The complete guide to successfully anchoring your boat

Anchoring is a nautical maneuver that consists of immobilizing a boat by different means, notably by dropping the anchor. There are several techniques and rules to respect to successfully anchor.

In this guide, I detail point by point the essential steps for your anchoring to go as smoothly as possible:

• Understanding what anchoring is and the regulations to respect
• Choosing the anchoring zone
• Determining which anchor category is the most suitable
• Adapting the anchoring technique 
• Performing the maneuver
• Weighing anchor when you're finished

Start by understanding anchoring

What is anchoring?

Anchoring refers to all the maneuvers used to immobilize a boat, notably with the help of an anchor. By extension, the word anchoring also designates the place where the anchoring takes place.

You may want to anchor for several reasons:

• Take a break
• Spend the night on board the boat, in nature rather than at the port
• Shelter temporarily from the wind in a cove
• Practice fishing

We distinguish between two variants of anchoring: so-called "free" or "open" anchoring, when it is performed with the equipment on board the boat, which is the type that will interest us in this article, and so-called "fixed" or "mooring" anchoring, when it is performed with publicly accessible equipment like a buoy for example.

We distinguish anchoring and mooring, two terms that are not synonymous. Both words designate the act of immobilizing a boat, but not in the same way. When mooring, you necessarily use a rope, particularly the mooring line, which gives its name to the maneuver, and this on a fixed point, like a quay at the port, a pontoon, or a buoy. This is not the case with anchoring, which can use an anchoring system to immobilize the boat. Only exception: the use of a mooring buoy, which is both anchoring and mooring.

Depending on your destination, anchorages and their nature may be different. Thus, if you appreciate little corners of paradise surrounded by sand and turquoise water, I can only recommend a boat rental in the Caribbean, while if you especially love small Mediterranean coves, it's towards a trip aboard a sailboat in Greece that I would direct you.

The regulations to respect

Not all navigation zones are subject to the same regulations, but for each one, the priority remains identical: respect and protect the marine ecosystem. You must therefore:

• Consult a chart of anchorages in the region where you're sailing, to ensure you are legally authorized to anchor where you want. You can also download a free app for boat navigation, like Navily
• During the day, fly a black ball near your vessel, to signal that your boat is at rest
• At night, light a white light, visible at 360°, to signal your presence to other vessels
• Avoid at all costs any type of marine pollution and favor the use of a rope to moor to a buoy or at the port

Note that certain anchoring prohibitions may exist for your own safety (presence of submarine cables for example) and that certain anchorages are fee-based !

Regarding the maximum durations of anchoring, they are variable depending on the region where you sail. In the Mediterranean for example, it's 72 hours maximum.

Last important point: there are special zones called ZMEL (light mooring and equipment zones) where you can have buoys made available. However, anchoring is prohibited in ZMELs.

Spotting a good anchoring point

Once the theory is assimilated, the first step at sea is to find a good zone to anchor. Once you've verified if anchoring is authorized there, the place you've chosen must meet several criteria:

• The water depth, to be adapted according to your draft
• The tide, which will influence the depth of the water and must be taken into account to avoid running aground
• The nature of the seabed: mud and sand bottoms generally offer better holding for most anchors, except grapnel anchors designed for rocky bottoms
• The available space, especially if other boats are already anchored on site (you must be able to move 360° around your anchor)
• Protection from the wind

If your anchoring zone validates all these conditions, congratulations, you've found the place to perform your maneuver! 

And which anchor category is most suitable for my anchoring?

Now that you know better the location where you want to anchor and especially the nature of its seabed, you can determine which type of anchor is most suitable for your anchoring among the 6 most used anchor categories.

The stock anchor

The stock anchor is the most famous anchor, thanks to its recognizable shape: two arms and two flukes in steel, hook-shaped. It's the traditional anchor, used for a long time by ships.

The stock anchor is less used on modern boats mainly due to its bulkiness and storage difficulty. It offers correct holding on different types of bottom, but other models are often more efficient.

The weighted spoon anchor

The weighted spoon anchor has a shovel or spoon shape. It's called weighted because it generally has an integrated or added weight to improve its penetration.

It's an anchor category recognized for its good holding capacity, particularly in areas with soft bottom, because it can dig into the ground thanks to its concave shape.

The grapnel anchor

The grapnel anchor has a shape distinguished by its 4 branches in steel. It works exactly like a grapnel, hooking onto the targeted surface.

It's an anchor category particularly effective on rocky bottom, regardless of the weather, but less suited to conditions of heavy swell. Thanks to its branches, it hooks onto the relief of the ground. Its holding in sand is generally less effective than in areas with rocky bottom or with seaweed.

The plow anchor

The plow anchor stands out by its pointed shape. Like a plow, it digs into the ground and plows it by burying itself. It can drag progressively before stabilizing, which avoids jerks.

