Anchor Chain

[Freestyle]

I spent Spring Break at the beach with the kids and without the boat.

I got really bored and read Chapman's about anchoring and other stuff.

According to Chapman's, for my 43 DC I should have 20 feet of chain between my anchor and nylon line. I presently have about 8 feet but have had some anchor dragging experiences that still give me night tremors.

I don't have a windlass and have to pull the anchor up on my own until one of my kids gets big enough. (Admiral doesn't pull anchor).

If I have 20 feet of chain on there, is it going to weigh too much to manually haul? (assuming I am a pretty good sized middle aged guy)

Bruce

 

[Traveler 45C]

You can never have too much chain, unless you’ve got to pull it up without a windlass.

Rule of thumb- at a minimum, the chain should weigh as much as the anchor.

On my 45C, I’ve got a 44 lb Delta, 44 lbs of 3/8” chain (30 feet) and my windlass is broken so I know how you feel. (Oh yea, I’ve also got 3 blown discs in my back, not caused by pulling the anchor though).

It’ll be a lot of weight depending on how much anchor you have, which should be pretty close to my set-up.

 

[MikeP]

Until I bought this boat, I never had a chain rode. But I have become a total convert. I would suggest you put as much chain on as you can carry. There is absolutely no comparison on the anchoring ability of the two. The more chain the better - all chain is best!

 

[Avenger]

Have you considered the anchor-ball trick for pulling the anchor? The anchor usually ends up floating under the ball so at least you don't have to "winch" it all the way from the bottom by yourself. Of course, you may not have the room to do it in a crowded anchorage.

 

[34Hatt]

I run 50' of chain on a 34' your boat I would put 75' minimum I think its time to buy a windlass!

 

[Liquid Asset]

I too run 50' of chain. The only reason I did not go more is because my windlass does not have a chain gypsy and it is extremly hard to pull the chain with a capstan. I think it is time you purchase a windlass.

I really would like to have 100' of chain, but I can not handle it untill I get the windlass changed/converted.

I would recomend that you get at lease 25'. You can always put a weight on the chain about 1/4 the way up from the anchor. that will sometimes help your anchor have a more straight pull and will hold better. But that is something else you have to pull up.

 

[luckydave215]

If you have a windlass, all chain is the only way to go for the best holding and chafe resistance. It's a lot of weight forward, though. Many find that the combination of having a heavy main anchor/rode and a lightweight "lunch hook" anchor/rode makes life easier for temporary fair weather anchorong.

 

[REBrueckner]

I agree with the suggestions to get a windlass, especially one which you control from your helm station via remote switches. In a tight pinch like sudden winds, dragging, thunderstorm, etc, that arrangement is invaluable.

Meantime, adding another ten or 20 feet of chain isn't worth it. Unless you want to build those biceps!! Sure the catenary (loop droop due to weight) is improved, but once a real strain is placed on the anchor, the whole thing is straight line..taught,that is. At that point nylon is better because it will stretch, evening out sudden tension...as in waves, for example, or sudden gusts.
The main reason to have some chain at the anchor end is for CHAFE protection, against bottom debris, rocks or coral, for example. For those who want the catenary significantly improved, then the chain should be placed half way along the scope to produce maximum benefit...that would be unuseful...

Finally, an all chain rode on a chain gypsy is the way to go..it never slips as rope can, chafe is minimized and you get the best catenary (weight droop) benefit. The big drawback is mud muck in the links...and inevitable rust with flakes on deck.
Once you add a windlass you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner.

 

[Passages]

On orders from the Admiral, Passages has 150' of all chain and a powerful windlass. The Windlass has foot controls on bow and a toggle switch on the bridge.

The difference is noticable. I now enjoy the best anchor sets of my boating carreer. We have another 150' of nylon and a spare Fortress as back up.

