Anchoring 101 | Stern tying

Stern tying is a very useful technique to master. In many parts of the world, due to depth or restricted swinging room, it's the only option. Where we are at the moment in Turkey it's the most common way to anchor.
This video will look at the basic techniques used to stern tie effectively as well as give lots of tips to make everything go smoothly. We also go through what gear to use and what to avoid.
If you haven't already watched part 1 of Anchoring 101 you may wish to see that too. There's lots of tips in the video and an in depth look at anchor chains. See it here...
• Anchoring 101
And we all love a debate on which is the best anchor! So you can see that here....
• Which Anchor?
The stern lines we use in this video are made by Ultra Marine and are called 'Ultraline'. They make a floating Dyneema version and a Polyester version that doesn't float. If you're interested in getting one have a look at the website here...www.ultramarine-anchors.com/
There is a chatbox that opens up on the Ultramarine site that has real people with real knowledge to help you! So you can ask any questions there easily.

[@Nozzall]

You get the same sort of buzzing when using those type of straps to hold a kayak down on the car. The fix is super simple. Twist the strap until it forms a little tube and then pull it tight.

[@fraserwright9482]

Steve I am a Kiwi in Finland and find your videos great. Here in Europe the sea is calm and predictable. Stern tieing and etiquette is more what I need to learn. I like that you explain solutions on when things go wrong or how to not cause problems for yourself. I started watching your channel this week looking at various videos of crossing the English channel. Sailing in the Pacific we heave to, let the lad sail it or autopilot and snooze during the day and sail at night as the ships can see you. But here in Europe its so busy docking and anchoring are a daily routine.

[@oscarschmitt216]

Kia Ora Fraser, a Kiwi so far away from the paradise . I am not a real Kiwi, but I was living in Kerikeri and lost my broken heart in Kerikeri. I hope I will be back in Northland soon. Wish you nice day cheers Siegmar

[@goodq]

Thank you wish I saw this before I went to Turkey to sail!!

[@boatlover123]

Thanks. I will be putting these techniques into action soon.

[@cybereye2]

We tied off to a telegraph pole on the crinnan canal in scotland.

[@hughburgess4168]

Outstanding Steve. You are so easy to listen to and the content really gets me thinking. I watched carefully your video on choosing anchor chains 16 months ago before purchasing. Often wondered about stern lines. I’ve seen one motorboat use one in Tinker’s Hole in South West Mull, Scotland. Thank you again for pointing me this way! ⛵️

[@jhe3881]

Thanks this very good anchor information .

[@123boat]

You really do have a knack of making everything extremely interesting. Even for non sailers! 😁👏

[@waterboy8999]

Stern tying and a lesson in keeping calm, you are one very cool dude in a boat Steve, there is off course the old scream and shout method still available......

[@marktaylor484]

Excellent.

[@mentonish]

It’s great as you make it look easy. I think I would have the motor running before letting go the lines.

[@SV-Flying-Tigress]

Steve, you are an informative pleasure to watch.

[@dennismacdonald2003]

Ty 4 another great video. Cheers from Vancouver island Canada

[@derekfawell2853]

Beautifully filmed and so well explained. Thank you.

[@Duartechamps]

You are amazing

[@nilslunow4086]

Very helpful. Again! Thank you.

[@mememe5231]

Great tutorial! Thank you

[@jimdavids6708]

Very useful Steve thanks

[@jport3707]

Another amazing video.

[@KeithStrang]

Great animations!

[@terrykleier5068]

Very well done. Thanks for this video

[@ukrainewarroom8410]

Good video, I enjoy these tutorials.

[@allmomomosthomebus3895]

Very nice explanation.

