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Rode length, scope, and what to tell your anchor alarm

Sep 30, 2025 · Sailing Log

Your anchor alarm is only as honest as the numbers you give it. Those numbers start with scope.

Scope, quickly

Scope is rode length divided by depth-plus-freeboard. At 3:1 an anchor holds poorly; 5:1 is a reasonable settled-weather minimum on chain; 7:1 or more is where you want to be when it pipes up. More scope flattens the pull on the anchor, and flat pulls hold.

From rode to watch radius

At anchor the boat swings on an arc whose radius is roughly the horizontal component of your rode. In 4 m of water with 30 m of rode out, you'll lie up to about 29 m from the pin in any direction the wind chooses. That's why Sailing Log asks for your rode length and adds a margin (20% by default) instead of asking you to guess a radius: 30 m of rode becomes a 36 m alarm circle, drift past it and the siren goes.

Honest edge cases

Set real numbers, arm it, sleep. That's the entire workflow.

Sailing Log is a private-by-design logbook for iPhone & iPad: GPS tracks on nautical charts, an anchor alarm, passage plans, and share-worthy trip cards. Learn more →