Average anchoring depth

7' to 15 'is ideal for me but sometimes you have to take what you can find. Currently anchored in 23 foot with a nice sand bottom.

3' draft

5'-12' is typical and I tend to anchor on the shallow side of that.

I left town during an eclipse phase last summer that also had us at low tide on a state park buoy. Went aground shortly after grabbing the buoy at low water, soft bottom. Next morning before I left while still ebbing, I moved off the buoy before we went in the sand again and dropped the pick further out. This was near Deception Pass at Hope Is. WA. I normally try to keep at least a fathom under me, but sometimes its less. Around here there isn't much need to anchor deep usually. I am all chain but there isn't that much so if I had to go deep I would have to shackle on a length of rope rode to the end of the chain. Not been necessary so far though.

Down here I normally have to anchor in shallow water to hide from the southwesterly swell. On The relatively straight local north/south coastline that means tucking in close to any westerly outcrop.

Usually this means about 8 - 10 feet of water with my 4 foot draft and a 4 foot tide.


I've only had to anchor in deep water once when having mechanical issues while crossing the gulf in rough seas on a windless day. It got me pointed the right direction so the boat wasn't rolling in the short duration 10 foot swell while trying to sort out the problem.

BandB said:

Wifey B: Bahamas 6'. Alaska 80'.

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24 or 6 to 4 works for me

Around Moreton Bay and north along the Queensland coast I would normally be in 10-15 ft of water , at low tide. Often the wind drops and backs at anything up to 180° during the night, so you need enough depth for that swing.

Along the Great Barrier Reef it varies. I look for shallow sandy bottoms, but more often than not there aren't any on the preferred side of the individual reefs. Then its 50-80 ft most commonly, but occasionally deeper. For most of the season the SE trade winds are blowing, and its best to be sheltered from them at anchor. But tidal currents are generally NE-SW, so dodging both wind and current can be problematic.

It has been a long time since I've been to Avalon/Catalina off the Southern California coast. But I remember not being able to grab a mooring ball in the harbor. The harbor wasn't so deep but anchoring wasn't allowed, so we had to go just outside the harbor where the depth dropped off immediately to 100+ feet, and dropped very quickly.

Perhaps one of you California guys knows this spot?

In theory, max depth, total number of feet divided by 3.

makobuilders said:

It has been a long time since I've been to Avalon/Catalina off the Southern California coast. But I remember not being able to grab a mooring ball in the harbor. The harbor wasn't so deep but anchoring wasn't allowed, so we had to go just outside the harbor where the depth dropped off immediately to 100+ feet, and dropped very quickly.

Perhaps one of you California guys knows this spot?

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Anchoring just outside Avalon is as you describe. It’s 80 to 90 ft min, and 100 ft plus in most areas. It can be a tough place to anchor due to boat wakes, and sometimes shifting winds. If a Santa Ana, East kicks up unexpectedly or higher than predicted, it can get very bad. Google the storm about 5 years ago when a Santa Ana hit much harder than expected. Two people were killed including a Harbor Patrolman if I remember correctly. I don’t have time to search for the article right now, but the long version written by an experienced boater is worth reading. The boats involved were on balls, not anchored however the article conveys the wind factor.

Thirty feet

BeeJay said:

24 or 6 to 4 works for me

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Only when anchoring near Chicago!

3 categories for me: cat 1: No more than 200 feet. Deeper than that, and too much hassle with too many tanks. Usually when hooked at wrecks, we have to dive them to get the anchor off. Cat 2: from 60 to 100 feet deep in sand. this gets us good seats at the Ft Lauderdale air/sea show. Cat 3: for sleeping/overnites; about 10' +/- 5 feet.

Lepke said:

Depends on the tide. In the PNW and Alaska, some places I go have 40' or more tides. So I have to know the state of the tide and pick a place deep enough for the boat draft at the lowest tide, and enough chain out to have a proper scope at high tide. If I use a stern anchor then I have to figure that in, too. In Alaska the reporting tide stations are far apart and too few. Often the the tide where I want to anchor is substantially different by many feet than the closest tide station.

