Help!....Need anchor rope for the 37C. I'm told to get at least 100" of 5/8" stranded nylon.
Any other opinions?
Any other opinions?
Anchor rope -Length, size, type
- Thread starter mjmercer19248
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Who told you? 
How much chain do you have? What size?
Seriously, you need an anchor SYSTEM, not just "rope" - i.e., line or rode. Once it gets on a boat it is no longer called rope.
Here's some handy information for sizing your anchoring system:
Anchor System Sizing Tables (Reply #6) http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4990.0.htmlhttp://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4990.msg30400.html#msg30400
How much chain do you have? What size?Seriously, you need an anchor SYSTEM, not just "rope" - i.e., line or rode. Once it gets on a boat it is no longer called rope.
Here's some handy information for sizing your anchoring system:
Anchor System Sizing Tables (Reply #6) http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4990.0.htmlhttp://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4990.msg30400.html#msg30400
How about 1-2 times the length of your boat with chain and 200' of line. That would be a good minimum.
Wow Steve, I have never heard of a 2x boatlength for chain length. Good info. The objective of the chain is to keep the pull angle at the bottom to a line parallel or downward toward the bottom and to cause the anchor to dig and reset properly. IMHO 15-25' of 5/16 or (3/8" for the 37) is more than adequate. I have 16' of 5/16ths and it works very well. 200' of 5/8" rode is also what I use. The amout of scope depends on the distance from the bowroller to the bottom and a ratio of 5:1 to 10:1 is adequate. Be sure to add the bowroller to surface distance to your depth reading to calculate scope length needed. The deepest part of my cruising area is 12 feet, adding 4 feet for distance between roller and surface, and multiplying by 7 comes to 112, then add working length at th bitter end and 130 would do. With 216 feet of rode and chain, the maximum depth I can anchor in safely is about 24 feet.
If you are anchoring in rocky areas (PNW, MA or Maine for example) all chain is good; prevents breaking from chafing on the rocks.
The potential answers to this question are as varied as the kinds of sailing we all do. The 'best' answer for your boat depends on what you intend to do.
I count on not anchoring in more than about 30-35 ft of water, for many reasons. I have about 7 ft of chain and 200 ft of 1/2" rode (on each of 2 anchors) and that's sufficient to maintain 6:1 or 7:1 scope in 30-ft depth.
I count on not anchoring in more than about 30-35 ft of water, for many reasons. I have about 7 ft of chain and 200 ft of 1/2" rode (on each of 2 anchors) and that's sufficient to maintain 6:1 or 7:1 scope in 30-ft depth.
If there's any chance you are going to anchor in an area where there is current (such a near an inlet), an all rope catenary is not a good idea. We almost lost our boat in such condition because we used rope. Wind was opposed to the tide, and our boat wrapped it itself aront the anchor rode. On our 37c we now have 175 feet of 5/16 Hi teest + 150 feet of 5/8 three strand rope. If we had to change somehing, I would replace the three strand by 8 plait rope. It takes a lot less space.
8-plait vs chain
MAT, thanks for advising about the 8-plait double braid. I got this (but have not yet used it) because it runs through the old self-tailing winch I am using as a 'capstan' on my H25. But I have limited space in which to store it; and I have even less ability to accommodate the weight of chain :cry: forward on such a small boat. So it will have to be mostly-rope.
In the situation in which you wrapped the keel about the rode, are you saying that chain, because it is heavier, would have been lying lower in the water to make this schmozzle less likely?
MAT, thanks for advising about the 8-plait double braid. I got this (but have not yet used it) because it runs through the old self-tailing winch I am using as a 'capstan' on my H25. But I have limited space in which to store it; and I have even less ability to accommodate the weight of chain :cry: forward on such a small boat. So it will have to be mostly-rope.
In the situation in which you wrapped the keel about the rode, are you saying that chain, because it is heavier, would have been lying lower in the water to make this schmozzle less likely?
In my humble opinion all chain would be the most desirable and we carry 300' of 5/16 HT bought from Sailerman in Ft Lauderdale at 1.45 a foot. The chain was made in Hungary but I wouldn't care if it was made in China Or Mexico or ????. The point of the matter is the weakest chain is still better than the strongest rope when anchoring around rock or coral heads or anything that may be on the bottom that will slice through rope like butter. There should be an attach point in the chain locker that a small section of rode maybe the last 5 feet attaches too. This gives you the opportunity should shit happen you could cut away the gear to save the boat.
Avoid Chinese chain.
I would care if the chain were made in China. Read the Practical Sailor issue from about 4-5 years ago in which they tested anchor chain. The China-made generic chain was utter crap. Also it is not known to maintain tolerances; so it's frequently mismatched to your windlass gypsy-- i.e., BBB is not really BBB-- so it could lead to jams, jump-offs, or any kind of hassle and most likely when you need to rely on it most.
To save money I would rather have used chain (such as from someone changing from BBB to Hi-Test, for example) with some good life left in it than just plain low-cost made-in-China chain that's new off the pallet. As I only need about 6-7 ft of it (as a leader, since I cannot accommodate the weight of 200 ft of chain in a 25-ft boat), I have acquired two piles of cast-off chain that I can choose from.
I would care if the chain were made in China. Read the Practical Sailor issue from about 4-5 years ago in which they tested anchor chain. The China-made generic chain was utter crap. Also it is not known to maintain tolerances; so it's frequently mismatched to your windlass gypsy-- i.e., BBB is not really BBB-- so it could lead to jams, jump-offs, or any kind of hassle and most likely when you need to rely on it most.
To save money I would rather have used chain (such as from someone changing from BBB to Hi-Test, for example) with some good life left in it than just plain low-cost made-in-China chain that's new off the pallet. As I only need about 6-7 ft of it (as a leader, since I cannot accommodate the weight of 200 ft of chain in a 25-ft boat), I have acquired two piles of cast-off chain that I can choose from.
No kidding! You cannot even trust their dog treats!
PS: Where have you been?
The point I was trying to make was that, the weakest chain is still stronger in issues of abrasion resistance due to rock, coral and anything else that would cut through rode. Your boat size will dictate how much chain or chain/rode and size you would carry.
But your absolutely right you had me at "Dog treats".
But your absolutely right you had me at "Dog treats".
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