Marking 8-strand anchor line

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PeterGR

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Anyone have good ideas how to put measured markings on an 8-strand anchor line?

Chain + 3-strand rope is a doddle.
But painful looking at 8-strand!

No windlass to go through so needs to be soft enough on the hands.
I was thinking of trying to open a strand with a merlin spike and sliding a cable-tie through.
Any other neat/ easy ideas before I give it a go?

After which, who has clever measures on their lines?
I'v seen eg. one mark every x-meters so you count the marks as you let out.
A different colour alternating between say 5 and 10 meters.
And an elaborate sequence of colour coordination (alongside a reference guide in the locker), I suppose this would be very useful when retrieving/ adjusting the amount let out without needing to remember what you payed out earlier.
 
My colour code is:

5m = one blue band
10m = one red band
15m = one blue band
20m = two red bands
25m = one blue band
30m = three red bands
35m = one blue band
40m = four red bands
45m = one blue band
50m = one red and one blue band
55m = one blue band
60m = one red and two blue bands

I used to do it with whippings when I had only 10m of chain and the rest rope, but now I have all chain (on a bigger boat) I use the same colour scheme but it's paint. Between 60m and 110m it's rope without markings except a long red band at 3m less than the bitter end.

I've had bad experience with cable ties on other people's boats cutting my hands and being hard to see in poor light or a head torch, but Vyv's idea of leaving the cable ties uncut is a good one and should stop one getting cut hands.
 
Bands of red latex paint. Very easy, lasts at least a few years, then just touch up. Since it soaks in, it does not come off as easily as you would guess.

Given the cheap headlamps we have now, why on earth would I risk groping for cloth strips in the dark? A good dway to loose a finger. Being able to feel the marks has zero value IMO, in this age. Paint is easier to see.

I've never seen the need for complex codes. No need to mark the first 20 meters, since you will never put out less than that. Then every 20 meters. How hard is it to estimate between marks? After 3 or 4 bands, repeat. You're not going to lose track and forget which multiple you are on, really?

The easy way is to paint over a large box, with loops passing through notches on opposing sides.
 
Painting rope is messy - so much simpler to borrow some thin tape or ribbons, open the lay with a fid, insert ribbon and tie off. Add as many or as few as you want, develop a code you understand (and then write it with felt pen into the hatch of your chain/anchor locker).

We would mark at 5m - then you know when the anchor is 5m from the bow roller (assuming your are retrieving sitting on the deck, feet braced at toe rail. As you have marked at 5m then mark every 10m.

I would not rely on a cheap LED torch, feel is much better - especially as you are going to be handling the rope anyway.

Jonathan
 
You need to try the box method. If you get one drop on you or the ground you did something wrong. Same with chain and spray paint. You drape the rode sections to be marked across a large open top box, with slits to hold them in place. Paint the top, rotate the line or chain, paint the bottom, then go home. When you come back several days later, the rode is dry, and you throw the box away. No mess at all. You can do it right on deck... which is how I always do it. One of my easiest tasks.

We're just going to disagree on the ribbons. I'm not likely to feel anything, hauling ice-cold rope (this is UK) in the dark with gloves on. I'm not going to wrap my hand around a falling rode--too good a way to lose a finger, particularly with stuff attached to it. I can easily see paint, have for many years. I guess that's just me, but around here, painted rodes are the norm and ribbons are considered obsolete. As for cheap LED torch, buy a quality Petzl head lamp. Very, very reliable. Or even Eveready for $12. Just don't shop at the dollar store;).
 
I think it was Geem who had a nice vid of their painting chain in a box with a spray can. Lay the chain through the box, make holes for your hand, close the box up (after suitable masking) and spray. Much easier than a paint brush. If you lay the chains correctly - just one coat needed and you get all, 'sides' of the chain.

The Chesapeake must be cold in winter, not many of us sail on an inland sea (we have the East Australian Current, the UK has the Gulf Stream)

Just because everyone does it one way does not mean its right nor that there are not other ways.

Petzl headlight torches are not cheap, in fact are downright expensive, and last not much different in a, challenging, marine environment than those from a dollar shop. Better to buy 2 cheap ones, keeping one ready for when the first expires than the money demanded for a Petzl.

Jonathan
 
Last edited:
jdc said:
My colour code is:

5m = one blue band
10m = one red band
15m = one blue band
20m = two red bands
25m = one blue band
30m = three red bands
35m = one blue band
40m = four red bands
45m = one blue band
50m = one red and one blue band
55m = one blue band
60m = one red and two blue bands

I used to do it with whippings when I had only 10m of chain and the rest rope, but now I have all chain (on a bigger boat) I use the same colour scheme but it's paint. Between 60m and 110m it's rope without markings except a long red band at 3m less than the bitter end.

I've had bad experience with cable ties on other people's boats cutting my hands and being hard to see in poor light or a head torch, but Vyv's idea of leaving the cable ties uncut is a good one and should stop one getting cut hands.
Click to expand...
That's very clever!
Thanks!
 
When I say painting rope is messy:

Buy tin of paint, stir paint (what to do with stirrer?), paint rope, what to do with paint brush (old bean tin, turps??) - for a few square inches of paint???? What to do with almost full tin of paint, keep in shed, paint tin goes rusty - send to landfill???

Ribbons, old 'T' shirt, torn into strips. Fed with fid through rope, knot - job done. Remains of 'T' shirt, keep in engine bay.

What's not to like.

Jonathan
 
I use thin red cord threaded through the lay of the 8 plait with aid of a marline spike or fid and tied off. Marked every 10 m , 1 for 10 m, 2 for 20m etc and also a single green cord every 5 m. Do the same with the chain. Find this kinder to the hands than cable ties which I don't like and also pass the windlass gypsy nicely. It is thus very easy to know how much chain or rode you have out.
 
thinwater said:
... No need to mark the first 20 meters, since you will never put out less than that. Then every 20 meters...
Click to expand...

I disagree that there is no purpose marking the first 20 metres. While it's true that I always let out at least this amount when at anchor, it is useful sometimes on retrieval to know when the anchor is off the bottom (or on the bottom), and besides, if marking 60m or more of rode, how much extra effort is it to mark the first 20 as well?
 
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