Marking nylon anchor rode.

[Hayden Watson]

I am looking for a way to mark the 3-strand nylon portion of my anchor rode with something that will go through my windlass. I have tried the tags that you thread into one of the strands, but they snag on the gypsy and pull out or tear. I was searching for some other alternative and saw this nylon rode that was marked every 25' with some sort of paint.


That led me to seeing these waterproof paint pins. Has anyone tried these for marking. It would be great if it would last for at least one season. I like to pull my rode out at the bigging of each year to inspect it and clean the locker and could refresh at that time.
Amazon.com: 5 Colors Oil-Based Paint Markers, Waterproof Quick Dry Permanent Paint Pen for Rocks Painting, Wood, Fabric, Plastic, Canvas, Glass, Mugs, Metal, Tire, Stone, DIY Craft : Office Products

 

[Terry Cox]

Hi Hayden. Several years ago I repurposed a length of orange nylon twine that I found on the road to use as a rode marker.by wrapping a piece (about 8") once around one of the rode strands leaving a 2" tail on each side. One marker at 30', two at 60', etc. They flow through our windlass easily, have yet to replace them, easy to see, durable, and the three strand locks them in place. Cost nothing.

 

[jssailem]

@Terry Cox's idea of colored twine makes a lot of sense. Paint on the chain and the rode will wear. Running a stitch of contrasting color on the chain or rode will give you a nearly permanent marker. I think I would sew it knotted about individual strands over about 4 to 6 inches. That would provide a nearly permanent mark even if a few parts become chafed. Permenant at least for as long as you might own the boat.

I have often debated how many marks I need to mark.

30 ft = 9.144 m = 1:1 at 30ft depth 2:1 scope in 15ft depth
60 ft =18.288 m = 2:1 at 30ft depth 4:1 scope in 15ft dept
100 ft =30.48 m = 3:1 at 30ft depth 6:1 scope in 15ft depth

 

[JBP-PA]

I just use ordinary knitting yarn. Open the twist a bit and tie on the yarn through the strands. Leave the tag ends showing for extra visibility. I do 20ft/6m intervals, one strand for each 20ft, with a different yarn at 100ft, and then starting over.

 

[JoeWhite]

I cut one inch wide and 7 inch long srtips from a tired sail that I retired. I weave them through the strands of the rode and mark the length with permanent markers at 30 feet intervals. They go through the windlass fine and have not become torne.

 

[thinwater]

We are making this too complicated.

Masking tape for rings about 3-4" wide as needed. Paint with red latex paint. Done. The paint will chip off, but it also stains the rode. The marks will NOT be lost.

I hear about the ribbons and such, but my windlass ate them. I don't see the point when paint is so easy ,if you do it in a box (rope or chain).

 

[Stu Jackson]

I have often debated how many marks I need to mark.

30 ft = 9.144 m = 1:1 at 30ft depth 2:1 scope in 15ft depth
60 ft =18.288 m = 2:1 at 30ft depth 4:1 scope in 15ft dept
100 ft =30.48 m = 3:1 at 30ft depth 6:1 scope in 15ft depth

This is the most intelligent answer. how often does the depth of where you anchor change drastically? In SF Bay for 33 years it would be between 15 and 20 feet, everywhere. My favourite anchorage here is 20 feet. Others drop off to 30 feet, but the math ain't complicated. I have 50 feet of chain, and only need to mark my rode at another 50 feet, so 100 feet out at 20 foot depth is 5:1. And no need to tell me to add the height off the water - I know that! KISS

Unless you're CONSTANTLY anchoring in wildly differing depths, I find most people who answer to these queries over make their rodes, massively. The first 20 feet only tell you anything when the anchor is coming up, so maybe, but if you don't have a windlass it's useless because you're already at the bow.

 

[JBP-PA]

We are making this too complicated.

Masking tape for rings about 3-4" wide as needed. Paint with red latex paint. Done. The paint will chip off, but it also stains the rode. The marks will NOT be lost.

