Usually tie to back corner to allow for lines to be fished both sides of the boat.

It would definately be a slower drift attaching to the side but you couldn't fish as many lines off the one side, also I would think the boat would rock a lot more? Never actually tried it.

Probably safest on the stern somewhere, but hard when you have three on board fishing.

A few people with cabins complain you get a bit of a windsock effect when you do that, so they tend to tie off on the side somewhere.

Actually Till it is safer to have it off the port or starboard especially in rougher seas, if you have it tied at the stern and a wave hits it can drag the back of the boat down and take on water. we used to have it on the stern and after we had a close call we changed it. ours is off the port side set in such way that you can fish 2 or 3 on port side and 1 on the back starboard corner and with the right sea anchor you can fish one mid starboard as i do. our boat is a 23 footer with a large cabin area and drift is usually pretty good . we have one rope set from the bow and one set to mid port cleat which forms a triangle out to the sea anchor. works well for our boat but maybe not for others

I prefer to tie side on as well for that very same reason.  Have had a wave break over the transom before.

We have a 18ft6 chivers half cabin and we have made a neat anchor point (home made) on the side of the boat ( Starboard) on the cabin frame where it is very strong ,we have a stainless steal snap lock hook which is easy to get on and of quickly ( incase of emergency) and easily accessable and that slows our drift right down and we can easily fish two over the side without getting tangled.

 Usually tie it onto the railing that ends up near the cab of most boats ive been on!

Oh and make sure you sit at the back of the boat coz when the fish are on.. The person at the front is more than keen to retrieve it leaving you plenty of time to adress your bait perfect ..

If you have it tied to the side it will slow the drift for sure and it can make a huge differance depending on the boat .we fish thre of my boat side on with no problems hadd a freind follow me out once and he had his anchor on the stern and he just sailed past me .you can also turn the motor to get the drift right ,give it a go if your not happy you can go back to to stern .

I tie of the port side, then the hull has to push side on to the water creating more resistance, but you will have to watch your GPS as you actually slide through the water but after your first drift you will soon work out your pattern, i have made a large wrap around gunnel clamp that i clip my one or two sea anchors on to and depending on the drift i can then slide the clamp up and down the gunnel to adjust the angle the boat goes through the water to ensure that we fish at right angles to the drift 

Hmm interesting, I guess I only have a tinny and the transom is the same height as the gunwales but I always figured I'd rather have more weight from a wave over the back of my boat than the side, its much less likey to make it unbalanced.

till i also have a tinny and would never use the stern as a tie off point for a sea anchor as buz said it actually stable's the boat when tied off to the side

Usually tie off on the starboard side, Can fish 3 down the side still. Like to be able to see the sounder from where I'm fishing. Agree with Paul, your motor position can big a big difference to your drift.

I also turn wheel hard to Port so it squares the boat up nicely and avoids the fisho closest to the sea anchor having any issues with ropes getting in the way.

The other thing to consider is that cabins fitted with full sets of clears will catch the wind a lot more than those without. Its a matter of trial and error as to how close to the bow you go with your sea anchor. A lot of guys use a bridled rig so that they can get the sea anchor up closer to the bow by tying it off on two of the stantions of the barwork. Works great in getting a perfect sideon drift for bigger boats.

If I have three fishing on the boat with two on one side and one in the back corner I will adjust the rudder so we drift diagonally and avoid tangles as best we can.

this is the case also in an emergency situation. worse case, in a big sea tying it anywhere else is dangerous. and of course the longer the rope you have it on the better. some say 3 boat lengths to get the full benefit of the anchor. you can also use a short length of chain to keep it a bit deeper in the water column. however on a slow drift it can be a pain when fishing.

tied to the bow (anchor) bollard, chucked under the bow rail, and hung off the port side, with the retrieval rope tied to the side.

with the motor hard lock to the left, we drift perfectly side on, and fish up to 4 people off that side no dramas whatsoever on my 6m. bait board and esky go on the starboard side to counter ballance.

Always drift with the sea anchor side on but have it attached with a black plastic 2 inch snap clip sewn onto seat belt material - it is rated at two tonnes breaking strain - it has saved us a couple of times when hit but a larger wave as it simply snaps and a float keeps the sea anchor for retreival ...........we WOULD have taken tonnes of water otherwise and I would add we were not out in bad conditions just one of those times when sea and swell come up with a freaky - weve all seen em at some stage or another 

sounds like it is a majority on the port side  and turning the motor hard to port. so i do that much right now i just got to get the fish catching stuff right

with 2 legs makes a difference too... as you are affected by current aswell.

Went out with a mate the other day, well he followed me out.

Ive got a 26ft fibre console, he has a 25ft fibre console.
He ties his sea anchor almost off the nose and gets a good drift, but due to the drag from currents and wind mine has to be off the side to square the boat up. Ive got twins his is a single.