Anchoring with Confidence: Our Top 3 Anchor Alarms

[@raypayette4496]

Great update. The rain is better than snow, still very jealous.

[@b0nafided65]

Love this content… this is why I watch KZbin for. The more you can show about the software setups the better.

[@HollyandRay]

Thank you for the encouragement. ❤️

[@geoffstrebel2808]

@3:35 She is one beautiful looking boat you guys!

[@HollyandRay]

We think so too🥹

[@CapsizedVeteran]

I would love to see a video doing a deep dive into all your electronics and monitoring systems! You guys have a killer setup and I've been incorporating lots of the same stuff into our Passport 40. What type of GPS antenna are you using to make sure you're getting the most accurate position data?

[@HollyandRay]

Thank you for the kind words! We’ve hesitated to do a public deep dive simply because we do not want to act as tech support for a large group😅 We have more resources about our system up on our Patreon, though, including wiring diagrams, if you’re technologically inclined! The Vesper GPS antenna is the one we use for our anchor alarms since it’s always on.

[@CapsizedVeteran]

@@HollyandRay I totally understand that! I typically play dumb just to keep people from constantly asking me questions 😅 I'm already running Signalk, grafana, and OpenCPN but that other open source nav software you're using for the anchor alarm looks awesome!

[@HollyandRay]

Who knows what the future will hold though🤔 Yes, we have been loving qtVlm!

[@angelomazzone7939]

As I have followed along I realize more and more how much you have to be on top of many things. I imagine all the different laws, regulations etc is enough to keep you busy. The anchor system was so interesting to see, and as always you make it all work. Boats drifting is never a good thing and I can imagine is always a huge concern. Another great video, learned a few things. Looks like you have figured out the weather as well. Be safe and enjoy.

[@HollyandRay]

We’ve had to be even more aware since getting to French Polynesia- it’s been a bit overwhelming, but we are so thankful to have such great technology aboard to help us!

[@panteliszirinis8833]

Great set up. Nice to see that more and more boats use technology to monitor this. I have a similar anchor watch setup on my boat and the warning goes on all Sonos speakers which is great and can’t be missed. My problem is when off the boat the pushover notification might be missed as it only makes a bing. How did you make it play until acknowledged?

[@HollyandRay]

If you set the alert to emergency priority it will keep alerting until acknowledged!

[@panteliszirinis8833]

@@HollyandRay thank you for the reply. message is set to emergency I cannot set something else. I am looking at the state under anchor alarm on signalk. It come to pushover as emergency, not sure if that is a text or an actual option. Where do you change the setting so it comes as priority?

[@RNVOS]

Looking great you Two! ❤ from 🇨🇦 BC

[@HollyandRay]

Thank you, thank you! ❤️❤️

[@26N80W]

What is the name of the 2nd anchor watch product you demo'd? Great content. Appreciate the tech demos you guys are doing.

[@HollyandRay]

So glad you’re liking these videos! The second system is qtVlm.

[@jimmieweigel1271]

Hey guys what a wonderful episode that's a really smart idea marking the other boats with your radar so you'll know if they drag that's really cool Do a lot of people do that

[@HollyandRay]

Hey, Jimmie! Thanks! We haven’t heard of other people using OpenCPN this way, but man have we enjoyed it. Definitely something we wanted to share!

[@geoffstrebel2808]

@5:22 I've hear people put pineapples in front of their house or on the stern of their boat to let everyone know that they are "swingers". I can only assume that's a nautical term, meaning, give us some space, we swing around a lot while on anchor. ;) (do not try that)

[@HollyandRay]

Okay, that one made us laugh out loud😂😂😂

[@janisparr8592]

Hmmmm - watch out for us “Bareboat Charter Captains”. Parr 4 the Course leaves Croatia tomorrow and will be in Tahiti in 2 weeks!😂

[@HollyandRay]

We’d like to believe you’re more responsible than the average bareboat Cap😉 The main issue is that those boats don’t carry enough chain for the deep anchorages! Stay shallow or opt for a mooring ball, but you know that already!