[@hmausfr]

An excellent presentation. ✅

[@debdoyle119]

Great job

[@earlhill]

Great video

[@Sunshinecoastphotography]

We use a reel mounted above the transom, with 500 feet of 3/8” braided poly. It floats, is easy to splice and is cheap to buy if you wear it out. It takes us very little time to stern tie. We set the anchor, lay out adequate chain/rode in reverse, backing directly toward the spot we will tie to on the shore, holding the boat in position. My wife paddleboards out with a decent amount of rope, the rest in tow, as I feed it off the reel. When she takes the rope around a tree, rock, ring, or whatever, I tie a knot in the line, so she can pull off just enough line from the reel to make it back to the boat, then I tie the reel end of the line to a cleat and she can paddle back to the boat or use the tied off line to pull herself back to the boat while the loose line floats with her. Once the loop is back to the boat, I tie it to a cleat and shut the boat off. After that, I adjust our distance to shore by taking in line and letting out rode. It is so very simple and it works perfectly. Leaving is even quicker: release the line from the cleat and pull it all in, the up goes the anchor and away we go.

[@svfairisle]

If you have the space for two big reels of rode it’s a cheaper option, the webbing is much more compact and rolls much better though. I would be wary of looping the rode back though simply because of chafe. Those lines aren’t going to last long! In fact in Turkey you’ll be lucky if they last a week, you can’t use trees ( it’s illegal there) and the rocks are like razors.

[@Sunshinecoastphotography]

@@svfairisle yes, seems I have described a setup that only works well in the Pacific Northwest of Canada, where we spend our time cruising. Thanks for the video and the reply! Cheers!

[@sailingelpulponegro230]

Great stuff and quality production guys! Def going back to the beginning on this channel and soaking in the knowledge.

[@johnbarratt983]

Useful video. Currently sailing the Ionian. Hope to see you around.

[@JohannesNeumeier]

Great video again! Thanks for showing the different types of rope you have in use. We had the "black plastic" one ourselves in use here in scandinavia for stern anchoring. Replaced it myself with a rope like you have on the bow, but a 50m version so it's still fairly compact like the flat rode, at least using with a 12mm line, and mounted to the railing post.

[@westmc45]

I am so happy you made this video I was wondering how that works since I will be in the Med Next year after Hurricane season ends here in Mexico where I am.

[@oscarschmitt216]

Kia Ora, thank you soo much for this very interesting Video. I have learned a lot.As an electronics engineer, I am of course thinking about developing a small underwater drone that follows the anchor chain and then provides video of the anchor chain's progress. Again thanks and I wish you all the luck of this world cheers Siegmar

[@genevievemay3461]

I’ve done lots of long-line-ashores and the number one rule we have on our boat is SWIM SHOES. There are many sea urchins attached to rocks (ouch) and also rocks are very sharp and slippery. Beware. Personally, I find it easier to swim ashore (I’m 60) as I’ve had my floating line wrap around my outboard before and it just ended in tears!

[@svfairisle]

Yes good point about the shoes I forget mine far too often

[@johnbarratt983]

In our recent med experience it has been the ladies swimming ashore with the lines. Sea urchins are very common on rock close to shore about 3 to 6 feet deep.

[@tonywrobleski5185]

Thanks

[@gerhardvanwaltsleben8944]

Lekker man lekker 🇿🇦

[@Outrageousconduct]

Nice video ,very informative ,I use 2 5 ft x3 inch pvc pipe as a chaffing guard it's perforated so it floats

[@svfairisle]

There are many ways to make it work. the trick though when you're a live-aboard is for everything to have at least 2 purposes. So the chain i use is also my kedge anchor chain, the chain with rope spliced on the end is for those mooring buoys with very rusty eyes that would chaff through your rode, and for all the situations where the rocks aren't like razors the dyneema loop that comes with the reel is tiny & packs away perfectly (i'm sure i'll find 100 other uses for that too!)

[@Outrageousconduct]

@@svfairisle thanks for the tips 👍

[@SailingAquamarine]

I went for Ankorolina as it is only £250 for 70m rather than *cough* £2000 for the Ultramarine 100m! (wow) The other advantage of the reels of tape is that you can run them around the boat when you need them for safety lines. We also have 100m of octoplait, but like you said it like moving a dead body around the boat!

[@ultramarine9942]

Hello Charles, the Ultraline has housing reel from 316L stainless steel, has high tech dyneema line (not simple polyester), only 22 mm width (no 25-35 mm) that is reducing vibration and sound, length 40-100 meters. Worth of investment but yes there are cheeper options on the market.

