPS with improved features for anchor watch?. I am
currently using a Garmin 128, which has the limitation that the center of
the circle being monitored cannot be manually positionned at will, but will
coincide with the position of the boat at the time the anchor watch
function is triggered.. As ideally, the center of the circle should be on
the anchor position, it is then desirable to think of triggering the anchor
watch function as the anchor is dropped...which is easily neglected or
forgotten!

Thanks in advance,

Robert

Robert Seynaeve wrote:
Does anybody know of a GPS with improved features for anchor watch?. I am
currently using a Garmin 128, which has the limitation that the center of
the circle being monitored cannot be manually positionned at will, but will
coincide with the position of the boat at the time the anchor watch
function is triggered.. As ideally, the center of the circle should be on
the anchor position, it is then desirable to think of triggering the anchor
watch function as the anchor is dropped...which is easily neglected or
forgotten!

Thanks in advance,

Robert



Sorry to be naive Robert but I would suggest the opposite (as I usually
do:-))

You do want to be told when the wind or tide etc swing you round the
other way, that's when the anchor is most likely to pop out.

Once you're sure the anchor has reset itself etc then you can reset the
anchor watch for the new position & relax.

K

Been busy today so I'll keep the Krause lie of the day short.

This lying simpleton, after it became clear he was losing a thread
where he was displaying his usual lack of patriotism much less gratitude
for the brave men & women out there risking their
everything, to keep the likes of him safe, he just reverts to type.

But seriously can you imagine this uneducated union thug now claims he
is reviewing universities!!! & wait for it he poo poos the engineering
course!!! this from a lying uneducated union thug who couldn't use a
toaster without a union authorised electrician in attendance.

I've included just one of the followup responses but it was such a bald
faced lie it even embarrassed the rejoinders:-)



I have visited West Point, the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy and
the sub training facility at Groton. Some years ago, I actually did look
over descriptions of some of the course material at Annapolis and the
c.v.'s of some of the faculty. I'm sure the engineering course material
is fairly rigorous, though it is more "trade-oriented" and did not look
up to MIT or CalTech standards. I mean, if your goal is to be an
aeronautical engineer, you're going to get better training at MIT or
CalTech or at any of a large number of other engineering schools. I
thought the faculty academic credentials no better than what is found at
a typical smaller four year public university. The military academies
turn out military officers with an education, not highly educated
military officers. But that is their purpose, eh?



--



Holy molly, grandma, put on your high boots.


Harry Krause, admitted graduate in the humanities with a degree in
English
is hereby qualified to critique the engineering curriculum of not
only West
Point, but also that of the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy and
compare it to that of MIT and CalTech.


The above paragraph is a classic.


You missed your calling Harry.

Sorry to be naive Robert but I would suggest the opposite (as I usually
do:-))

You do want to be told when the wind or tide etc swing you round the
other way, that's when the anchor is most likely to pop out.

Once you're sure the anchor has reset itself etc then you can reset the
anchor watch for the new position & relax.


To have to reset the anchor watch at every wind or tide shift is what I
want to avoid. I want the anchor watch to call me only if the anchor drags.
If I can position the center of the circle to were to the anchor is, the
anchor watch will call me only when the anchor actually drags.

On Fri, 18 Mar 2005 21:42:19 +1100, "K. Smith"
wrote:

Been busy today so I'll keep the Krause lie of the day short.

==========================

Not short enough.

Let's stick to boats.

I set mine just as I drop the anchor, and figure that's close enough to
the center of the circle. I set the radius at a little more than the
length of the rode I let out and figure that plus the angle factor gives
me a little wiggle room, but will let me know soon enough if I move. I
also got a SPADE anchor that has only dragged once in four years of
cruising.

Capt. Jeff

Tamaroak wrote:
I set mine just as I drop the anchor, and figure that's close enough to
the center of the circle. I set the radius at a little more than the
length of the rode I let out and figure that plus the angle factor gives
me a little wiggle room, but will let me know soon enough if I move. I
also got a SPADE anchor that has only dragged once in four years of
cruising.


That's a good solution.

Personally, I don't trust gadgets like that and usually awaken every 2 ~
3 hours to look around when we're anchored out.

Our old old GPS has a feature where you can set an "alarm zone" and that
is what I'd use, but your method sounds simpler. One of these days we're
going to update electronics...

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

To have to reset the anchor watch at every wind or tide shift is what
I
want to avoid. I want the anchor watch to call me only if the anchor
drags.
If I can position the center of the circle to were to the anchor is,
the
anchor watch will call me only when the anchor actually drags.

**********

Why get so complex?

A properly set anchor will typically hold against minor shifts in the
wind. If current swings you around 180 degrees, the anchor may pull
free for a second before resetting but in most situations should not
drag.

Consider setting a depth alarm on your sounder. Pick numbers a couple
of feet less than you will have at the lowest point in your intended
anchorage cirlce at the lowest tide, and a few feet deeper than you
will experience at the predicted high. Assuming you are going to anchor
in the shelter of an island or a bay, (rather than in the middle of an
undersea plateau), depths should vary quickly enough outside the
intended circle to alert you that you are moving.

Another low tech solution is to drink lots of liquid before retiring.
If you don't post an anchor watch, (and who really does 99% of the
time?), the rule is that anybody getting up during the night to visit
the head is also required to verify the the anchor continues to hold
and the boat is not drifting. :-).

Indeed, this is what I do part of the time. But it would be nice to be able
to move the center of the circle. In particular, it could be interesting to
offset the center, when one wants to be warned of a wind/ tide reversal for
example.


"Tamaroak" ha scritto nel messaggio
...
I set mine just as I drop the anchor, and figure that's close enough to
the center of the circle. I set the radius at a little more than the
length of the rode I let out and figure that plus the angle factor gives
me a little wiggle room, but will let me know soon enough if I move. I
also got a SPADE anchor that has only dragged once in four years of
cruising.

Capt. Jeff

Consider setting a depth alarm on your sounder. Pick numbers a couple
of feet less than you will have at the lowest point in your intended
anchorage cirlce at the lowest tide, and a few feet deeper than you
will experience at the predicted high. Assuming you are going to anchor
in the shelter of an island or a bay, (rather than in the middle of an
undersea plateau), depths should vary quickly enough outside the
intended circle to alert you that you are moving.

Yes, this is an excellent method too, but not for all bottom profiles. The
GPS covers the other cases well

Our old old GPS has a feature where you can set an "alarm zone" and that
is what I'd use, but your method sounds simpler. One of these days we're
going to update electronics...

Fresh Breezes- Doug King


The "alarm zone" pretty much correspond to the "anchor watch". All I would
like to find is a GPS where the alarm zone can have the shape and the
position I want.