Life at Anchor Just Got Better: Our Anchor Alarm & Bow Shade

Two things have really changed the way we live at anchor this season. The first is our custom anchor alarm, which means we can both sleep easier at night. The second is the new shade over the bow. Together, they give us more comfort and peace of mind while living at anchor. When we arrived at the anchorage, Holly handled the windlass while I talked through how we set the anchor. We’ve also got the anchor alarm running on a split screen, so you can see it working in real time, including when the alarms go off. The anchor watch is a custom Home Assistant setup that takes GPS, depth, heading and wind data from Signal K. It calculates our swing radius using the amount of rode we’ve put out and the depth, then keeps an eye on the boat for any signs that we’re dragging. If the boat moves outside the area it should be in, both our phones get an alert and the onboard siren sounds, whether we’re awake, asleep, or simply not paying attention. That’s really why we built it: for peace of mind when we’re anchored. We’ve put the full write-up on our website, and Crew members can download the integration and map panel code. Read the write-up: https://svsabado.com/building-a-custom-anchor-watch-system-with-home-assistant-and-signalk/ Get the code: https://svsabado.com/documents/ The second part of this episode is our first impressions of the Sunrise Shade System over the bow. The trampolines are great to sit on until about ten in the morning, and after that, nobody really wants to be up there baking in the sun. The shade has given us that space back for the rest of the day. We already had Sunrise trampolines and Sailor’s Pillows, so we knew the build quality before we started. The custom bow shade is an investment, but so far, we are thrilled. https://multihullnets.com CHAPTERS 01:43 Our custom anchor alarm and what it watches 06:49 How we set the anchor on a catamaran 10:41 Installing a bow sunshade on a lagoon 42 19:03 Anchor alarms going off __________________________________________ ⛵️ Subscribe to our website for helpful documents, tech details, practical guides, and unfiltered stories from our travels. Join here: https://svsabado.com/#/portal/signup 📸Follow us for daily #boatlife posts on Instagram: @sv_sabado Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/svsabado