Anchor chain marker colour combinations.

[nickfabbri]

I am going to remark my anchor chain with those little chain markers and have 30 of them; 10 red ,10 yellow ,10 green.

Previously i used cable ties every 2m; red for the 1st 10 mters,yellow for the 2nd and greenfor the next 10,but it seems a flawed concept. I always use more than 10m and so am thinking that i only need to mark after 10 metres, but every metre needs to be distinct. Ie i need to know where 14m is etc. So i am thinking of using colour combinations to mark certain points after 10m.

Has anyone a method that works for them. Im sure i could think one up but am not sure about the wisdom of the idea.

Many thanks.

 

[Ariadne]

White paint for the first 2m from the anchor, then yellow at 5m, 15m, 25m etc and red at the 10m, 20m, etc. You don't have to know you have 14m, just work in 5m increments - it's easier (well it's worked for me for the last 6 years no problem).

Most important thing is to get the anchor dug in well with plenty of chain out, we use 3:1 in tight anchorages and 5:1 or more if its not tight or it's going to blow a bit.

 

[Spyro]

I can't remember what combination I use but I have it written on the underside of the anchor locker lid. If you only have 3 colours I would use 1 red at 5m 1 yellow at 10m and 1 green at 15m then repeat using 2 red at 20m 2 yellow at 25m and 2 green at 30m then 3 red at 35 and so on. As soon as you see on set of markers pass you can judge closely enough each meter to the next one.
You never repeat the combination so no doubt about how much you have out.

 

[andygc]

I always use more than 10m and so am thinking that i only need to mark after 10 metres, but every metre needs to be distinct. Ie i need to know where 14m is etc. So i am thinking of using colour combinations to mark certain points after 10m.

I'm curious. Why do you need to mark every metre? Most people on chain in fairly shallow water would put out about 3 times the depth for lunch and 5 times the depth for a good sleep. As it really doesn't matter if you put out 25 metres instead of 21, why mark every metre?

We have these how to mark chain questions fairly frequently, so you might like to search for previous threads.

 

[rudolph_hart]

I'm curious. Why do you need to mark every metre? Most people on chain in fairly shallow water would put out about 3 times the depth for lunch and 5 times the depth for a good sleep. As it really doesn't matter if you put out 25 metres instead of 21, why mark every metre?

We have these how to mark chain questions fairly frequently, so you might like to search for previous threads.

Agreed. I read the several previous posts on this and came to the conclusion that:

1. I have only 3 colours of inserts
2. The inserts may/will fall out
3. I usually anchor in shallow water
4. I want to be sure to see them as they pay out/come aboard


So I placed 3 inserts of the same colour every 5 metres, then at 20 metres started the sequence again.

Works for me.

 

[anderson]

anchor chain marks

why be fussy we only mark every 10 mtrs red,white and blue,and then start again,it has worked for us for many years.

 

[Mudisox]

Anchoring.

No real comment except to make a note of it, easily seen, when anchoring.

As another item, I was once advised to let more rode out than the 3-5 times reccommended before setting the anchor well in[assuming you want to stay the night , asleep], and then if you then need to reduce the scope to allow others room or the space is restricted, haul it back to that which is needed. The longer the scope the better the set. Especially relevant in an age where we use electric winches.

 

[Amulet]

Mine is

The logic is:
Colours: black, blue, red, yellow in alphabetical order at 10 metre intervals.
White means 5, either on its own or in combination with the previous colour.

Seems to work for my forgetful family, in that you can work it out even if you can't remember!

The actual colours were dictated by tyhe cable ties available on the day.
I also have a single transparent tie at one metre intervals - which is needlessly pedantic.

 

[pteron]

I've always fancied using the resistor colour code
black = 0
brown = 1
red = 2
orange = 3
yellow = 4
green = 5
etc.

brown black = 10m
red black would be 20m
red green = 25m etc

 

[NormanS]

Red, White, and Blue, seems to trip off the tongue, and isn't complicated. I,ve always found that marking every 10 metres is accurate enough for me. You can then repeat the R, W, & B after 30 metres, you'll surely know whether you're at 10 or 40.

 

[alan_d]

I use paint in the Newtonian colours of the rainbow, except I miss out orange and violet and use black instead of indigo. That gives me a half-metre coloured section every 10 metres of chain from 10 to 50, then red and black stripes before the chain/rope splice at 60 metres.

I have heard that some people use the snooker-ball colours.

 

[charles_reed]

I'm always doubtful of colour-marking anchor chain because 25% of my anchoring is in the dark and by half-way through the season i.e 50-60 anchorings, the lower ones have disappeared - as a result my log contains entries like "40m + 6m textile in 5m of water", as the only marks still legible are from about half-way up.

The pop-in markers pop-out and cable-ties get chewed out by the winch, so they're not much good.

I suppose the only real answer is to have a proper counter on the winch.

 

[Csail]

Simple. We usually anchor in abot 5m so first mark is 20m then after that in every 15m.

 

[john_morris_uk]

We only mark every ten metres.

We must be very lucky as we anchor a fair bit and the pop in type anchor chain markers have been in place for the last six years.

 

[stefan_r]

On big ships they mark the chain to illustrate the chain length between the markings (a little hard to describe).

Have a look at the pic attached. Basically you put 1 colour to indicate a given length, say 5m.

So on the chain you have one colour (red) at 5m and then 5 m later (i.e. 10m) you put 2 reds to show it is 2x5m.

Then you put a separator colour (green or whatever) and another 2 reds to show you are going "from" 10m....then you have 3 reds to show 15m (3x5m).

The picture - if you get your head around it, probably describes better than words.

 

[nimbusgb]

1 - Why mark anything less than 15m? With a scope of say 6:1 that's the minimum you would let out when anchoring in 2m of water.

2 - mark in multiples of scope. so start at 2 ( at the 15m mark ) and then every 6m from there.

3 - Read anchor depth and let out chain to the point that matched the water depth. When anchored in 8m of water let it out to mark 8.

If you need to know the swing radius you can have a conversion chart at the nav table in the warm and dry.

 

[vyv_cox]

1 - Why mark anything less than 15m? With a scope of say 6:1 that's the minimum you would let out when anchoring in 2m of water.

2 - mark in multiples of scope. so start at 2 ( at the 15m mark ) and then every 6m from there.

3 - Read anchor depth and let out chain to the point that matched the water depth. When anchored in 8m of water let it out to mark 8.

If you need to know the swing radius you can have a conversion chart at the nav table in the warm and dry.

That's quite clever if you know you will always be swinging in an unrestricted anchorage with no other boats present. Practically nowadays, 6:1 is a luxury in many regions and especially in popular places in the Med. The system then becomes complicated for instant calculation on the foredeck.

It is also not ideal for stern-to berthing, where in most cases you do not set the anchor according to depth, but on boat-lengths.

 

[jay0411]

A standard used in yachting industry is….
Red, Yellow, Blue, White, Green
Rub Your Balls With Grease
Then repeat if needed

 

[john_morris_uk]

A standard used in yachting industry is….
Red, Yellow, Blue, White, Green
Rub Your Balls With Grease
Then repeat if needed

I’ve worked in ‘The yachting industry’ for years and the only thing I’m convinced of is that there is no standard. Not sure where you get the idea from that your colour code and slightly crude aide memoire is standard?

 

[NormanS]

Red, white, and blue is easily remembered.