How much anchor chain?

[Sprout]

I've just finished my first season with my first boat and have a list of projects / purchases for over the winter.

One is to buy anchor chain. The boat has a Danforth anchor but it's attached with rope - my guess is that the previous owner took the chain with him for his new boat. I didn't anchor this year, so it wasn't an issue, but seeking out some quiet anchorages is definitely part of next year's plan.

What length of anchor chain should I buy, and what size? The boat is a First 30. I want enough chain to be of use when I go further afield but home waters (Zeeland, NL) are generally mud holding and anchorages of 3-4m depth. Similar to East Coast rivers for those with a UK hat on.

Thanks in advance - first post, please be gentle

 

[RichardS]

I've just finished my first season with my first boat and have a list of projects / purchases for over the winter.

One is to buy anchor chain. The boat has a Danforth anchor but it's attached with rope - my guess is that the previous owner took the chain with him for his new boat. I didn't anchor this year, so it wasn't an issue, but seeking out some quiet anchorages is definitely part of next year's plan.

What length of anchor chain should I buy, and what size? The boat is a First 30. I want enough chain to be of use when I go further afield but home waters (Zeeland, NL) are generally mud holding and anchorages of 3-4m depth. Similar to East Coast rivers for those with a UK hat on.

Thanks in advance - first post, please be gentle

Welcome to the forum.

I started off with 50m in Croatia but it's not really enough for that rocky and deeply sloping coast so I now have 100m. However, for what you describe, 50m will be fine.

Richard

 

[omega2]

We hold our aquabell 30 with 18feet of 10mm chain, to rope, the hook is a 17kg Delta, Operating on the East coast Thames Estuary, mainly mud, at depths of 30 to 65 feet.

 

[webcraft]

.
I have cruised extensively all over Scotland with 33m of 8mm chain and 20m rope - Albin Vega, 27ft. Anchor is a 10Kg Spade.

We anchor a lot, the tidal range is up to 4.2m and the rope has only been deployed twice that I can remember.

40m of 8mm chain with 20m rope 'just in case' should be plenty. You don't really want 50m in the bow of a First 30 IMO.


- W

 

[vyv_cox]

In Zeeland 50 metres is ample. Tidal range is very low there. We lived in Nederland for seven years, cruised widely, and never needed any more.

 

[Kukri]

There are bits of Zeeland that are quite deep... eg off Zierikzee (don’t ask me how I know this...)

I’d suggest 40 or 50 metres.

 

[lw395]

5 or maybe 10m of chain. Enough rope for 6X depth of water.
You don't want loads of weight in the bow.
You don't want to be lifting 30m of chain by hand.
If you have issues with the boat bobbing around too much in light weather, a 'kellet' or weight part way down the rope is IMHO useful, at least on our boat.

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

I suggest that you use 30m of 8mm chain and the rest of 30m or 40m rope. The chain is heavy, so 30m should be adequate and not too heavy for the bow of your boat; the rope is light and should be long enough to give you the flexibility to be able to anchor in deeper waters.

I anchor often; I put out 30m plus 2 x depth of water. If it is windy, I put out 30m plus 3 x depth of water. I carry 90m in total; 30m of chain and 60m of rope.

 

[RichardS]

If you're hauling by hand, how about 50m of 6mm chain? I'd always trust chain over rope and 6mm might be just the job.

Richard

 

[RupertW]

If you're hauling by hand, how about 50m of 6mm chain? I'd always trust chain over rope and 6mm might be just the job.

Richard

How annoying - I was about to agree with the 5m chain, rest of it rope advice then this popped up. Simpler to have all chain but the weight won’t help anchoring or sailing.

 

[rszemeti]

We run 30m of 10mm chain and 60m of 16mm anchorplait on our 36' Feeling

She originally had 90m of 10mm chain, which was quite a weight in the bow! We rarely use the rode, in most places we just work our way in until we are in around 5m of water and that is perfect for 30m of chain. I keep about 15m of chain in the aft locker, tied in a lump to use as an angel weight if really needed, but as yet, that has not occurred.

 

[PetiteFleur]

30m of 8mm chain plus the same again of rope. I would suggest Multiplait rope as it is nice to handle and flakes down easily in the chain locker. More than enough for your area. We're in the Thames Estuary and have 30m of 10mm chain(which is overkill for our 33' Moody). I would like to change to 8mm chain but my finances won't allow it at the moment!

 

[fishermantwo]

I use 5 metres of 10mm chain with 14mm braid rope and a 13 kg Ultra anchor on my 30 foot 4 ton Currawong 30. The anchor lives in an anchor well. This is a moderate to heavy yacht and weight in the ends spoils the sailing performance. With lighter modern yacht heaps of unnecessary chain and weight in the bow will spoil the sailing performance.

 

[Neeves]

I'd use 6mm chain. It will take up less room in the locker, be less weight in the bow (not impact sailing performance so much), and importantly be easy to retrieve by hand (I assume you have no windlass). Retreiving 8mm chain on a dark windy night in the rain is not a bundle of laughs - neither is 6mm chain - but it will reduce the pain in your back.

If you find retrieval difficult you are less likely to move, when you should - anchoring will become a bit of a burden - go the 6mm route.

