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DREAM CATCHER OPERATING MANUAL
NW Explorations
When the anchor is about to reach bottom, the boat is backed away by putting the engines into reverse for 5 seconds:
eddies from the chain indicate motion. Resume lowering the anchor while drifting backwards (watch the eddies and add
another burst or reverse if necessary!) until the desired amount of chain is out. Stop paying out chain. Engage reverse
for five seconds at a time until the chain starts to pull straight off the bow toward the anchor. A straight chain indicates a
“set” anchor!
NEVER pull on the chain for more than five seconds, and never at any engine RPM other than idle! Putting the boat’s
weight plus its horsepower on the chain forcefully even at idle will bend the anchor and/or damage the mooring
gear!
If while checking the set, the chain rumbles and clunks, and seems to release in bursts, it means you’re anchoring on
a rocky bottom and the anchor is not holding. Be patient: it may not set on the first try, and you’ll have to repeat the
process sometimes to get a good “set”.
3B4: Shore Lines
When a shore line is required, anchors are set 75 - 100 feet from shore, with the boat backing toward shore during
anchor-setting. The stern line is put around a tree, and brought back to the boat. During this process, be sure to keep
clear of rocks near the shore, and allow for our Northwest tides, occasionally twelve feet, and sometimes 20 feet when
further north! Check the present tide, and high and low tides before beginning anchoring: No sense anchoring in 15 feet
of water if you’re at the “top” of a 15 foot tide!
To get to the shore, you will need to have a dinghy down, and then have your mate keep the boat’s stern toward shore
with short bursts of reverse gear. Sometimes a helpful boater already anchored will help you by taking your line to shore
for you with his dinghy, a neat “good deed” that you might reciprocate. We’ve met some nice boaters this way!
The shore line is in the lazarette, and is long enough to usually allow taking it to a tree, around it, and back to the boat so
you don’t have to go ashore to untie when leaving. With a crew member keeping the boat in position, take the dinghy to
shore pulling the end of the shore line with you. Pass it around a tree, and pull it back to the boat if you can, since then
to get away in the morning all you have to do is release the bitter end from the boat, and pull it aboard. Pull the line
tight, as long as you’ve got over 100’ total of line out: there is plenty of sag/stretch, and we want to keep the boat in its
area! If necessary, put a crab pot float or fender on the line to warn others it’s there!
Here is a sketch of a properly anchored boat with a shore line (In this drawing, S=Scope, which should be at least 4 x DH,
the Depth at High Tide):