I hear about the ribbons and such, but my windlass ate them. I don't see the point when paint is so easy ,if you do it in a box (rope or chain).

Nylon rode...

 

[JBP-PA]

This is the most intelligent answer. how often does the depth of where you anchor change drastically? In SF Bay for 33 years it would be between 15 and 20 feet, everywhere. My favourite anchorage here is 20 feet. Others drop off to 30 feet, but the math ain't complicated. I have 50 feet of chain, and only need to mark my rode at another 50 feet, so 100 feet out at 20 foot depth is 5:1. And no need to tell me to add the height off the water - I know that! KISS

Unless you're CONSTANTLY anchoring in wildly differing depths, I find most people who answer to these queries over make their rodes, massively. The first 20 feet only tell you anything when the anchor is coming up, so maybe, but if you don't have a windlass it's useless because you're already at the bow.

I do anchor in varying depths, but the first 20ft is still useless.

 

[thinwater]

Nylon rode...

Yes. I said rope or chain. I've done both. I marked this rope 10 years ago, and although now more faded than this picture, only a few months old, I have not re-marked it. I can still see the stains. Perhaps it is due.

Agreed. There is no point in marking the first 50 feet. My last boat had a windlass; the chain had a wide stripe 10' before the anchor, as a warning that the anchor would arrive in a few seconds. Nothing to do with scope.

 

[JBP-PA]

Yes. I said rope or chain. I've done both. I marked this rope 10 years ago, and although now more faded than this picture, only a few months old, I have not re-marked it. I can still see the stains. Perhaps it is due.

Agreed. There is no point in marking the first 50 feet. My last boat had a windlass; the chain had a wide stripe 10' before the anchor, as a warning that the anchor would arrive in a few seconds. Nothing to do with scope.

Paint doesn't damage the nylon? I've seen nylon sling makers warn against paint as it can hurt the fibers and make them stiff.

 

[MikeHoncho]

I used red thread and whipped mine. single for 25', double for 100". You just have to keep track while you're deploying, and it gives you a lot of practice at whipping.

 

[RussC]

shrink tubing works for me. using different colors at each depth makes ID easy. .02

 

[thinwater]

Paint doesn't damage the nylon? I've seen nylon sling makers warn against paint as it can hurt the fibers and make them stiff.

Solvent-based paints and markers have been implicated in extreme impact situations (climbing rope--much more dynamic case than anchor rope--a lot of stretch to near failure in less than a second). However...

• I have tested latex paint on nylon, polyester, and acrylic for sailing articles (PS). No effect. Pulled at a relevant rate, the samples broke somewhere else.
• One coat does not stiffen it much. And it won't be stiff for long (softens up very quickly in use).
• Rope coatings like Samthane (on Amsteel) and Yale Maxijacket are water-based urethane/acrylics, not much different from latex paint. They are well-proven safe for ropes.

BTW, there are no latex paints anymore, they are all water-borne acrylics. The latex has been replaced by acrylic in practically every commercial product for over 50 years, because acrylic can resist UV (hatches, Sunbrella) and latex cannot.

 

[Hayden Watson]

This is the most intelligent answer. how often does the depth of where you anchor change drastically? In SF Bay for 33 years it would be between 15 and 20 feet, everywhere. My favourite anchorage here is 20 feet. Others drop off to 30 feet, but the math ain't complicated. I have 50 feet of chain, and only need to mark my rode at another 50 feet, so 100 feet out at 20 foot depth is 5:1. And no need to tell me to add the height off the water - I know that! KISS

Unless you're CONSTANTLY anchoring in wildly differing depths, I find most people who answer to these queries over make their rodes, massively. The first 20 feet only tell you anything when the anchor is coming up, so maybe, but if you don't have a windlass it's useless because you're already at the bow.

Given our big tidal swing, often more than 15', I never anchor in charged depth of less than 20'. With that I have a minimum scope depth of 25' [20' water + 5' freeboard] so at 4:1 the least rode I have out is 100'. That said, our water is not clear enough to see the bottom in any depth that I anchor in.

