Anchor alarm apps - a comprehensive survey

[GoAway]

The chart is very useful. I'm going to try a different app now. Thanks Mathias

[waterman46]

SailGrib Anchor Alarm Free: I'm running it on old Samsung cheap phone, Android 8.8.1. No false alarms in an 8 hour test outside. Alarms reliably when a few feet outside the location limit, even when running in background with the screen off. Alarm silences when returning to inside the location limit. Alarm is not super loud but is attention getting. When shut down, does not continue to sound alarm (some apps actually did that).

Adjustable anchor position by dragging icon to known anchor bearing and distance. Track with time is shown, has erase function for all but last 30 minutes. Full zoom and pan. Background chart options: whole world (if you have internet connection) or Navionics.


Premium version available - I didn't get it as this one has all I need.

[MathiasW]

Originally Posted by waterman46

SailGrib Anchor Alarm Free: I'm running it on old Samsung cheap phone, Android 8.8.1. No false alarms in an 8 hour test outside. Alarms reliably when a few feet outside the location limit, even when running in background with the screen off. Alarm silences when returning to inside the location limit. Alarm is not super loud but is attention getting. When shut down, does not continue to sound alarm (some apps actually did that).

Adjustable anchor position by dragging icon to known anchor bearing and distance. Track with time is shown, has erase function for all but last 30 minutes. Full zoom and pan. Background chart options: whole world (if you have internet connection) or Navionics.


Premium version available - I didn't get it as this one has all I need.

Aha! Thanks for sharing! I had not realised how the anchor bearing and distance worked for this app. But now I understand it. I need to update my chart, again

Cheers

Mathias

[RaymondR]

Hi Mathius,

Could not find OpenCPN on your apps listing but I've been using it on a tablet version for years. Just place a waypoint and assign it ANCHOR WATCH and stick the tablet back on the shelf beside my bunk. Works well for me.

[MathiasW]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

Hi Mathius,

Could not find OpenCPN on your apps listing but I've been using it on a tablet version for years. Just place a waypoint and assign it ANCHOR WATCH and stick the tablet back on the shelf beside my bunk. Works well for me.

Hi Raymond, I had thought OpenCPN is PC only. Will check it out. Thanks for this information!

Cheers, Mathias

[MathiasW]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

Hi Mathius,

Could not find OpenCPN on your apps listing but I've been using it on a tablet version for years. Just place a waypoint and assign it ANCHOR WATCH and stick the tablet back on the shelf beside my bunk. Works well for me.

Hmmm, this Android App has seen its last update in 2015. It started alright on my phone but upon restarting the screen was messed up as if the carriage return / line feed counting was out of sync...

If I saw it correctly, it does not have an anchor alarm functionality as such, but you are "abusing" a waypoint for this. Correct?

Cheers, Mathias

[MathiasW]

Waterman46 pointed out that the SailGrib anchor alarm for Android actually can use anchor bearing and distance for defining the allowed perimeter. With this it becomes a strong contender, also given that it is free.. So, yet another update uploaded...

Thanks for all the feedback received!

Cheers, Mathias

https://trimaran-san.de/anchor-alarm-apps-overview/

[Nepidae]

We use Anchor Pro which was a replacement for Drag Queen that was developed by the developer of Active Captain.

When an anchor watch is developed it must take into consideration the position of the boat relative to its GPS location. Providing for all the swing and movement both forward and backward that occurs during a night on the hook.

From what the Drag Queen developer said at the time of his app, there was a lot of math, geometry and algebra involved.

Anchor Pro works well for us.

BTW, don't forget to include the anchoring watch that is part of a chartplotter. Our Garmin 8616xsv has an anchor watch which we use at times also.

[MathiasW]

Originally Posted by Nepidae

We use Anchor Pro which was a replacement for Drag Queen that was developed by the developer of Active Captain.

Anchor Pro works well for us.

BTW, don't forget to include the anchoring watch that is part of a chartplotter. Our Garmin 8616xsv has an anchor watch which we use at times also.

Thanks for sharing this interesting detail of history on Drag Queen. I had been wondering what had happened to it.

Anchor Pro in the basic variant does not track the vessel's history and this is a huge minus for me. It does so in the premium version, which costs a one-time fee on Android, but an annual fee on iOS. Personally, I find annual fees a bit too heavy.

But as far as Android goes, Anchor Pro premium seems like a very good product indeed.

Cheers, Mathias

[billdomb]

We have always liked Drag Queen.

But, just try this with your chartplotter on track record.

Zoom in and record your track while tied to a FIXED doc and watch just how much you 'move'.

That's the inherent vicissitudes of the GPS system.

[Tonali99]

Got me wondering, would that work with a sea anchor or when hove to?
Say half the distance to a lee shore?

[rwidman]

A GPS typically is accurate to about ten feet. Considering the surface area of the earth, that is pretty remarkable.

I don't believe an error of ten feet would be significant in an anchor drag situation.

Unless you can set the anchor drag alarm from the bow as you're dropping the anchor and unless your GPS antenna remains at the bow, there will be a lot of "error" in the application. Fortunately, extreme accuracy is not typically needed in this case. If you are actually dragging as opposed to shifting with the wind or current, you are going to move a considerable distance.

[David Mathis]

The alarms on my old Garmin 128 and the new 93SV have been flawless, no false alarms and performed perfectly every time they're tested. They have external antennas with a clear view of the sky.

[MathiasW]

Originally Posted by Tonali99

Got me wondering, would that work with a sea anchor or when hove to?
Say half the distance to a lee shore?

I have used anchor alarms in the past when there was absolutely no wind for hours and we were simply drifting with the current. I set it to a largish value, just so that I get notified should we get too close to shore...

[NSfooter]

Hi Wayne, I have a Garmin chart plotter in the saloon, but cannot get the alarm loud enough to wake me in the cabin, so have to resort to an app next to the bed!