Basic Catamaran Anchoring Tips

Ok, so there have been hundreds of articles and blogs on how to anchor a boat, and in our case a catamaran. So let me start with a little story. Some 14 years ago, when I was living on my boat in Bequia, in the Grenadine Islands, we got to know a lot of the local guys pretty well. One of those guys was a local Rastafarian, who happened to own a bunch of moorings in Admiralty Bay(Bequia). This guy was pretty low key, cool, and kind. But his business was as automatic as you can imagine. Once we had been there for a long time we became accepted in the community. We would routinely hang out, and just watch the world unfold with the locals. It would go like this: here comes a charter cat…. there is a big open space in the anchorage, and that boat would head right for it, drop anchor, and get ready for swimming, eating, etc….except…they always dragged! I remember so well sitting there, this local guy floating 10 feet away from us, saying “Mon, should I go now?” And, we would say “give them another chance!” And, sure enough, they would try again, and drag again. Now the kids are screaming, the fights breaking out, the bad captain behavior beginning to become a full blown meltdown. I would look over at our buddy, and he knew. Time to save the day…. And for $20 a night, dignity was saved.

So why do charterers have such a hard time setting the hook? Three things.

1. If there is a big open space in a crowded anchorage, be suspicious!

2. The conventional wisdom is 5:1 scope to depth. When in doubt, keep dumping it out! Remember, what makes an anchor hold is to get your anchor rode to near horizontal. No anchor, no matter how great, will hold anything on a vertical rode! and

3. Anchor whenever possible in sand, in 8-12 feet of water, and with plenty of room around you. Just look before you leap. Know where you want your boat to sit, and where you have to put your hook down to get the boat to sit where you want it. Hint…that is not the same spot!!!