Help with sleeping on boat first time.

[Justin Ongaro]

Hello everyone hope your season is going great so far. This will be the first year I am sleeping out on the ocean and am looking for any pointers or advice the forum has to offer me. I have done as much reading as possible but looking for any first hand knowledge and tips from the pros that actually do it. I fish out of prince rupert in a 24ft seahawk. I am confident anchoring do it lots for halis but never for an overnight sleep. Any advice on anchoring/mooring where your favorite spots are to stay and any other tips that might help with my first time.
Thank you all so much. I'll be put there Wednesday the 27th of July for about 5 days but will run in to town once or twice to fuel up.
Tight lines
Justin

 

[RiverBoy]

throw a pick off the stern as well with plenty of scope so you don’t spin on anchor.

i throw the stern pick out first and pay out tons of line. then i drop the main anchor and retrieve the stern anchor line until it’s secure.

you’ll sleep better

 

[casper5280]

I do the same as RiverBoy

 

[profisher]

If you are in a big enough sheltered bay you can use your plotter to set an anchor watch alarm. If the boat drifts outside of the pre-set circle around the boat...it alarms to wake you up.

 

[Brando]

If the winds forecast to pickup add a halibut weight or 2 a few links before where your rode/chain meet (zap strap on) helps keep the anchor set and add some extra scope. Leave the anchor light on and look for mud/sand instead of rock where possible.

 

[bpsuls]

As an alternate to a stern anchor you could do what I do(and pretty much every other cruiser or sailboat I've seen out there) and stern tie yourself to a tree on shore. I'm always anchored as close to shore as I safely can anyways. I keep a 600 foot spool of poly rope on a spool just for this purpose. As long as you are no more than 300 feet from shore ( you bring the rope back to the boat and tie it there, never tie yourself to something on shore unless you're prepared to cut the rope in a emergency!) Does require a dinghy though to do this.

 

[N2013]

throw a pick off the stern as well with plenty of scope so you don’t spin on anchor.

i throw the stern pick out first and pay out tons of line. then i drop the main anchor and retrieve the stern anchor line until it’s secure.

you’ll sleep better

How heavy of stern anchor do you use for your 185?

 

[Gong Show]

Stem pick size depends on location.
We packed a collapsing 'toy' anchor for the 24' eaglecraft for a night in Miles Inlet. Worked a charm, but we knew there would be no waves in there.

 

[Mike_W]

Done it a few times myself not an expert by any means. Usually find a small sheltered cove anchor where safe and know where you will end up when the tide shifts. I don't put out a ton of rode as I am never in much current and want to stay close on tide change. I do set a anchor alarm on my plotter if I drift out of a preset area an alarm will go off.

 

[RiverBoy]

How heavy of stern anchor do you use for your 185?

i use an old 12 lb navy anchor for the stern pick

 

[quicksilver11]

Just make sure you are allowing for any wind to come up (as much as possible) ie westerlies summer are most likely, as too where in an anchorage or behind island your planning to set the hook. Good amount of line out 4-1 at least, make sure anchor is set by backing up till it grabs. I think I set gps for 150-200ft. I only have a small Danforth about 6kg and 30ft chain, have never had a problem in my 24ft seasport anywhere on the coast I’ve anchored.

 

[Justin Ongaro]

Thank you all so much for the replies. I have a very heavy river style anchor I use and it never pulled on me so far out hali fishing. But just different at night while trying to sleep. I'm sure it's like anything you get more confident the more you do it. I looked into the apps for anchor alarms as well my lowrance can set an alarm. Also been planning out bays that look good for different winds. Now just need to figure out how to keep the fish nice and fresh for 3 days.
Thanks again everyone.

 

[dmurph]

Thank you all so much for the replies. I have a very heavy river style anchor I use and it never pulled on me so far out hali fishing. But just different at night while trying to sleep. I'm sure it's like anything you get more confident the more you do it. I looked into the apps for anchor alarms as well my lowrance can set an alarm. Also been planning out bays that look good for different winds. Now just need to figure out how to keep the fish nice and fresh for 3 days.
Thanks again everyone.

Fish in a cooler packed with ice will stay fresh for 3 days absolutely no problem. Bleeding them right a way when caught and gutting them is what you wanna do for best results

 

[dmurph]

Best set up is to get one of the really big high top coolers 165qt I think fill it with ice. I have a couple buckets on board so I can pull ice out of the cooler to keep packing fish to the bottom. Clean and rinse the fish well with salt water before packing in the cooler and drain off the water in cooler as it melts. I also usually put the fish in fish bags

 

[Justin Ongaro]

Best set up is to get one of the really big high top coolers 165qt I think fill it with ice. I have a couple buckets on board so I can pull ice out of the cooler to keep packing fish to the bottom. Clean and rinse the fish well with salt water before packing in the cooler and drain off the water in cooler as it melts. I also usually put the fish in fish bags

Thanks for the tips. I have a few high end coolers that I'll bring plus under the floor I have a good size kill box i think 48x30. On day trips I just fill that up with fish I could load it with ice or get a kill bag like you mentioned. What brand bag do you have?
Thanks

 

[dmurph]

Thanks for the tips. I have a few high end coolers that I'll bring plus under the floor I have a good size kill box i think 48x30. On day trips I just fill that up with fish I could load it with ice or get a kill bag like you mentioned. What brand bag do you have?
Thanks

No not fancy cooler bags just clear plastic fish bags just keeps the ice and everything a bit cleaner but not necessary

 

[Justin Ongaro]

No not fancy cooler bags just clear plastic fish bags just keeps the ice and everything a bit cleaner but not necessary

Awesome thanks a lot

 

[Rain City]

Awesome thanks a lot

I started bringing a vac packer after hearing some other members did that. I have to say, if it's an option, do it. Made me feel much better about the fish all piled into a cooler with scooty ice. Makes clean-up at home a breeze as well. Regular old fish bags work too, i just don't like wasting all the plastic packing them twice.

 

[InternetCharlie]

Best set up is to get one of the really big high top coolers 165qt I think fill it with ice. I have a couple buckets on board so I can pull ice out of the cooler to keep packing fish to the bottom. Clean and rinse the fish well with salt water before packing in the cooler and drain off the water in cooler as it melts. I also usually put the fish in fish bags

Trash bags also work to hold ice temporarily. Then you just need 1-2 buckets.