[@SailingAquamarine]

@@ultramarine9942 Yes, I think it's fair to say the Ultraline is the "Rolls-Royce" of tape line solutions. The Ankoralina is a plastic reel (the longer one is Anodised Aluminium) so it is pretty durable, it is good enough for my 40ft Sailboat. I am not surprised Sailing Fair Isle have 2 Ultalines, they have a beautiful boat and their anchor chain costs more than my entire boat! However, in my position cruising on a budget, Ultraline costs the same as a good anchor or a doppler radar or half of my entire standing rig! If you had an option with a lower specification I would probably have considered it given this video, but it is an order of magnitude more than I can justify!

[@ItreboR63I]

@@ultramarine9942 What sort of UV protection does it have?

[@64Golfy]

Thank you for great video. Last year in Greece I stern tied for first time. We were just 2 people. Once the anchor was dropped and I made sure it had bitten, the issue was getting my brother back to get the stern line out fast enough. Even a slight breeze starts the boat swinging and when there are boats very close it can get very tricky. Have you experienced this? As a result we tried to get in to bays early and then watch other boats struggle. We had a charter boat and they provided a wonderful yellow webbed,elasticised floating line. With enough crew some boats sent someone out first to sort the stern line and then the sailboat dropped anchor and acted like a stern to mooring.

[@svfairisle]

Yes some times speed is essential, knowing what the breeze will do to your boat is important, we are lucky in that Fair Isle is very planted, not too much windage with low topsides, but if you know you will be blown off pick a spot where there is room for that to happen. The other thing to do is to go ashore to pick your spot to tie in before hand in the dinghy. You can do this even as a couple we do. Just have one person sit with the boat far enough out to not be close to things and the other go in with the dinghy and find your attachment points and ideally put on your chain/rope. Then go back to the boat so you can both get the boat into position and one can quickly go out and attach the line, it’s why J have those nice snap shackle’s it’s very quick that way. The person on the boat then brings in the slack and tied off. Obviously do the windward side first.

[@johng1857]

I’m thinking of chartering a boat in gocek in August. Thanks for this tutorial. I have a random question. Do you recommend a boat with AC or is the heat tolerable on the water at night?

[@svfairisle]

Well Gocek can get pretty hot in August! The Greek Islands tend to be a bit cooler, even the Turks tend to try and go over to escape the heat! If you can get a boat with AC and has a generator to run it that isn’t going to be horribly noisy then it might be an idea. We don’t have it and actually we’re fine in Turkey last year, but we did leave before August.

[@brunsonr]

Brilliant explanation. I was wondering how you are finding the True Kit dinghy now what you’ve had some time with it?

[@svfairisle]

We love it because it’s light. It’s fared very well with a LOT of abuse so would definitely recommend it if a light weight flat bottomed dinghy is what you want. If you have storage for a hard bottomed (keeled) dinghy though they are more secure getting places when there’s a bit of a chop.

[@tarekabdel-hamid2226]

Hello Steve As always informative… well executed video. Thanks. Two questions concerning the Dyneema line: 1. Wouldn’t this lack desirable line elasticity … for shock absorbing. 2. In an emergency (gusts or anchor dragging)… with say only half the reel used… would be faster and sager (to avoid larger swings)… to cut the line with a knife. I did that once. So the question is: can you cut dyneema with a knife

[@svfairisle]

Good questions. The dyneema Ultraline is supposed to have some in built elasticity because of its weave, but it won’t be as much as a length of nylon rode for sure. In a stern tied scenario however this isn’t an issue as the shock absorbing all comes from the chains catenary for the shocks you might get like a wake from a passing boat. You wouldn’t want to use dyneema in a normal mooring though you’re right with short lengths and the possibility of the boat being pushed from all angles & getting surge etc. so it’s not for normal mooring. If you were going to be subjected to big surge you wouldn’t be stern tying to rocks in the first place! I have found it useful however even during mooring when caught short by a quick change of plan of where we had to go along side and getting caught without a line ready on the right side. You can just very quickly pull a length out & throw ashore then make fast on the boat until you dig the extra line out of the locker. Saved me more than once! The issue with cutting, no I would bother trying, it’s very difficult. Just drive the boat forward & let it run off the reel, the end is just velcroed on, then worry about retrieving it later.

