Anchor chain; length marking, swivels and the bitter end.

JoeQ

JoeQ

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 Jan 2004
Messages
319
Location
Glasgow
www.use.me.uk
Hi,

What's recommended for length marking on anchor chain, cable ties or paint? What spacing, every 5M or what? If you use cable ties, don't they foul the windlass?

Are swivels recommended or should I stick to a sturdy shackle?

What's best for "the bitter end"? Some kind of synthetic material that won't be affected by damp in the chain locker?

Thanks.
 
I find each 5 M is good - and I use paint for the reasons you've stated.

IMHO a sturdy shackle is less of a risk than a swivel - but that has not stopped me using a swivel myself as it also makes for easier retrieval through my bow mounting.

I use 100% chain and have it strongly tied off in the locker to a trough hull D - but I think you'll find all modern ropes are resistant to moisture.

Cheers
JOHN
 
JoeQ

Most chandlers sell little rubber coloured things that fit inside the chain links. Very good and don't fall out, although cost a couple of beer vouchers. I've moved from cable ties since they eventually disappear. I have marked every 10m in different colours and written the decode inside the anchor locker cover.

I have a swivel, although I am thinking about taking it off after reading some horror stories on here.

My chain is then "anchor spliced" to nylon anchorplait for another 40m or so, marked with cable ties through the weave. So far they have remained in place 'cos its rarely used. The whole lot runs fairly well through my electric windlass but that might depend on yer gypsy.

The bitter end is then bowlined onto a big ring, although I always put the chain or warp around a cleat. I keep a sharp knife on the rod kicker in case I need to jettison the anchor quickly. I am about to fit a 10m length of anchorplait with a chain hook on the end, to hook onto the chain a few metres from the boat and pull in and tie off. I think that will reduce the sharp tugs on the anchor in a swell, although not yet tried.
 
What's "best" is what works for you. I beleive that there are "standard" systems of marking but these seem to asume you have a very long chain and need remebereing or wring down in the chain locker. There are pop-in plastic bits that you can use to mark the chain. Cables ties may snag, so not recommended really. Mind you, the plastic marker bits that snap into the chain links can fall out too.

I used most if not all of these, but they have disdavantages. Some people watching the chain forget the system. Or, they don't watch as the chain goes out. And of course, you always have to let chain out slowly enough to see a marker - and hope that the marks don't wear or fall out. Worst of all, you can't wander up to the chain a couple of hours later (say) and know/check instantly how much is out unless it is exactly at one of the markers.

Last year i painted the entire 85m chain in different colours according to length laid, and it's worked brillaintly. I used hammerite metal paint and a crap brush, flaked out all the chain and collected it in small piles each on a bit of cardboard.

The first tenish metres nearest the anchor is left plain. The second 10metres is red, third 10 metres yellow, third is green, then brown, blue, pink and then black with final five metres plain again. This follows snooker colours where the colours score 1-7 points corresponding to 10+ metres chain to 70+ metres chain so if you see brown, frinstance, you know that that scores er 4 points so that means 40 metres (or less than 50 metres) of chain is out.

Sure, sounds mad, - but the system isn't utterly mucked up when one or two plastics or markers come adrift - the paint chips but you can always see enough colour. Even in a dinghy from off the boat you can check how much chain is out AND you can release the brake and drop chain at speed but still keep track.

The second 10 metres of red and second 10 metres of yellow is paintyed with alternating black to show the 10-15m, 15-20m, 20-25 m and 25-30m sections.

There is a special strong yet unclippable shackle for bitter ends, but many people just use a short bit of rop you can cut with a knife. From a recent thread, few people seem to have swivels and they wd seem to be a weak link to me.

hope this helps
 
[ QUOTE ]
I am about to fit a 10m length of anchorplait with a chain hook on the end, to hook onto the chain a few metres from the boat and pull in and tie off. I think that will reduce the sharp tugs on the anchor in a swell, although not yet tried.

[/ QUOTE ]

Better still is to make your snubber line up with a rubber mooring compensator in it as well. These are like a rubber sausage with a couple of eyes each end, the line goes through the 2 eyes, winds around the body (more turns allows more stretch then through the 2 eyes at the other end. The result is NO snatch, no noise and greatly reduced load on the anchor. If you have a windlass you MUST transfer the chain loads to a cleat anyway so it might as well be with a snubber line.
 
I use white paint, any old end of a can will do, as it wears off during the season, five links at five fathoms, ten at ten, etc. The marks need not be closer than that. You can see the white paint in the dark OK.

If you "think metric", you could make it ten links at ten metres, twenty at twenty, etc and the spacing would be the same, in practice.

If you have too close painted links, or a very clever system, you will forget it when in a panic at 0200 in a gale and rain!

I don't think that a swivel is a good idea in an anchor cable - moorings of course need them.

Connection of bitter end - after an experience earlier this summer (see thread on classic boat forum) I am now VERY CAREFUL to use a length of synthetic rope that is JUST long enough to come on deck but still leave chain links on the gypsy. Very important!
 
I wouldn't bother with 10m of anchor plait for this either Pops - go down a size from the anchor rode and use 3 strand nylon. Easier and neater to splice the chain hook onto it, works really well with a rubber thingy as Robin says and has a little extra elasticity. I actually use 10mm against the 14mm rode diameter when anchoring in shallow water on 8mm chain.
 
