| Do you know which chart symbols describe the best | | | | repair any damages. |
| type of sea bottom for anchoring? Would you rather | | | | Color of the Bottom |
| anchor in rock, mud, coral, or clay? If you go aground, | | | | Color isn't used as much today, but it was vital in the |
| would it be safe to back off of a shoal or could that | | | | days of the old square riggers. They would take |
| action punch a hole in your boat? Learn the secrets of | | | | samples of the bottom when approaching landfall |
| the sea bed to help you make these vital decisions. | | | | along a fog-shrouded coast. Savvy sea captains could |
| Your navigational chart breaks sea bed characteristics | | | | tell how far off land they were by looking at the color |
| down into type, texture, and color. You will always see | | | | of the bottom material. Know the colors below in case |
| the type of bottom on your chart. Texture or color is | | | | you see them on your navigation chart. |
| often shown to give you a better description of the | | | | Learn these common abbreviations used throughout |
| bottom type. | | | | the cruising world. Note that sea bottom symbols are |
| Type of the Bottom | | | | always italicized on your chart: |
| Choose a hard mud or clay bottom for the best, | | | | Type |
| worry-free overnight anchorage. Your boat anchor | | | | S--Sand; M--Mud; Sh--Shells; Grs--Grass; K--Kelp; Rk or |
| could drag in bottoms that indicate grass, kelp, rock, or | | | | Rky--Rocky; Co--Coral; Oys--Oysters; Bld--boulders. |
| oyster beds. Use a larger plow anchor, like a CQR, | | | | Texturef or fne--fine; bk or brk--broken; sy or |
| Bruce, Rocna, or Delta, or put out two anchors in | | | | stk--sticky; so or sft--soft; h or hrd--hard. |
| bottom types like these. | | | | Colorwh--white; bl or bk--black; yl--yellow; lt--light; |
| Texture of the Bottom | | | | dk--dark. |
| Is the bottom texture soft, hard, sticky, or broken? | | | | Boost your sailing navigation skills to the next level by |
| Grounding isn't such a concern in soft sand, soft or | | | | becoming more "sea-bottom" savvy. Know these |
| sticky mud, kelp, or grass. But rock, coral, or boulders | | | | chart symbols to give you the confidence to make the |
| could puncture the hull, damage the keel, rudder, | | | | best decisions for your small cruising boat and sailing |
| propeller shaft, or propeller. Use great caution not to | | | | crew. |
| back off of a hard shoal before you check, patch, and | | | | |