Currently, I have only 30' of chain so it is easy to know when the anchor touches down by seeing when the nylon comes above deck. I have plans to increase my chain to 120' and when I do, I plan to mark the first 50' in 10' increments just to tell me when the anchor touches down so that I know when to start backing down to lay out the chain rather than dropping it into a pile.

 

[thinwater]

Given our big tidal swing, often more than 15', I never anchor in charged depth of less than 20'. With that I have a minimum scope depth of 25' [20' water + 5' freeboard] so at 4:1 the least rode I have out is 100'. That said, our water is not clear enough to see the bottom in any depth that I anchor in.

Currently, I have only 30' of chain so it is easy to know when the anchor touches down by seeing when the nylon comes above deck. I have plans to increase my chain to 120' and when I do, I plan to mark the first 50' in 10' increments just to tell me when the anchor touches down so that I know when to start backing down to lay out the chain rather than dropping it into a pile.

I don't think you will need to make those 10' marks. It is easy to tell from the sound of the windlass and movement of the chain when the anchor touches down. Or at least I always flt so (my last boat was all-chain). You are correct, that piling chain is bad. The other way you can tell, if the boat is drifting back very slowly before lowering, which is good practice IMO, because the rode will start to angle forward.

 

[Hayden Watson]

I don't think you will need to make those 10' marks. It is easy to tell from the sound of the windlass and movement of the chain when the anchor touches down. Or at least I always flt so (my last boat was all-chain). You are correct, that piling chain is bad. The other way you can tell, if the boat is drifting back very slowly before lowering, which is good practice IMO, because the rode will start to angle forward.

I now have a ton of experience with raising and lowering anchors with a powered windlass because I did it three times yesterday in my slip with my newly installed windlass.

Maybe I will get better but I could not tell any difference between the anchor hanging and when it was on the bottom. I know it was on the bottom because my slip has a max depth of 20' and I let out all 30' of chain plus about 10' of nylon so I could test how well the windlass handled the change from rope to chain.

On the retrieval, I could tell when the windlass lifted of the bottom because the chain briefly went out of vertical as it tipped the anchor stock up.

 

[jssailem]

Yes, it reached the bottom, but I will extend a SWAG that the bottom beneath your boat is soft mud, perhaps some eelgrass or vegetation. The return from your depth sounder would be muffled somewhat. It could be 18ft or 22 ft.

I know that dropping anchor with my windlass is not precise. When I drop 30ft chain in 25ft of water, I expect to let the boat drift a bit off the spot. As I see a little movement off the drop site, I ease the chain further to reach my anticipated scope. I engage the engine in idle reverse and wait to get that "It's OK boss, I got the bottom, and I'm stuck in the mud" feeling from the anchor and chain as it comes up taught. Does not always happen the first time.

That is the benefit of a good windlass. You can retract and try again. The anchor may even share clues as to the type of bottom it found as it comes back to the surface.

 

[thinwater]

(My previous boat was a cruising cat--this post relates mostly to that, but the practice with my tri is basically the same.)

If you are drifting backwards (good practice anyway for several reasons), the rode will immediately angle forward when the anchor touches bottom. No mystery at all. It's obvious. This will also gently tip the anchor in the correct direction, further reducing the risk of chain entanglement.

Then release the remainder of the rode more quickly. All of it. It will not pile on the anchor because you are not over the anchor. Do not back down yet. Do not worry if the boat drifts a little sideways; it will do no harm. Releasing the rest of the rode quickly will buy you time to get the snubber on before the rode comes snug. Only once the snubber is on do you begin to back down. VERY slowly until the rode gets a little tension and the anchor bites. If very soft mud, STOP and wait 10-20 minutes while the anchor settles in a little. Then back down gently. With sand you can do this in one step.

This is my drill. Works every time. Never snagged a chain. Never needed a mark. The trick is to visualize each step and its effect on the anchor, underwater. Touch down, tip it over, light set, and then firm set. It is the effect, not the specific action.

 

[rgranger]