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02-25-2016, 10:31 AM
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#1
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Veteran Member
City: Austin
Vessel Name: S/V Frimi
Vessel Model: West Wight Potter
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 38
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Anchoring along heavily traveled waterways
Suppose you are traveling down a river, like the Mississippi, its late and you want to stop for the night, just before sunset you happen upon an inlet that's deep enough to anchor in but shoals quickly.
How does one anchor so that when a large, fast moving tow comes by you don't end up aground in the middle of the night or worse?
Thanks.
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02-25-2016, 10:40 AM
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#2
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Guru
City: Carefree, Arizona
Vessel Name: sunchaser V
Vessel Model: DeFever 48 (sold)
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 10,186
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Don't anchor in the channel. There are safe havens in so many places.
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02-25-2016, 10:47 AM
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#3
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Scraping Paint
City: Full-time onboard
Vessel Model: Trawler
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 929
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Places like the Mississippi River have wing dams along the sides as a way to self-dredge. Those dams often form sections that are protected from commercial traffic and current. We also always left our AIS running at night to warn tows where we were. There are a few good intersections and areas where there are natural anchorages too. It's quite a bad idea to just anchor along the edge of one of these rivers. Tows do bank their loads when they need to for a variety of reasons.
Because AIS is so common and/or required among commercial traffic on the major rivers now, they don't talk by radio as much. So the warnings to recreational traffic have gone away. For that reason, I think an AIS transponder is a required piece of equipment for cruising along these rivers today.
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02-25-2016, 12:08 PM
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#4
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Guru
City: Fort Myers, FL... Summers in the Great Lakes
Vessel Name: Slow Hand
Vessel Model: Cherubini Independence 45
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 12,835
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tbodine88
Suppose you are traveling down a river, like the Mississippi, its late and you want to stop for the night, just before sunset you happen upon an inlet that's deep enough to anchor in but shoals quickly.
How does one anchor so that when a large, fast moving tow comes by you don't end up aground in the middle of the night or worse?
Thanks.
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I have no experience with the Mississippi river, but did pretty much that in the St Lucie canal on the Okeechobee waterway. Anchored in a feeder canal and used a stern anchor to keep me out of the waterway. Simply I felt it was important to be completely in the feeder canal so that any traffic close to the shoreline couldn't suck me into the waterway. Think anchoring in the waterway is a bad idea.
Ted
__________________
Blog: mvslowhand.com
I'm tired of fast moves, I've got a slow groove, on my mind.....
I want to spend some time, Not come and go in a heated rush.....
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02-25-2016, 12:18 PM
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#5
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Guru
City: Gulf Shores, Ala.
Vessel Name: Ulysses
Vessel Model: Romsdal 1963
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 878
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I may be reading your question different from the others that have posted replies so far. Am I to assume you have anchored out of the main channel and in an inlet ? Your worry is that a tow may suck the water out from under your boat when it passes. If that is your concern don't worry too much. Set your anchor properly, leave on your anchor lights and a few deck lights and even though you may get some water movement out from under you it will come right back.
As mentioned above, the Miss. does have dikes often laid at 90 degree angles to the shore at various heights to control channel depths, some of these are over a half mile long. I would tend to stay away from these at all costs unless you are an accomplished and knowlegable river pilot. These dikes may be visible one day and under a few feet of water the next. They all create some turbulence when near.
AIS is a good thing and radios are still monitored by the commercial river boats.
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02-25-2016, 01:20 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
City: Memphis
Vessel Name: Ivory Lady
Vessel Model: 46 Jefferson
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 275
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We've anchored on the side of the river on both the Ohio and MS due to lack of coves or inlets like you generally find on the Tennessee. On those trips, we would look for wide a wide section of the river where we could pull in behind the wing dams and the water was sufficiently deep. There aren't many good places to drop anchor, so we learned that even if there is a couple more hours of daylight, stop if you find a good one. As for wakes from the tows, by the time they get to you, they aren't that bad, just a little rocking.
