Dockside tales: Anchoring, chain marking and obsessions with length.

The lengths that boatowners are obsessed with anchor rode lengths is incredible. I understand that enough must be on board and an anchor can be used in an emergency and so on, but what I am having a hard time understanding is the need to overcomplicate it.

I do not know how many times I have anchored a boat, it must be well into the high three figures, quite possibly four, In all those times I could count on one hand how many times I have an anchor drag and not hold fast on the first go. To successfully anchor you need to know two fundamental pieces of information, DEPTH & ANCHOR RODE LENGTH, that's it.

Oh yeah, for sure I'll get flamed for not stating which kind of anchor is better for certain seabed conditions and which ones have better holding etc. We are not here for that, what I want to explain is that anchoring is easy, do not overcomplicate it.

The basic rule of thumb is to put out or pay out anchor rode (chain or a chain and rope combination) for a minimum of 3 or 4 times the depth of water when using chain only, 5 or 6 times when using a rope and chain combination, remember there is no maximum amount, its called the scope of anchor rode.

When using the rope and chain combination, the length of chain should be about the same as the waterline length of the boat, the anchor weight about 1kg per metre of waterline length. If you have an anchor winch, by all means use more chain, or just chain, you can use a bigger anchor too if your winch can haul it up and the boat can store it. If, however you are launching and recovering your anchor by hand, think about pulling up that weight from right underneath you.

Until the bitter end - an important point

Before we carry on, I really want to stress this small yet vital part of the anchoring tackle on any boat. You must have heard that expression before, "until the bitter end", its a nautical term, it means the last part of the anchor rode that is joined to the boat, this last link must be readily accessible and, is made of rope or a cord that can easily be let go or cut. I have known several people who have had the unfortunate experience of getting their anchor so stuck they were unable to free it, the problem is only magnified when you cannot easily let the anchor go, shackles seem to be a common way to create a bitter end, all fine if you can reach them and they are not seized or corroded, hence why we use a cord.

The bitter end, last piece that joins the anchor chain to the boat, made of rope in case you need to cut the line and let it go.

Options

We need some practical advice on how we are going to mark our anchor line to know how much rode we have in the water. In all instances, usually when the boat is on the hardstanding for annual maintenance, put out all of the line onto the boat yard floor, make sure its all okay, and if you are not sure, measure exactly how much rode you have.

Back to school

And you thought you would never use trigonometry again, in the interest of keeping things simple, each rotation of your anchor winch will let out a certain amount of chain, we are only really concerned with chain going out, we work out how much chain for each rotation very easily.

Measure the diameter of you anchor winch and multiply this measurement by three, that will give you a rough idea of how much chain will be put out, for example if the winch measures 20cm, each rotation will put out about 60cm. To make life even easier, rather than standing their looking the winch trying to count turns, just work out a convenient timer, for example using the same hypothetical winch as above, five rotations takes five seconds, you know every five seconds that three metres of chain is put out.

I wont lie, this method is only reasonable accurate, it the grand scheme for most users it will not make much difference, I would like to add that that some winches move quite fast, so counting turns can be tricky, five seconds was just an example, use ten or twenty seconds, whatever is easiest.

Chain markers

These are plastic inserts that go inside the chain links, you fit them every "X" metres, they are cheap, they are useful with stainless steel chain. I personally am not keen, it seems like a faff to me counting plastic markers on chains and, the potential for them to fall off and pollute the sea as well as forgetting what number I had counted to.

Paint the fence

Not a season goes past where I do not see the same boats and quite a few new ones in the yard for the annual haulout, quite normal, bottom clean, anodes, maybe a hull polish, but, there is always one further task, painting markers on the anchor chain.

I would like to inform my readers, I have never painted an anchor chain in my life. Painting an anchor chain is not as easy as it sounds;

Cleaning, as the chain moves around, much brushing and turning.

Masking, the area to be painted needs masking up.

Priming, to make the paint stay on better, turning the chain around or painting in two goes, usually resting on cardboard boxes on the boatyard ground.

Painting, just as difficult as priming, usually involving various colours so more masking, turning, mess and, oh the colours, white and red are the preferred choices, in all manner of sequences, white, red, white followed by red, white red, then who knows what.

Do not even think about painting stainless steel chain, it will not last and getting paint to stick to it is monumentally tricky, frankly looking at the more common galvanized chain, it doesn't last more than a season.

Chain counter

This is definitely the way I would go, for a lot of winches, the little magnet and counter is already fitted, you just need the external screen, for others the winch manufacturer sells a kit, for those who are a bit skilled in electronics you can even make your own. Check out the video below from the Low Cost Sailor on building your own chain counter.

There are many options for chain counters, simple screens that say how many metres have been put out, to more complete screens that can also control the windlass. My personal choice is either a wired remote control with a screen built in, this is usually installed in the anchor locker itself or better still, a wireless remote control. If they fail you can still use the normal up and down controls or if the idea of not knowing exactly how many metres you have put out, see next section.

A chain counter in the remote control, this one is from Quick of Italy, one of my favourites.

Throw the lot out

It might come as a surprise but with some things I can be a bit cavalier, not my usual scrupulous self, I will admit that my attitude to anchoring is a bit like that, it is rare, very rare than I get to go out on boats with such luxuries as chain markers let alone chain counters, so my foolproof plan for anchoring, especially if I might be there a while, I put out all the rode, this works very well when using rope and chain combinations.

I have seen a few boats that have a quite long bitter end line, so when the line appears through the winch you know you´re at the end. This is useful for other reasons too, if the anchor gets stuck, there is no need to start diving into lockers to cut the line, its right there. Anchor winches and the points at which the bitter end are attached and not always designed to take the strain of a boat rising and falling when anchored in anything other than completely calm water, that extra length of line is useful to take to a cleat.

Before you all chase me with your boathooks, I obviously check the anchor is holding in all cases, a nice pull on the line to check the anchor is set and not dragging, a quick visual fix or better still, even the most basic of plotters have an anchor alarm function, you set them to alert you if the boat moves more than "X" metres from where you told it your were anchored.

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