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Where is it 40'?

Gosh, I'd be aground in many of these anchorages.

And I thought the Bay of Fundy was bad.

No tides in the Great Lakes. We like to dive in, so I usually shoot for around 10 feet so I don't need to worry about hitting bottom (with my head, not the boat). The water is crystal clear so I can see any odd boulder that might be lurking.

BD

Bigsfish said:

And I thought the Bay of Fundy was bad.

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The Bay of Fundy is probably the big tide kahuna in North America, but in Ketchikan and Prince Rupert for example, 20- 25 ft tides are not uncommon. This is more than double Bellingham's range, where I live. Anchoring depth, scope and swing decisions have to address the state of the tide when you anchor and what you're in for at low water.

BeeJay said:

24 or 6 to 4 works for me

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Wifey B: Only in Chicago.

BandB said:

Wifey B: Only in Chicago.

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You must have the same sense of humour as Moonfish. (it made me smile)

I think I'm going to have to learn some restraint before I hit the "post" key. (as my wise Mum would remind me .....think it, but don't say it )

Sadly I remember making a smart ass comment on one of Bruce's posts and have felt bad since - sorry Mr Palmer.

BeeJay said:

You must have the same sense of humour as Moonfish. (it made me smile)

I think I'm going to have to learn some restraint before I hit the "post" key. (as my wise Mum would remind me .....think it, but don't say it )

Sadly I remember making a smart ass comment on one of Bruce's posts and have felt bad since - sorry Mr Palmer.

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Wifey B: Proud of Moonfish beating me to it.

We have to be able to laugh.

BandB said:

Wifey B: Proud of Moonfish beating me to it.

We have to be able to laugh.

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The alternative to laughing is either crying or standing there looking like you do not understand what as said or perhaps the "her-ump" aka "I dont care"

Ken E. said:

The Bay of Fundy is probably the big tide kahuna in North America...

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Worlds largest tides...up to 50'

Here in the Pacific Northwest, I think my shallowest anchorage has been 15 feet at mean low tide, deepest has been about 85 feet, ditto. On the other hand, I don’t know anyone using a 7/1 scope!

Spinner said:

Here in the Pacific Northwest, I think my shallowest anchorage has been 15 feet at mean low tide, deepest has been about 85 feet, ditto. On the other hand, I don’t know anyone using a 7/1 scope!

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I've thought about it when it starts blowing! I have used 5:1 quite a bit when there are >15kt forecasted. I have a forfjord anchor that just seems to perform better with greater scope.

The most rode I have ever carried was 425 feet. At that time, I had 100 feet of chain. 425/7 is about 61 feet, minus 6 feet from bow to water, and the maximum highwater depth would only be 55 feet. On the other hand, 5/1 scope would be about 85, minus 6 feet height from the bow, for a maximum highwater depth of 79 feet.

My current ground tackle set is 300 feet of chain plus a 33 kg Spade anchor. It holds well in 20 knot winds at 3/1 (so far!).

Wifey B: Sorry, but this thread keeps reminding me of Abraham Lincoln saying "A Man's Legs Must be Long Enough to Reach the Ground." So, I hypothesize we must anchor at a depth adequate to reach the bottom.

Brilliant!!

MurrayM said:

Worlds largest tides...up to 50'

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Hmmm, better start hunting a float dock.

jleonard said:

8 to 15 feet average in the eastern LI Sound area where I normally boat.

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Same for Central LIS on the CT side.

In the eastern Caribbean we usually anchored in 35 feet. Frequently 45 feet. Any shallower and we were at risk of a wind shift putting us on beach, security issues with locals swimming from shore, or most dangerous, charter boats hugging the shore for shallow water and not anchoring well so that they frequently dragged.