 

[Nonchalant1]

Bruce,

You probably also read Chapman's chapter on setting the anchor. If you get it set right and it's the right type and weight, it's not going anywhere. After reading that section, now every time I anchor I set it until I can run both engines at idle in reverse and not move the anchor. At that tension, the nylon rode is like a cello string. I know there are situations where even that will not guarantee no drag, like a rock bottom with shifting wind, but it has worked great for me. Even though I have a good winch, I only have 8 ft of chain on my Fortress anchor and no chain on my 65 lb. CQR.

Doug

 

[solanderi]

When using a windlass, what is the correct method for breaking out of the anchor set?

I had the experience of tripping the windlass breaker when using the windlass only to break out of an anchor set. Would using the windlass only put undue strain on the system compared with the buoy ball technique followed by using the windlass to pick up the rode after its hanging on the buoy ball ?

 

[ThirdHatt]

What size anchors are you running on your 53MY's? My boat came with all chain and a a 35lb Bruce in the pulpit which didn't set for me until the third try. I then swapped for my trusty old 35lb danforth and it sets first time, every time. A 35-lb danforth is what I have used with ZERO setting or dragging problems on my 41TC for many years, but I would think I need at least a 60lb for this 58YF considering it weighs two and a half times as much. Unfortunately, it seems no bigger anchor will fit in the pulpit! I believe the pulpit is original Hatteras because it looks exactly like most all others I've seen. Any suggestions?

 

[egaito]

When using a windlass, what is the correct method for breaking out of the anchor set?

I had the experience of tripping the windlass breaker when using the windlass only to break out of an anchor set. Would using the windlass only put undue strain on the system compared with the buoy ball technique followed by using the windlass to pick up the rode after its hanging on the buoy ball ?

Windlass' aren't designed for breaking the anchor free as you found out the hard way!

Bump the boat in and out of gear as you are approaching the anchor to take up the slack. When you're straight over the anchor, continue forward and let the boat "float" it out of it's set. The windlass should be able to pick it up from there.

It's nice to have someone on the bow to tell you when it's close, but still in the water, so you can idle forward and rinse it before hauling it in.

-Ed

 

[Beckytek]

You should only use your windlass to take up the slack in the chain/line as you motor toward the anchor. Once the chain/line is vertical to your bow, tie the line around a cleat, or with chain the chain stopper. Power ahead with the engines to break the anchor free. Once it is free, use the windlass to bring in the anchor. If you don't do it this way the windlass won't last long.

 

[UNIQUE_NAME]

solanderi;
winches are designed for pulling up (after breakout) and dropping the anchors. i motor along the line and retrieve with the winch. when i reach where the anchor is set i run over the line a bit to break the set. then i use the winch to lift. the sound of the winch will tell you if you've broken free.

jim

 

[egaito]

<snip>... According to Chapman's, for my 43 DC I should have 20 feet of chain between my anchor and nylon line. I presently have about 8 feet but have had some anchor dragging experiences that still give me night tremors.

I don't have a windlass and have to pull the anchor up on my own until one of my kids gets big enough. (Admiral doesn't pull anchor).

If I have 20 feet of chain on there, is it going to weigh too much to manually haul? (assuming I am a pretty good sized middle aged guy)

Bruce

What type of anchor is this? The Windlass would be the way to go, but if it's not an option for you, try more scope. Hauling all that chain myself would be "almost" a good enough reason not to go out and anchor!

A windlass can be an expensive proposition, so maybe you do it in stages. Get the windlass first, then all-chain rode if you want a season or two down the road. With the windlass in place, you could add a bit more chain, and put out more scope with little physical stress.

I've got a strange arrangement on my boat. The windlass uses a strap instead of rope and/or chain. The strap creates quite a bit of resistance in the water, simulating to an extent, the effect of chain. I don't think it's quite as good as chain, mind you, but it's a compromise I'm willing to live with for the benefits. It's stronger than rope and winds onto a drum without tangling so my anchor locker is available for storage of other items.

-Ed G.