[@lozzzafilms]

Very good, thank you. A lot of that now makes sense to me, as a twice yearly flotilla sailor I often see anchoring as one of the dark arts, when I sit for ages trying to work out if my transit's are still and we are actually stopped 😅

[@svfairisle]

have you seen the Anchoring 101 Video? that one might be useful for you too... kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJiZeqZsqMtpjNk

[@lozzzafilms]

@@svfairisle thank you

[@Alex000113]

Thx for the overview ! I guess its good being so close to shore but if anything goes wrong you might be aground very quickly. Do you check the setup at night (maybe to fend off the acrobatic rats ? 🙃 ). Have you found you needed to make any adjustments as the tide rises/falls ?

[@svfairisle]

Yes this would be MUCH more tricky in a high tide area & probably not advisable

[@DirkJacobsz]

Hey Steve -cool windlass you have - you let the chain run and can stop it with a clutch...What brand and type is it -please .. i need to upgrade mine..Cheers - love your videos - trying to order the boat cleaning products you suggested.. how is the hull looking..

[@svfairisle]

It’s a Muir Jaguar 2500, but it’s hydraulic so you will need a hydraulic pump to drive it. They are much better that electric, all high powered motors are much more reliable in hydraulic form than electric. You can of course get an electric windlass with a clutch as well though and I would definitely go that way.

[@DirkJacobsz]

@@svfairisle Thanks Steve - gee she is a beauty - I thin I will stay in my lane and get electric.. love your work. Thanks..Dirk

[@larssolem2507]

Stern anchoring very well described. I did not see if that you were using a snubber when backing up on the anchor, do you not use that in this circumstances? That would put stress on the winch and also create noise below from my anchoring experience, maybe that's not an issue with you set-up?

[@svfairisle]

I don’t personally use a snubber when stern tied ( it’s the only time don’t) For me the snubber is purely to put some elasticity in the system and help prevent heavy swell disturbing the anchor and as I would never stern tie in situations where we might get heavy swell I don’t use it. We get no chain noise on Fair Isle so that is not an issue, ideally I would have a chain lock to take the strain off the windlass but our windlass is bolted through 5 inches of deck and is braced by the Sampson post so I’m not to worried. If you wanted the snubber to stop noise then I would just not let off too much chain you wouldn’t want a snubber breaking to put you back in the rocks before the slack in the chain was taken up

[@larssolem2507]

@@svfairisle Clearly more substantial installation on Fair Isle than on my catamaran, where anchoring without using a bridle would not be viable from a noise and also installation of the winch.

[@fredgaither3707]

I read a book by Eric Hiscock not sure the spellings right the book was called welcome aboard really good books the only one I ever read by him unfortunately but anyway he seemed to be pretty in favor of the stern to shore Anchorage

[@oneeyedjackass]

Great vid. How would you handle retrieving a stern anchor? Stern first bow first…? Also, would you use ultraline with anchor or rode? Thanks

[@svfairisle]

We use the Ultraline for the stern/kedge anchor, it has a shackle onto the chain that lives in the stainless steel bucket on the push pit ( the same chain I use as a shore fast around sharp rocks) I can usually retrieve it by hand but if no it goes around the large sheet winch

[@oneeyedjackass]

👍 would you let more bow anchor chain out to get boat over stern anchor then pull up by hand or let more ultraline out and dingy out over stern anchor to retrieve?

[@oneeyedjackass]

Sorry for all the questions. We always seem to make a mess of it. 😃

[@svfairisle]

We have a steel Danforth so it's easier to drop the boat back over it and pull up. If we had an Aluminium Danforth or Fortress type anchor (which I would prefer) I might be tempted to raise by dinghy, at least when the wind / tide is pushing you off

[@keithjones6206]

Great video but 2 x €2000 100m dynema ultralines is unfortunately more than we can afford

[@ingridvannugteren3504]

Swim it out, put line on a fender and swim the fender to the shore, you don’t have to carry the line.