[@janisparr8592]

@@HollyandRay YES! We’ve had lots of great sailing experience here in Croatia.

[@Parr4theCourse]

@@HollyandRay Yea we were just busting your chops😜🤪

[@jofishca]

What anchor do you have? Thanks, Josef

[@HollyandRay]

Rocna 33kg!

[@markpeter1968]

Hi, regarding safety, is there times when you'd rather be in a mono-hull?? extreme wind and weather? Or catamarans are safer than I thought ?( I'm a novice sailor)

[@HollyandRay]

We have never been in weather where we’ve felt unsafe on our catamaran, but a nice big heavy monohull is also a great platform.

[@markpeter1968]

@@HollyandRay ok, thanks for your reply.

[@en8581]

Nice video - thanks! I bought a Cortex M1 for AIS & possibly VHF (not installed yet), but have not made a decision on handsets yet. 1) do you miss having a standalone VHF (assuming you don’t have one)? 2) since the latest updates from Garmin do you like the H1 handsets as your VHF radios? Are squelch and other issues fixed? 3) I was thinking of getting an H1 wired at NAV and a wireless H1 version at helm. My understanding is that both communicate wirelessly, but wired model has wired power (no battery). What do you recommend? Thanks!!!

[@HollyandRay]

Thanks for watching! Great questions. 1) we do not miss having a stand alone VHF. We do have a handheld ICOM as well. 2) these have been rock solid for us for over a year now. We are very happy with them. The handsets can be a bit delicate though. The push to talk button will break if it's pushed too hard. 3) we have a wired one at the helm (don't want to worry about battery life), a wireless at the nav desk, and a wireless next to our bed. Note, that we do have our own wifi router that the Cortex and handsets use. Before that, the wifi range was a bit weak.

[@en8581]

@@HollyandRay Thanks! 1) If the push to talk button breaks, is that something you can DIY fix yourself? Or is it “toast” and you need to buy a new $600 one from Garmin? 2) Interesting on your wired/wireless being opposite what I would have thought. I can see the pros of your approach I guess since the wired one is stuck at helm but so is your helm. And I guess at NAV if wireless you can remove and look at in salon, and charging contacts are more protected from corrosion inside. Are those the benefits?

[@HollyandRay]

If you have a steady hand and soldering skills you can do it but Garmin replaces under warranty with zero pushback. Yes, those are the benefits. The contacts would corrode pretty quickly.

[@HopeOfJoe]

OH my, you guys, quite the anchor alarm systems. Would you repeat the individual names so we can research them, please? And OMG on the ending rain. Washed all the solar (and the boat) and probably filled your water tanks….if you do that. Interesting on anchoring regs. See you next time. ✨🌊💨⛵️🏝️👙🌞✨

[@HollyandRay]

Glad you enjoyed this one! We use our Vesper Cortex, qtVlm, and SignalK. Plus OpenCPN alongside our radar when we feel necessary. In French Polynesia it seems like our boat gets washed every other day! 😂🌧️

[@HopeOfJoe]

@@HollyandRay . No doubt. 🌧️💦🫧

[@HopeOfJoe]

@@HollyandRay checked out all 3. The vesper cortex and open CPN seem easy enough, yet theSignalK seems a bit over my head with all the extras. Will keep reading on them to be better prepared.

[@HollyandRay]

SignalK took us a while to get dialed in, but we do love it!

[@johnmagnan759]

I wonder if the popularity of cruising has overwhelmed the local harbors and possibly caused damage to reefs? They should install mooring balls and charge a small fee and forbid dropping anchor. That will keep anchor drags from happening and limit the number of boats in a harbor. I imagine an overcrowded harbor causes problems with local marine traffic.

[@HollyandRay]

It sure seems crowded this year. It will be interesting to see how the new regulations play out and if they eventually install more mooring balls instead of trying to regulate anchoring. Time will tell!