Marking your anchor chain

[Geoff A]

My preferred method for marking chain is a small lengths of hard wearing cord, the first length with one knot at 5M the second with two knots for 10M. I keep adding a knot at every 5M. When it is dark all I have to do is feel the bit of cord and count six knots for 30M.

I'd be extra extra careful Complete darkness or full daylight, personally I would not be anywhere near anchor chain without wearing thick leather gloves (+shoes), let alone feel it with bare hands to count knots.

Once my anchor hits bottom that is when I go to my next marker, my depth sounder also tells me how much chain to let out. yes I do use gloves. It works for me.

 

[geem]

Not sure if its a chain quality or a bottom issue.
My experience - boat was 8 year old when I bought her. One of the first things I did was replace the chain which was seriously rusted over its entire length.
Present chain is now 30 year old. Galvanising is almost as good as new throughout - see pic - except for maybe 12 inches with light speckled rust which was next to the anchor and is now in the locker.
We lose the occasional cable tie and simply replace it.
We clean out the locker now and again but its not paint flake but general crud off the chain.
We do anchor quite a bit 2020.2 Chilean Anchorages.pdfView attachment 184153

I will be able to answer that in a couple of years since my chain is at the galvanisers. Ditto the anchor. If it last longer than the normal 3 years, then we know there is an issue with galvanising. We typically anchor well over 300 nights per year in hot salty Caribbean waters. The seabed is often aggressive sand/coral mix that is hard on the galvanising.