 

[jim rosenthal]

Many of us use lightweigh aluminum anchors like the Fortress or the SPADE. Their virtue, besides not rusting, is that they are easier to handle as they weigh less. Their vice is that they have a greater tendency to "fly" along the bottom and skip, because they are lighter. One of the cures for this is a length of heavy anchor chain, to keep the anchor stock parallel to the bottom when setting the anchor.

I use 35ft of heavy stainless chain on my big anchor rode. I use about 15ft on my smaller daily anchor. (I use stainless because I was lucky enough to find 100ft of new stainless chain in a cutout rack at a marine supply store years ago and grabbed it- Akyla and I split it.) I think the weight of the chain is more important than how many feet it is. Another virtue of stainless chain is that it corrodes far less than galvanized, which is helpful if you are anchoring on wrecks frequently, since that will remove the zinc coating rapidly. As mentioned above, when chain is stretched it is bar-tight, with no give. This is why combination anchor rodes are popular- nylon will retain some give, but chain gets whatever give it has only from it's weight and that it is not fully stretched out. If you are anchored out and you have pulled your chain rode fully straight, you are in some serious wind indeed and I would not want to be along.

Much of the benefit of all-chain rode occurs in anchorages where the sawing effect of the bottom can endanger your rode (coral, rock). If you are not going to areas like that, and you have a boat that you expect to plane, the advantages of all-chain rode may be negated by the large amount of weight that you are hauling around in the anchor locker- hundreds of pounds with all-chain rode. 250 feet of 3/8 BBB chain would weigh 425 lbs, and cost around $1500 from WM. And you STILL don't have the windlass yet....

 

[MikeP]

I used to do it the right way as described above but now I prefer the wrong way because it is easier and works better for us. I might be concerned if the windlass (Ideal) was less substantial:

The windlass switches are at the pulpit. With the boat at anchor I activate the windlass for 5-10 seconds. This does not substantially move anything but it takes some of the slack out of the chain. After the windlass stops, the chain starts to slacken from its own weight again and pulls the boat forward. I just keep repeating this in stages. There is never much of a load on the windlass since it is only taking some of the slack out of the chain-it is never actually PULLING the boat toward the anchor. Soon the boat is close to the anchor and it lifts right up. THe windlass never slows down or sounds even slightly strained during this process.

I find this works better than all the maneuvering and stopping/starting that is necessary to keep the boat aligned with the chain and to keep from over-running it. So we quit doing it the "recommended" way.

We have a fair sized plow as the main anchor - I don't know the weight, and a Danforth as a spare - I don't know the weight of that either! The plow has held the boat with no trouble at all in very stiff breezes in areas with considerable boat wakes adding to the difficulty. In fact, the first time it occurred, I was very concerned but the chain held the boat so solidly that I am now totally confident in our ground tackle and consider it much more secure than a mooring ball that I know nothing about...

So far we have been fortunate enough not to encounter winds so stiff they could straighten the chain rode. Like Jim, I'd prefer being at the dock in those conditions. Yeah it weighs a lot - 300ft of 5/16 BBB - but for our purposes, the weight is not really a consideration. Our 53MY struggles to get up on plane! It'll do it but I never run there except to occasionally excercise the engines at WOT (and watch the 165 temps at 1500RPM rapidly creep to 194!)

 

[Captned]

Get a windlass. Sell the house, the cars, the kids and the admiral if you must. One of the greatest additions to my boat, hands down. Just do it. I still have bad dreams about hauling that SOB up by hand. Nothing like having 125' of chain out in 8 feet of water. I sleep real good.

Captned
46 78 SF

 

[spartonboat1]

The rating of a windlass in terms of weight capacity is expressed in terms of its ability to lift all the ground tackle and rode. Imagine if all your tackle was chain and ran away in deep water, or you needed a deep water set. The windlass is supposed to able to lift the weight of the ground tackle and the chain/rode. But not to drag the vessel throught the water, as noted above. My $0.02