anchor chain length / calibration

I use Roman Numerals every 2 metres where white = I, red = V and yellow = X

So for 12 metres it's Yellow, White, White
Fo 26 metres it's Yellow, Yellow, Red, White

I've used those plasic chain markers on the chain and coloured tape on the Octoplait.
 
Paint.

Every 10 meters of chain I paint about half a meter of it, using a succession of different colours. I have 60 meters of chain, so it goes red, yellow, green, blue, black and then just before the chain-rope splice, red & black stripes. I think I can esimate the length between the paint marks accurately enough for the kind of anchoring I do.
 
Tie wraps, red ones for 10 metres, yellow for five. The reds are 1 per every 10 metres, so 5 for 50, etc. Yellow ones just single ones at each location. Chandleries sell purpose packaged ones, at enormous mark-up. B&Q sell a large plastic bottle, like an old fashioned sweet jar, packed full of yellow, red and white ones, for £8 IIRC. Enough to last for life.

They go through the windlass OK, occasional losses but easily replaced. A forumite suggests that this is a dangerous method, as the tie-wraps might pull your hand through the windlass. Answer seems obvious to me.

It's a great deal less trouble than painting, which is the method I used to use. Also, I found that paint tended to flake off galvanising fairly readily, needing touching up half way through the season.
 
I have seized short lengths of cord at 10m intervals- 1 for 10m, 2 for 20m etc. Easy to see and kinder on the hands that tie wraps and no colour code to remember. I have also painted the 5m intervals with white paint.
 
Are the "tie wraps" mentioned by several posters what I call cable ties? Or are they some other product that I'm unfamiliar with?

Apologies if this is a foolish question.
 
Thanks for the confirmation.

As for being injured, cable ties on rope anchor rode can slice flesh if the line is being paid out rapidly, running through one or both hands.

On our last boat I had 10m of heavy chain spliced to 50m of 14mm diameter Octoplait. The rope was marked with 2 cable ties at 20m (end of ties cut off, of course), 3 at 30m, 4 at 40 etc. The intermediate 5m intervals were each marked with a single cable tie.

Wearing gloves prevented wet skin being gouged.
 
we use flourescent road paint every 9mtrs, which is near enough 5 fathoms, in 4 colours. Then in combinations after the first 36mtrs until 99mtrs are complete and the remaining chain is painted flourescent red.
On the rode on the second anchor, we use the numbered plastic strips through the twists on the rode, opening them with a fid to allow insertion of the strip, again at every 9 mtrs, with the last 10 sprayed with the red paint again.
 
We use coloured shockcord threaded through a link and seized to itself with a small cable tie. If the ends of the shockcord are cut off level it shows as 'two' red or whatever, if one end is cut shorter than the other it shows as 'one' red. We found red, blue, yellow and white shockcord easily so plenty of choice of colours and you can always use two at each point for each colour. Our code is marked on the underside of the anchor well lid but we also have it printed on a card by the chart table with a cribsheet of roughly how much chain to let out for a particular depth and depth/chain ratio.
 
<< Coloured plastic inserts for fitting into chain links, sold in kits suitable for marking 25 cm of sized chains. >>

I tried them before the cable ties. The colour faded in less than one season's use, so they all looked the same. Several fell out. I left them on place when I fitted the tie-wraps and now I don't think there is a single one left. It wasn't easy to see how many were present, which after all is the reason for having anything. They were not cheap.

Not a success.
 
Paint every 10m augmented by ribbons of any old cloth offcut I can find. Solid paint a few feet before the anchor comes on board, to let the windlass slow down.
 
I inherited cable-ties which I cut off after first use because of the risk of cutting my hands.

But - expecially for those without a windlass - prior to dropping the anchor, I've always first flaked my cable along the side-deck (3m aft to second stanchion, so 6m round-trip to hawsepipe). What need is there then for cable markers?
 
Plastic rainbow chain markers .... now I've seen everything! Doesn't matter what they invent there's always some sucker who'll buy it. What's wrong with a piece of small stuff every 10 metres (or the length of your choice) ... 1 for 10, 2 for 20 etc.
Best one I saw recently was at the boat show ... an upright metal gizmo for the pontoon which you could hang your warp on so you didn't have to fetch it from a locker or jump ashore with it in your hand (presumably) ... I think they wanted 2 or 3 hundred quid for this one ... I'm afraid I stood and laughed at them! ... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
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