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02-25-2016, 02:06 PM
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#7
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Guru
City: Cape May, NJ
Vessel Name: Irish Lady
Vessel Model: Monk 36
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 4,966
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Stop earlier in a safe spot.
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02-25-2016, 06:43 PM
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#8
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Guru
City: Gulf Shores, Ala.
Vessel Name: Ulysses
Vessel Model: Romsdal 1963
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 878
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If you are unable to find an inlet/outlet outside of the river, anchor somewhere that the commercial traffic is not going to want to be near. You will note that descending vessels will tend to take up often the whole river coming around bends and usually end up on the bend side of the river. An ascending vessel will come up below the points where the current is less. Don't get too close to the points but you can usually find a safe place below the point about where the bar starts in fairly weak current. Leave some deck lights on.
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02-29-2016, 08:31 PM
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#9
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Guru
City: Punta Gorda, fl
Vessel Name: Escapade
Vessel Model: Nordic Tug 37 2002
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 1,231
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Quote:
Originally Posted by High Wire
Stop earlier in a safe spot.
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Plan your trip each day. Then work your plan. Trouble seldom likes to follow a well thought out plan.
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02-29-2016, 08:40 PM
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#10
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Master and Commander
City: Vallejo CA
Vessel Name: Carquinez Coot
Vessel Model: penultimate Seahorse Marine Coot hull #6
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 12,559
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Don't anchor in the navigable channel, and show cabin lights in addition to the anchor light.
Yes, don't show running lights while anchored.
__________________
Kar-KEEN-ez Koot
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03-01-2016, 06:27 AM
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#11
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Guru
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 22,553
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"and show cabin lights in addition to the anchor light.
Yes , now that the price has dropped to cheap a bunch of lawn lights with a solar top work well. Ring the boat with them!
Replacing the stock batt with a better one will keep them lit all night.
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03-01-2016, 07:00 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
City: Green Turtle Cay/Western NC
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 182
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Talk to the tows! Tell the first one by that you are stopping for the night and ask them to pass it on. Be sure to light the boat up and turn the running lights off!
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03-01-2016, 07:48 AM
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#13
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Guru
City: Venice Louisiana
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 1,097
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Personally, I wouldnt anchor behind a wing dam unless I had to. I would rather anchor in a long straight stretch, to the side as far as possible out of the channell. With lots of lights. About the only guys that wont slow down for you, on the lower Miss, are the river pilots. But, they inherited the river from there great grandfathers and are not required to.
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03-01-2016, 11:49 AM
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#14
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Guru
City: Gulf Shores, Ala.
Vessel Name: Ulysses
Vessel Model: Romsdal 1963
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 878
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Kulas44: I wish I could find something at fault in your statement in regards to River Pilots. You are absolutely correct I know and trained one that is at least third generation.
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03-01-2016, 06:53 PM
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#15
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Guru
City: Venice Louisiana
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 1,097
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I have spent lots of time on the lower Miss. and have never seen them slow down, or answer a call to do so. Supply boat capts will slow if they can see you and definitely will if you call them.
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03-01-2016, 06:58 PM
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#16
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Guru
City: Gulf Shores, Ala.
Vessel Name: Ulysses
Vessel Model: Romsdal 1963
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 878
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Yep, I spent about 10 years in the Harbor. Was the last pilot on the Steamer President. If you have been there that long.
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03-01-2016, 07:11 PM
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#17
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Guru
City: UMR MM283
Vessel Name: Northern Lights II
Vessel Model: Bayliner 3870
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,357
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I've anchored many places along the upper Mississippi and the Illinois rivers and have been passed by many tows on both and have never had any problems with wakes from tows. I've been rocked by more pontoon boats but they leave at dark.
Sent from my iPad using Trawler Forum
__________________
Ron on Northern Lights II
I don't like making plans for the day because the word "premeditated" gets thrown around in the courtroom.
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03-03-2016, 11:06 PM
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#18
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Guru
City: New Orleans
Vessel Name: Panache
Vessel Model: Viking 43 Double Cabin '76
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,253
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LMAO kulas &ulysses !! Guess you have to be here ......
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