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How to Anchor in Heavy Weather

Heavy weather anchoring is a vital concept to understand during conditions where high wind gusts can cause your boat to "horse" around or jostle back-and-forth aggressively. To thwart excessive horsing, use the Hammerlock Moor anchoring technique by laying a secondary anchor straight down, beneath the boat's bow. The primary anchor takes the brunt of the load, allowing the secondary anchor to drag along the bottom, slowing the horsing effect, providing more stability in heavy weather.

Things You'll Need

Two anchors
Chain or rope
Buoy with rope

Instructions

- 1
  Establish the water depth at your anchoring location. Tie a length of rope, commensurate to the water depth, to the primary anchor's swivel -- tying the other end to a buoy. This buoy will inform other boaters of the position of your primary anchor to avoid anchor fouling (tangling of anchors).
- 2
  Drop the primary anchor off the bow and allow it to set at the bottom based on the current and wind direction.
- 3
  Drop a second anchor, also off the bow, straight down, until it reaches the bottom. This step should be done only after the primary anchor as stopped dragging. The Hammerlock Moor is now in place, significantly restricting the side-to-side swinging motion of your boat under heavy weather conditions.

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