[ QUOTE ]
wouldn't bother with 10m of anchor plait for this - use 3 strand nylon. Easier and neater to splice the chain hook onto it

[/ QUOTE ]

Totally disagree, Octoplait is relatively easy to splice especially if you get the coloured one from Jimmy Green, whereas some nylon 3 strand specifically that designed to be hard wearing can be very difficult to splice. Resultant splices are just as neat. Where octoplait really scores is in its resistance to kink, and how easy it is to coil neatly. It is also much nicer to handle.
 
[ QUOTE ]
The first tenish metres nearest the anchor is left plain. The second 10metres is red, third 10 metres yellow, third is green, then brown, blue, pink and then black with final five metres plain again. This follows snooker colours...

[/ QUOTE ]

That's flipping brilliant. I alternate red and white every five metres and always get mixed up. Your system is perfect for me, if I can find all those colours.
 
flippin brilliant

thanks!

pink is mixed up white and red of course, and brown is also mixed radomly with various colours to make a sludgy colour...

of course, the very best best thing about this is that even the kids can do the painting AND most of all it just can't "go wrong".
 
Hi Joe,

I'd mark your chain using 12-19mm wide webbing. Just feed a strip around 75mm long throught the link and stitch it as tight as you can to the outside (down the side) of the link. Don't stitch the 'tails' together.

It works perfectly, lasts almost indefinitely and won't hurt your hands as cable ties can do, when you're counting at night. They can be washed when muddy and will pass round your windlass gypsy without even noticing.

We've had this system on our boat for 15 years now and have only replaced two pieces in all that time. As we never use less than 10 metres, our first tie is there. Thereafter they are at 5 metre intervals (i.e. 2 ties @ 15m, 3 @ 20M etc)

I thought it was all my idea, until some years after fitting them, we read that the Pardey's also use it!! Ah well, nuffing new under the sun eh?! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Hope it helps,

Jerry
 
ah well we will have to disagree then - maybe it's me but (1) I can't splice an eye into octoplait as easily as 3 strand (2) for a 3/5m length of line including a 0.7m length of rubber I get a pretty neat easy 'package' that holds it's shape in 3 strand to stow (only used 1/10 times I anchor anyway), and can't see how the flakeness of octoplait would help me AND (3) I don't see the need for hard nylon in this application as it's going from cleat /air/chainhook and nowhere near the seabed - if you are routing it through a bow roller then adding a section of 3/4" ID pipe above the rubber thingy makes a lot of sense and would be better than hard nylon rope too.
 
Anchor connectors/swivels

Don't confuse an anchor connector with a swivel. The connector looks like a swivel in shape, but doesn't have the swivel join which is (arguably) the weakest bit. When I checked the safe working loads and breaking loads of shackles vs Plastimo purpose-made anchor connectors, the anchor connectors were several times as strong. Indeed, the use of a shackle reduces the breaking load of your whole anchor enormously so do please check the rating of any shackle before using it. Plastimo's connector is torpedo-shaped and helps to stow my 30kg Bruce though I turn it round by hand if needed (30kg is perfectly manageable by hand).

It goes without saying, I imagine, but do seize any shackles used for anchoring! A cable tie inspected regularly or monel wire are both fine. When you are riding to anchor in a force 7/8 as I was in Motril harbour last week you don't want to be worrying about your ground tackle.
 
Cable ties - I use them and they do run through the windlass. The odd one does break off but they are easily replaced. I have marked my chain every 10m and every 5m - one red tie at 5m, one white at 10m one white and one red at 15, two white at 20m two white and one red at 25m and so on up to 75m then eight red - stop! only 10m left.
Bitter end spliced on to a 100m length of octoplait just in case it is needed.

As for swivels, again I dont think they are made for your size of chain - even if they are I would not use them.
Don't know if the plastic inserts are available for your size of chain.
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hammer.thumb.gif
"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity"
 
I have just done mine with tie wraps. I bought a pack of 'international' colour coded ones from Maplin see below?


Click for link.

TCM's method is great, snooker colours, but if I was letting his anchor go I would prolly get mixed up.

If you use the recognised colour codes, as used in wiring, resistors etc. Then is is easy to explain to people what they, many will already know them. I have gone mad and marked every foot of chain and then every 5ft on the rode.

Code>

0 - black
1 - brown
2 - red
3 - orange
4 - yellow
5 - green
6 - blue
7 - violet
8 - grey
9 - white

You do not have to follow the chain to watch the colours, i.e. seeing the marker on my rode, brown-red-green would be instantly recognisable as 125 feet.

Just a thought, and the pack of coloured tie wraps are pretty cheap too.
 
prolly get mixed up

ah, but i wd say "set it to green" or you wd call from bow "yellow!" and i wd say "Blue i think!" so no need for you to do understand initially.

BTW, apart from a few clever clever resistorish electrical/electronic energineery people who can make the store staff in maplins feel daft - nobody but nobody undertsands resistor colour codes.
 
Re: prolly get mixed up

easy way to remember the numbers is:
'Big Balds Rape Our Young Girls But Virgins Go Without
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
My dad tought me that when i was 5 !!!!!
Im so lucky!
 
thanks for that Talbot - I seem to remember splitting the pairs more than that in the instructions I played with before ie ending up with 8 strands for most of the splice..... /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

will play around with some ends over the coming months and see if I can become halfway proficient before concluding which is easier!

regards
 
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