You will benefit from a good snubber:

http://www.mysailing.com.au/cruising/the-art-of-snubbing-in-the-nicest-possible-way

You might want to upgrade the anchor - if you like the Danforth change to a Fortress or the new Lewmar LFX - sized to be similar to the existing Danforth. However I might suggest you look at other designs and you will not go far wrong if you look at Rocna, Supreme, Spade (or even Kobra) go by the manufacturers sizing charts - they are conservative.

We have 38' x 7t catamaran and have 85m of 6mm chain; 2 x30m 12mm bsnubbers (a bridle) and use only alloy anchors - 8kg Spade, Excel and Fortress. (Note we re based in Sydney Australia and sail to Tasmania).

If in the fullness of time you opt for a windlass the 6mm chain will mean the windlass can be smaller (and cheaper) and will use less power and thus need smaller cables. Having said that I recommend have an electric motor that might be on the bigger side. If you already have a windlass - then the chain size is dictated by the sizing of the gypsy.

Jonathan

https://www.sailmagazine.com/diy/know-how-ground-tackle

https://www.sailmagazine.com/diy/how-to-dealing-with-snatch-loads-in-an-anchorage

https://www.sailmagazine.com/cruising/anchor-snubber-tips

 

[johnalison]

We have never cruised where a long scope was necessary, so similar to Zeeland. Currently we have 40m of 8mm chain for a 5-ton boat, but we were just as happy with about 5m of chain and the rest rope on our Sadler 29. In fact, the 2m of 8mm chain we have with rope on our 10Kg Bruce kedge works just as well if not better, though I would normally deploy an angel with rope, if only to keep the line from fouling the keel. Anchoring in shallow sheltered water is a different game from the west coast of Scotland or Norway, and convenience tends to be a priority for many of us.

 

[Stemar]

If you have a windlass, there are advantages to having all chain, but the weight will affect sailing performance. OK, so you usually anchor in 3-4 m, so 20m of scope would do, plus enough to go from wherever it's attached to on board (it is attached, isn't it!!!!). However, there's a significant safety aspect to being able to anchor in deeper water in an emergency. As for chains size, I'd go for whatever your windlass gypsy takes. Without a windlass, I'd go lighter, rather than heavier. 6mm chain will easily hold a tonne or more of strain with plenty in reserve; if that's not enough, better qualities of chain will almost double that.

You've got the rope, so it seems daft not to use it and there are advantages to a mixed rode, so I'd get a lump of chain and splice it to the rope; a quick google will come up with lots of sites showing how. How much depends on the size of your wallet, how much weight you want in the bow and how much you're prepared to heave up - in deep water, it may be straight up and down, and that's a lot to lift if you haven't got a windlass. I have 17m, because that's how long the bit of chain I happened to have was.

Final tip, at the risk of giving egg-sucking lessons: if you do go for all chain, add enough rope to go from the attachment point out on deck. Should you need to dump everything in a hurry, you want something you can cut. I've never needed to (has anyone?) but...

 

[Neeves]

Am I the only person who finds the collected wisdom of the forum both contradictory and, possibly, for the OP slightly confusing.

We have at one extreme suggestions of 50m of 8mm chain (and someone suggested 10mm chain - but not of 50m!) - 50m of 8mm chain will weight around 70kg and will need a locker with around 70l of space (and if the locker is 70l capacity it will be, roughly, full. Now 70kg of chain is roughly equivalent to having a rather undernourished man standing on the bow (permanently) - how many would really advise sailing to windward with a man standing on the bow?

In the middle, I'd raise my hand - but I did not have the knowledge of the cruising ground to actually answer the question on 'how much chain' so I chickened out nor do I know the yacht - but working with 50m of chain then my 6mm of chain and a couple of others had a similar idea would work out at about 40kg in the bow and the chain would roughly need 20l of space. I'd need to know how big the locker is and have more detail of the cruising ground to be specific.

At the other extreme we have the suggestion of a 'few' metres of chain 5-10m (still 8mm) and the rest of the rode rope (is the cruising ground nice clean sand or smelly mud). The, effectively, all rope rode will have a minimal weight - but might need a lot of space.

To elaborate on our collective wisdom would anyone like to comment on the reasons behind suggesting the OP invest of 50m of 8mm chain (for what I believe is a yacht with a performance pedigree)?

Jonathan

 

[Stemar]

To elaborate on our collective wisdom would anyone like to comment on the reasons behind suggesting the OP invest of 50m of 8mm chain (for what I believe is a yacht with a performance pedigree)?

I don't pretend to be an expert, but I can see no good reason apart from that the person suggesting it has shares in Jimmy Green

I've always preferred a mixed rode for lightness and shock absorbing ability, but one would need either no windlass or the right gypsy to cope.

 

[Old Bumbulum]

40m of 8mm chain with 20m rope 'just in case' should be plenty. You don't really want 50m in the bow of a First 30 IMO.

+1

 

[Kukri]

A way to avoid a windlass in a boat like the OP’s, with say 6mm chain, is to fit a pawl over the bow roller. Weighs no more than half a kilo at most and makes getting chain by hand much easier. Flick the pawl off to let chain out, flick it on to haul in. Had one (with 6mm chain) on a boat a bit smaller than the OP’s. Brilliant gadget, but you will have to get it made or make it yourself.

Incidentally, there is no reason to keep the chain in the bow, unless you have a windlass. I stored mine where it did some good.