Anchor Rode
Our 1991 P42 came equipped with a 40# Danforth, 30 feet of 5/16" grade 40 chain and 250 feet of 5/8" three strand nylon. When we first purchased the boat in 2002 I had some anchoring lessons to learn.
Those lessons have helped make what I consider to be a very effective anchoring system suitable for just about any occasion. Still have the 40# Danforth. Very effective in PNW waters. Also, still use a 20# kellet (lead down rigger ball). So, Belle-Vie now has 50' of 5/16" grade 40 chain, 150 feet of 5/8" three strand nylon, another 50' of 5/16" grade 40 chain and another 150 feet of 5/8" three strand nylon. Each is connected to the other using a warp splice.
Typically I shoot for 25 feet of water to drop and set the anchor. Usually settle with a minimum of 110 to 140 feet of rode unless sour weather is in the forecast. A SS carabiner secures the kellet to the end of the first 50' segment of 5/16" chain. This helps with catenary.
Catenary is also the reason for alternating between chain-to-rope to chain-to-rope. This tip came from another seasoned sailor that seemed to make sense when lots of rode is needed for much deeper water and/or sour weather conditions.
In all the years of anchoring hundreds of times in PNW waters, one time the anchor did not hold and that was in a strong blow in Cortex Bay on Cortez Island, BC. It is a notoriously poor anchorage consisting of a thin layer of mud over hard shale. Needless to say even with 300 feet of rode, Belle-Vie at 35,000 pounds still moved about 100' that night.
In all the years of anchoring, the Danforth has always reset itself when a wind shift or tide current change occurs. Perhaps there are more modern designs that do a better job than the Danforth, but as long as the Danforth does its job, I am a happy sailor.
