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anchor rode

steven

Sustaining Member
Standard for small boats anchoring in soft muddy/sandy not-too-deep bottoms to use about 10 feet of chain between the anchor and a nylon rope anchor rode.
Seems to work. Except the chain part is a pain. Hard to handle on deck and comes up muddy and hard to wash clean.

Would it work instead to have a couple of weights on the line ? Say 5 feet from the anchor and another at 10 feet. Or something like that.
With all nylon rope in between ? Maybe with a bigger anchor ? Maybe need more scope ?

--Steve
 

Second Star

Member III
Our previous boat was a 23 ft. I happened to have recovered a large shackle pin from a wreck (about 5-10 lbs) that I would pass a carabiner through and pass over the rode once the anchor was set and allow it to slide down the line to find it's own position. This kept us well. Here on the west coast the fishermen have various sized lead "cannon balls" for their trolling sinker lines that have a built in clip. Of note the other reason for the chain is to limit damage to the rode from rocks and coral.
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I remember the mud, and my Danforth sliding over the eel grass and refusing to set.

Thereʻs nothing wrong with removing the chain for a lunch hook--and 10ʻ isnʻt enough to make a difference in a blow, anyhow.

But I think it might be easier just to get a long-handled scrub brush, a bucket and some waterproof gloves--and scrub off the muck before the chain comes aboard.

Naturally you are never occupied with anything else during this time, while hoisting anchor in a crowded cove :)
 

supersailor

Contributing Partner
The chain serves two purposes. The first is that it holds the Shank down and that allows the anchor to set faster and better. It also prevents the nylon anchor line from abrading on the bottom. In my younger and more foolish days, I tried going without the chain. When the anchor rode was brought up the rode was worn nearly all the way through from something it was rubbing on the bottom. Lesson learned cheaply.

The chain should be at least the length of the boat. On Terra Nova, I carry 50'. In a muddy area, I would add a salt water pump and a hose to clean the anchor and chain.
 
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Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
The chain serves two purposes. The first is that it holds the Shank down and that allows the anchor to set faster and better. It also prevents the nylon anchor line from abrading on the bottom. In my younger and more foolish days, I tried going without the chain. When the anchor rode was brought up the rode was worn nearly all the way through from something it was rubbing on the bottom. Lesson learned cheaply.

The chain should be at least the length of the boat. On Terra Nova, I carry 50'. In a muddy area, I would add a salt water pump and a hose to clean the anchor and chain.

I follow the old "advice" to have 30 feet of chain for a boat of our length. It probably 'should' be longer, but anchoring is very easy in our sandy river bottom. I do have 250 feet of nylon anchor line.
We have a Danforth 12H for our 10600# boat. That is the size and type of anchor that our molded-in anchor well fits, as well.
 
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Tin Kicker

Sustaining Member
Moderator
While I will keep the chain, it's worth noting that Steven and I are on the Chesapeake Bay, where the bottom is typically mud and the average depth is 5 feet. Very different world from where there's rock, coral, sand, etc.
 

Emerald

Moderator
While I will keep the chain, it's worth noting that Steven and I are on the Chesapeake Bay, where the bottom is typically mud and the average depth is 5 feet. Very different world from where there's rock, coral, sand, etc.

yep - about 10-15 feet of chain is pretty standard for us mud puddle sailors on the Chesapeake, but I think it's closer to 7 feet, or Emerald would never make it out of her slip with 5 feet of draft! :egrin:
 
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bgary

Advanced Beginner
Blogs Author
I follow the old "advice" to have 30 feet of chain.

Me too. The advice I grew up with was to have "at least a boat-length" of chain, so I have 35 feet.

I also heard, somewhere (power squadron class? six-pack class? don't remember. Hey, it was the 70s...) that an all-purpose rode should be at least 1/6th chain. If I ever need to put out my full 250' of nylon anchor line, that would imply I should have 50 feet of chain at the bottom of it.

ObNote, less chain is usually okay for a "day hook" in sheltered conditions when enjoying a sandwich, or whatever. But when it gets snotty, and/or you need to leave the boat, and you really really want it to stay where you put it... more chain is better. A weight run down the anchor-line can help, but isn't a substitute and, in some cases, can make things more complicated.

$.02
Bruce
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Right, and in coral it should be 100 percent chain. Local practice is often different. Since I've owned the 38 I've never anchored once, so there is also local no-practice-at-all.:)
 

Kenneth K

1985 32-3, Puget Sound
Blogs Author
I finally got around to measuring my ground tackle last week (which I've still never used). The 10kg Bruce anchor actually weighs out at 23.8 lbs. I don't know if the PO's intention was to match the length of the boat or the weight of the anchor, but the 31 ft of 1/4" G-4 chain also weighed 23.8 lb. I also carry a 14lb Danforth as a secondary.
 
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