Anchor alarm question

[backinblue]

No. My phone is a phone. It is intended for calling people and talking to them. The GPS is an afterthought and actually, reliability is an afterthought. The phone will turn itself off if the battery gets low and it will turn itself off if it gets too hot. Unlike my GPS, my phone won't notify me if it loses the satellite signal, it just merrily awaits the next incoming call.

Not sure what phone you have but I find my GPS to be very accurate. It may never be as good as a dedicated GPS unit but it's adequate for this IMO. Also, talking to others is about 1% of how most people use their phones. Maybe a new phone upgrade would be a better use of $$$.

 

[ksanders]

As others have posted we just use the alarm output on one of our Furuno displays. That is tied to a really loud alarm in my stateroom.

At night all of my MFD's are shutdown except the one with the alarm, and that one is in split screen mode with both depth and plotter displays active and alarming.

Easy peasy and 100% reliable.

 

[backinblue]

As others have posted we just use the alarm output on one of our Furuno displays. That is tied to a really loud alarm in my stateroom.

At night all of my MFD's are shutdown except the one with the alarm, and that one is in split screen mode with both depth and plotter displays active and alarming.

Easy peasy and 100% reliable.

Sounds like a good plan. For me personally, I don't need a really loud alarm. I sleep lightly enough that even a soft alarm would likely wake me. Also, my battery bank is not substantial enough to power a lot of stuff at night. The fridge alone is a big load.

 

[Tator]

follow

 

[PAllen529]

Anchor Pro

I just returned from a month in the Bahamas, anchoring out most of the time. I use an app called Anchor Pro. The pros are I can install it on my iPad and iPhone, I can adjust how much drift I want before it alarms, I can set the "anchor point" wherever it needs to be in case I forgot to set it when I dropped anchor, and it gives my a map of everywhere my boat was last night. Very good in determining if you dragged a bit, but not enough to trigger the alarm. The alarm itself will wake you, it's like a siren that doesn't stop. I highly recommend it.

 

[mccresa]

Anchor Alarm

I use the alarm output feature from the Garmin to fire a piezo alarm in the stateroom. Also use Anchor Pro Premium app as well as Aqua Map. Anchor Pro Premium is great for the initial “set” data, just know the length of rode and point the iPad to set the bearing and you’re all set. I then copy the location data to Garmin and Aqua Map.

Steve McCreary
MV Last Laugh
52 DeFever Offshore Cruiser

 

[Goingplaces]

I use Anchor Pro on iPhone and iPad. Works great.

 

[courage121]

Remote anchor alarm

My old Garmin GPS and my new Simrad chart plotter both have a wire in the control cable to hook up to a remote alarm. I bought the 12v alarm at Radio Shack and ran a pair of wires (control plus ground) from the helm station in the pilot house down to the master state room where I mounted the remote alarm. When the anchor drag alarm goes off, the remote comes on very loud and stays on until I go up to the pilot house and see if I am actually dragging or if the tide/wind made the boat swing outside of the radius I had set. Since I got my Mantus anchor it has always been the latter that set it off. I then reset the alarm and go back to bed!
My anchoring check list includes always setting the alarm.

 

[tdomenech]

I have tried the garmin alarm on the 8612 and its not that loud and located in the pilot house. I tried the vesper app on my phone and it works but gives just one loud honk ling a horn.
I am a very sound sleeper and would like something by the bed i could trust. What are you guys finding works best?

I used a baby alarm (put sender by Garmin and receiver in my aft cabin)....now I used Vesper and/or some other anchor app on my iphone.

 

[dhays]

I never do that because I am at the bow when I drop the anchor.

Also, I don't want the current drain for the time between setting the anchor and the time we go to sleep.

I just account for the scope when setting the alarm.

I suppose accounting for the scope would work in shallow water. If I have 100' of rode out, I may be 75' away from the anchor. How big do you set your circle? I would have to set it at a minimum of 150' since current often reverses and I may end up on the other side of the anchor. That means that I could drag 150' before the alarm would sound.


To be honest, I've never had any problems with my cell phone gps not being as accurate as my plotter. The cell phone plugged into a 12v charger will take less of a batter drain than leaving my Nav package turned on all night.


Many ways to skin the proverbial cat however.

 

[backinblue]

I suppose accounting for the scope would work in shallow water. If I have 100' of rode out, I may be 75' away from the anchor. How big do you set your circle? I would have to set it at a minimum of 150' since current often reverses and I may end up on the other side of the anchor. That means that I could drag 150' before the alarm would sound.


To be honest, I've never had any problems with my cell phone gps not being as accurate as my plotter. The cell phone plugged into a 12v charger will take less of a batter drain than leaving my Nav package turned on all night.


Many ways to skin the proverbial cat however.

First, if you do the math, the scope has much less of an effect than you imagine unless you are using a very short scope. At 4:1 or more, you could just use the rode length and be close enough. The larger the scope the less it matters. Doesn't sound right but do the calculation. subtract a foot or so if it really bothers you but for an anchor alarm it doesn't need to be exact. In the above example, the mistake is setting your alarm at some point of the swing radius rather than at the anchor position. You are correct that if you set it as stated you could drag 150' before it alarms. The alarm needs to be set at the anchor drop point then you can set your 75' radius (+ some allowable margin of error or drag, plus the distance your GPS is from the bow of the boat, etc). Some apps may allow you to offset from your current position to approximate the anchor position, I don't have a lot of experience with them. The point is not to be precise but to alarm you if your anchor has failed or you've dragged more than acceptable amount, especailly during a re-set. In some anchorages, maybe you don't care if you drag a few hundred feet. In others it might be critical.

 

[GaryPete]

If you want to use your phone, the app Anchor is easy to use, precise, loud when it goes off and FREE!