It's a versatile anchor category that offers good holding on most types of bottoms. It presents excellent holding in sand and areas with soft bottom, and its design favors better holding over time, making it appropriate for extended anchoring.

The bruce anchor

The bruce anchor has a shape between the spoon anchor and the grapnel anchor. It has 3 concave branches in steel or blades.

It's designed to dig in quickly in soft bottoms, but it can release more easily than other models during significant direction changes. You can use it in sand, mud, or silt.

The flat anchor

The flat anchor is recognizable by its two points that work like shovels. Once set, the anchor pivots so that one of its shovels mainly digs into the ground.

It's an anchor category commonly used on pleasure boats. Its holding is generally good but can be inferior to that of more modern anchors in certain conditions. It should be used in sand or mud.

Selecting the appropriate anchoring technique

You have now chosen both your anchorage and your anchor, all that's left is to choose among the 5 main anchoring techniques:

Simple anchoring

It's a common anchoring technique, and easy to perform. You only need one anchor that you drop from the bow. Then, you reverse the boat before burying the anchor in the sand or mud, and by doing so, you immobilize the boat.

Simple anchoring is suitable in most situations because it only requires one anchor, or for people who don't yet have much experience in anchoring. 

Forked anchoring

It's an anchoring technique that uses two anchors! The principle is to anchor both anchors from the bow, to form a "V" with the anchors (one to port, and one to starboard). The angle between the two anchors is generally between 60° and 120°, depending on conditions.

Forked mooring can be set up quickly to improve holding when conditions deteriorate. It particularly helps limit the boat's swinging, that is, when the vessel rotates on itself. Forked mooring has limitations in rough weather because the two anchors work alternately rather than simultaneously.

Tandem anchoring

It's an anchoring technique that also uses two anchors, but differently. The idea this time is to align both anchors on the same axis. You prepare a first anchor whose anchor line length is equal to the water depth, and you attach to this anchor a second one using another anchor line. The total anchor line connecting the second anchor to the boat must be long enough to allow a good traction angle (generally 3 to 5 times the depth). Thus, when you weigh the anchors, you can weigh one, while the other is still on the bottom.

Tandem anchoring significantly improves anchoring stability thanks to the alignment of both anchors. Tandem anchoring requires meticulous preparation and good coordination for its implementation. The risk is also the tangling of chains when you weigh anchor.

Fore and aft anchoring

It's an anchoring technique that again uses two anchors. The concept: anchor a main anchor from the bow, and a so-called "secondary" or "stern" anchor from the stern, in the same axis.

Fore and aft anchoring considerably reduces swinging by maintaining the boat in a defined axis, which makes it a good choice when you want to anchor in an area with little clearance, or close to shores, like on a river for example, where your navigation might be narrow depending on the overall length and beam of your vessel. Fore and aft anchoring is not recommended in rough weather because the boat cannot orient freely facing the elements.

Bahamian anchoring

It's an anchoring technique that consists of anchoring a first anchor, backing up the vessel, then anchoring a second one, on the same axis. It thus closely resembles tandem anchoring, with the difference that the two anchors are not connected to the same chain.

Bahamian mooring, with its two anchors, generally improves holding compared to simple anchoring. But without connection between the anchors, it can offer different holding from tandem anchoring depending on conditions.

How to perform the maneuver?

It takes place in 5 steps, ideally with a crew member who takes care of navigation, and a crew member who takes care of the anchor :

1. Equip yourself with closed shoes and gloves for your safety and protection
2. Position your boat head to wind, that is, facing the wind, or facing the current (choose the stronger of the two).
3. Take out your anchor, position it in the bow roller, and let it drop vertically into the water, gently, without throwing it.
4. Let out the anchor line while drifting with the current or wind, backward.
5. Lock the anchor line when you reach the desired length.

There you go, your anchoring is successful! I advise you to monitor it for fifteen minutes to be certain of its holding.

Don't forget to weigh anchor!

Successfully anchoring also means successfully leaving it, therefore weighing anchor. Here again, we break down the maneuver into 5 steps:

1. Equip yourself again, you and your crew member, with your closed shoes and your gloves for your safety
2. If you have an engine, start it up and move forward in bursts, otherwise, position yourself downwind.
3. Gradually take up the slack of the chain using the windlass, until it is "up and down", that is, vertical.
4. Release the anchor and raise it with the windlass
5. Secure the anchor and stow it

Sources used for writing this article:

• [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchorage_(maritime)
• [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem_(ship)
• [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchor
• [4] https://www.boat-ed.com/indiana/studyGuide/Anchoring-Your-Boat/10101602_35254/
• [5] https://www.discoverboating.com/resources/how-to-anchor-a-boat
• [6] https://www.clubmarine.com.au/explore-boating/articles/boat-anchoring-tips.html
• [7] https://www.sailogy.com/en/blog/anchoring-a-boat/
• [8] https://www.ez-dock.com/blog/how-to-anchor-a-boat/