Anchor chain

[JSimmons]

The anchor rode on my 2018 Cutwater C30 is comprised of 50' of G4 chain and 150' of nylon rope. I would like to replace this with 250' of G4 chain. My questions are: Is this amount of chain too heavy to be in the bow of the boat? Is there enough room in the locker for 250" of chain? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[allanrs74@gmail.com]

J,

One other thing you may wish to look into is, depending upon water depth you are anchoring in, is the windlass man enough to pull that extra weight for that period of time as the chain is recovered versus the weight of the nylon rode. I know the windlass will pick up 50' of chain and anchor, but will the windlass stand up to that load for a longer period?

Good luck with your modification.
Bob

 

[Maggie Anne]

I am by no means an anchoring expert but I've been told that a heavier anchor with a partial chain/rope combination, as opposed to all chain was preferable. I thought these articles by Peter Smith were informative.

https://www.petersmith.net.nz/boat-anchors/

Also this commentary

https://www.spadeanchorusa.com/anchor-chain-vs-rope.php

I hope to learn more from the responses to this post.

 

[sgeary]

We upgraded our RT31 anchor chain to 150' 5/16 inch G4 HT chain and 150' of 9/16 inch 8 plait rope.
I did not notice any issues with the weight of the additional chain on the ride of the R31, as they tend to ride bow high at speed. So I believe it actually helped us underway and gave me much more confidence in anchorages in the Pacific Northwest. In hindsight, I wish I had 50 more feet of chain, so that most of the time we would be anchored in the PNW only by chain.

I ordered this combo through Defender and had them do the chain to rope splice, as I did not trust my splicing skills for such a critical system. Defender did a great job on the splice.

The RT31 anchor locker is not extremely deep, so I do all the anchor line retrieval from the bow as I have to knock down the chain stack about every 15 feet. But, I had the same issue with the original 50' of chain that the boat came with. I can live with this limitation. But if you want to do the retrieval from the helm, this combo probably won't work for you.

 

[Cutwater28GG]

I would keep the same length of chain due to weight in the bow concerns and just add more rope rode. the catenary effect is considered to be the most important factor for holding. so more scope always wins.

 

[mikey]

when you have trouble with the anchor holding with high winds you want the anchor chain to sit as parallel to the bottom as possible so sliding a 10 lb weight down the rode on a SS shackle will accomplish this

 

[Ernie]

Love all this good info
Thanks
Sgeary, can you tell us where Defender is located?
I’m guessing PNW?

 

[sgeary]

Defender is located in Waterford, CT.

 

[Cutwater28GG]

Defender.com

Fisheriessupply.com

Are the better places to buy from for good pricing.

 

[JSimmons]

Thanks to all for the good information.

 

[William Sanborn]

I had 60 feet for chain and 200 ft of 5/8 rode. Bought 75 ft of Anchor chain and put between and anchor and old chain. then shortened the 5/8 rode. Now have 135 ft of chain and 90 ft of 5/8 rode for 225 ft in the anchor locker and 110 ft of 5/8 rode under the V berth if needed to tie on. We usually anchor in 40 ft of water or less giving a 3 to 1 scope, and a good margin for holding in the current of the River..

 

[srhawk454]

when you have trouble with the anchor holding with high winds you want the anchor chain to sit as parallel to the bottom as possible so sliding a 10 lb weight down the rode on a SS shackle will accomplish this

This is one of the products available for this (or search for Ultra Anchor Ring): https://yachtgurus.us/products/ultra-anchor-ring. I've heard good things about it, if anybody has first-hand experience with it would be great to hear, TIA!