what size anchor chain for a 25 foot yacht is recommended?

[Niander]

what size anchor chain for a 25 foot yacht is recommended?
that is 6mm or 8mm chain ?
also i want all chain so what length would you recommend?

 

[lustyd]

what size anchor chain for a 25 foot yacht is recommended?
that is 6mm or 8mm chain ?
also i want all chain so what length would you recommend?

6mm will hold you, 8mm will hold you better. 25 feet is between sizes I would say.

As for length, where do you anchor? There are quite a few boats in my marina that only need the 6" length to the hawse pipe for "the look". If you only anchor in 5m at high tide then 20m chain will do. If you need to anchor in 30m then you'll need a chain so long that the weight may sink your boat.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

On a Westerly Centaur (26 feet, some 3 tonnes) I have 6mm calibrated chain in a 45+ metre length. Rather than having a shorter length of thicker chain, thus restricting anchoring depth, I prefer 'long and thin'.

 

[VicS]

See Jimmy Green

30m length unless you plan to anchor in deep water. Then I would consider chain + rope to keep the weight down.

 

[prv]

My boat is the same size as yours (well, six inches shorter) and I have 40m of 8mm. I wouldn't want any less, but I do have a lot of windage (traditional rig) so you might perhaps be able to get away with less.

Pete

 

[LittleSister]

There are a variety of different suggest specs for relating chain size to boat size (length and or weight). Some of the one's offered by chain retailers seem to err fairly strongly on the stouter/stronger/expensive end of the range of possibilities. One widely respected spec is that for coding vessels. A conventional 25 footer would be too large to be coded with 6mm. However it them jumps straght to 8mm whih is also considered suitable for much, much larger boats. Don't know why thy miss out 7mm, which is fairly widely available (though windlasses to fit this size have fewer options, it seems).

That 7mm is what we opted for (heavyweight 23ft long keeler) and it seems fine, noticebaly chunkier than 6mm, but about 3/4 the weight of 8mm, (and critically it rund down our hawse pipe much, much easier than the previous 8mm).

 

[theforeman]

....... I prefer 'long and thin'.

i was always led to believe that ------

long and thin,
goes too far in,
short and thick,
does the trick.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

i was always led to believe that ------

long and thin,
goes too far in,
short and thick,
does the trick.

I know that we refer to a boat as 'She' but I think that extending the analogy does not apply. Well, perhaps to bowsprits...

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

8mm calibrated chain, preferably in total 80 m: 20m chain; 60m rope. You never know, you may need the extra length one day.

 

[Babylon]

27ft yacht (heavy displacement)
30m 8mm chain, onto which is spliced
50m 16mm polyester octoplait, which gives
80m total length of cable, which implies anchoring in max depths of
20m (scope of 1:4 for normal conditions)
13m (scope of 1:6 in event of heavy weather)

30m of 8mm chain isn't that hard to haul up by hand (we have no windlass), but longer lengths of chain would be.

I feel more comfortable being held by 8mm links than by 6mm links.

 

[Niander]

that sounds about right Babylon
30m 8mm and extra octoplait
and i do want to sleep at night!

 

[LauraKatie]

Never heared of any chain issues when it comes to anchors. In my view carry the biggest anchor you canplus a spare and as much chain as is possible and practical.
It is always good to have if a situation demands getting a grip onto solid ground.

 

[sarabande]

so it's size that matters, is it ? Are you saying that an Admiralty Fisherman pattern will perform the same as a modern high tech design of the same weight ?

And have you come across the good Professor Knox's articles on anchoring and chain ?

 

[blackbeard]

25' boat; 25 mm 8mm chain + 25 m octoplait. Can add more octoplait if necessary. 10 kg anchor. Works well.
Shoal draft, bilge keels, takes ground well; I sail mostly in areas (W Solent, Poole) with small tidal range and therefore rarely have all the chain (let alone warp) out.
About one hundredweight of any old iron near the bow on a boat this size means she floats a little down by the bow. It could be argued that 25 m chain is more than needed and 15 m (with more warp) would be adequate. A few metres of warp and the rest chain should be OK.
It could also be argued that, if I needed deeper water and/or sailed in areas with greater tidal range, more chain would be needed. Perhaps 6 mm chain to keep weight within bounds.

Is it just my imagination or do I often see boats around 35' anchoring with chain suitable for bathroom use?

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

Looking at it in another way, one could well hang a 25' boat on an 8mm chain and happily twirl it round one's head without breaking the chain - unless the cleat comes off or the Sampson post disintegrates.

I do believe that the catenary of a long scope of a sensibly sized chain is more effective than a much shorter scope of thicker chain, the weight of the totals being equal. No, I don't have the figures to prove it.

 

[ghostlymoron]

so it's size that matters, is it ? Are you saying that an Admiralty Fisherman pattern will perform the same as a modern high tech design of the same weight ?

And have you come across the good Professor Knox's articles on anchoring and chain ?

Please don't start another anchoring saga. I've used both Bruce and Danforths in the past with no problems at all. I dare say that modern designs are better but not worth the extra loot.

 

[Poignard]

Please don't start another anchoring saga.

Must be about due for one - I'm sure we haven't had one for at least a week

ditto for a blue ensign thread!

 

[prv]

About one hundredweight of any old iron near the bow on a boat this size means she floats a little down by the bow.

Is that once you've got off to have a look? Perhaps with a cockpit full of bodies she floats just right

I have the opposite problem due to an uprated engine and an ill-advised fuel tank location, so the more ironmongery I tote around up front the better.

Is it just my imagination or do I often see boats around 35' anchoring with chain suitable for bathroom use?

Are they perhaps new boats with manufacturer's minimum spec gear and owners who know no better?

Pete

 

[blackbeard]

....could well hang a 25' boat on an 8mm chain and happily twirl it round one's head without breaking the chain -

Well, Puff, you must be strong!

On catenary; no, I don't have the figures either, but in a really strong blow the anchor chain will be nearly pulled straight so there won't be much catenary effect. Octoplait (or whatever) will, being somewhat elastic, give more protection against shock loads.
On getting the anchor to set; probably best to have weight as nearly as possible close to the anchor.
Too much warp, and your boat may dance to a different tune than your neighbour's...
Then, there is the ability of warp, especially in wind against tide, to take a rolling hitch around your, or someone else's, keel/rudder/propeller ...

May be logical to have a long enough chain so that in normal circumstances one is using all or mostly chain (might not matter about the last few metres), with as heavy a chain as is practical; with lots of warp available should it start to blow old boots. Length will then depend on what you are doing, and where; 6mm or 8 mm will depend on how much your boat can carry and how much you can lift. And how big you anchor/chain locker is.

(and I haven't even mentioned anchor type - oops!)

 

[blackbeard]

Is that once you've got off to have a look? Perhaps with a cockpit full of bodies she floats just right

noticeably when moored, water level is above the level of antifouling preferred by the maker (but there's a lot of junk stored forward anyway). I have now modified the area covered by antifouling ... I suspect the originally specified equipment included a 7 kg anchor and a few metres of 6 mm, plus warp

Are they perhaps new boats with manufacturer's minimum spec gear and owners who know no better?

Pete

I fear you are right.