[@svfairisle]

Fine in perfect conditions, in less than that it’s a recipe for disaster that we see almost every night in anchorages in Turkey.

[@ymk8355]

Great one Steve. Can I ask how come rats cannot walk on the Ultra Dynema line which is flat but can on the ropes like lines?

[@svfairisle]

Good question. It’s what’s claimed and I’ve never heard of a sailor contest it, but I have no absolute proof. I guess with a strap they cannot walk on top as their weight would flip them upside down and they cannot just get their claws into the side as they would with a rope and I don’t think they could hang on the the bottom of a flat surface or reach around the sides to grab the top. I think we need to video an experiment!

[@SoundzAlive1]

@@svfairisle Yes Steve, how about adding snakes, tarantulas, feral cats, fire ants, lizards and rhinoceros beetles? André in Sydney

[@svfairisle]

@@SoundzAlive1 that’s easy just get a line long enough that you never have to attach it to Australia!

[@kevinfisher1345]

Yes the idea is with a flat strap it will twist and the rats will constantly be fighting to stay on top. While I also have no proof nor seen this, I would guess if a rat is really persistent than overcome it eventually. However what I have seen is rats being persistent and jumping over rat stoppers. It usually takes them a couple of times. However this was for big ships with lines that are much bigger (like couple of inches), and although the rat stoppers are scaled up to match the size of the line, it is easier for them to try and catch a much bigger line IF they can manage to jump over the rat stopper. Also the one shown with just a big disc is not ideal. It is better if its a cone shaped one as they not only have to jump over the height of it, but also the distance as well. More than likely though, I just do not see a rat being persistent enough to try flat strap like the Ultra Marine line enough to get over. The rat will simply move on to an easier line to get over on another boat. I have watched rats do this on a number of occasions, when they fail on one and found it hard they simply look for an easier line to cross.

[@itsmetwiceitsmetwice4834]

The only question. What if someone being "blind" tries to pass the boat en route between the stern and the land? And if it happens at night? How to insure yourself?

[@svfairisle]

Well that would be very unlikely! but of course there are always stupid people in the world & although I wouldn't think anyone would attempt to take a yacht in the few metres of gap between the stern of the boat and the rocks you do sometimes get people messing about in dinghys who may snag their outboard on a stern line. Usually if theres any chance of this people tie fenders to the line midway to mark them

[@carlhamilton2470]

When you anchor in 20+m depth, what do you do to make sure you kan get the anchor up, even if it gets caught under a rock and you can’t dive on it? Do you use a trip line?

[@svfairisle]

In my experience trip lines are more trouble than they are worth. I would only ever use one somewhere like a harbour with a reputation for having lots of old chain / rubbish etc lying around on the sea bed. We have the Ultra Ring which you can clip over the chain, slide down over the shank and lift from directly over the anchor and it will pull it out backwards. I will film a test sometime.

[@tomriley5790]

Scuba gear & lift bag :-)!

[@svfairisle]

Yes, pert of the reason I got the 2 litre tank last week

[@thomasthornton5737]

😀😀😀

[@rasitcavcav4979]

🇹🇷🧿

[@AS-po9pm]

100 m for $2000.-+ is quite steep

[@chuckduzzie8529]

Not that easy if you are single handed??

[@svfairisle]

I’ve done it, but of course not as easy.

[@markfoster459]

I think most can stern 2 when there is 2 of you, the difficulties come when your singlehanded and there’s a cross wind, everything needed to be ready, or set before you leave the boat you explntiin on things is really good, I will buy the line you mentioned in the boat show this year, hopefully there’s a deal to be had….!

[@svfairisle]

We're trying to negotiate deals, so far we have a 10% discount for our Patreons in Europe, I will talk to the US branch of Ultra Marine and see what can be done in the States when we go over for the Annapolis boat show in Oct.