6mm or 8mm anchor chain

[charliee]

As a general rule of thumb, I go with chain the length of the boat or a bit more and a kilo of anchor for each meter.
I would be happy with a 6kg anchor, 6m of chain and 40m of 12mm of 3 strand line.
Other will ha e opinions but I suggest the above would deal with virtually all situations quite well, given a sound sea bed.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by boristhebold

I think most experienced boaters would disagree with you, if someones anchor is slipping and the boat is slowly drifting towards something nasty im sure they dont think gosh I wish I had more rope, I expect they think gosh I wish I had more chain down LOL.

Then they are probably (but admittedly not always) wrong.

FWIW I think the comment Shiney was trying to make, which you took offence to, was you have no way of knowing if 5m would have been more than ample on the day when you used 10... in fact there’s a fairly good chance that no chain would have worked just fine too...

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by charliee

As a general rule of thumb, I go with chain the length of the boat or a bit more and a kilo of anchor for each meter.
I would be happy with a 6kg anchor, 6m of chain and 40m of 12mm of 3 strand line.
Other will ha e opinions but I suggest the above would deal with virtually all situations quite well, given a sound sea bed.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Wot he said, though I’m sure I’ve heard that somewhere before :P:

[Phil and Jane]

Originally Posted by boristhebold

I would go for 10 metres of either chain.

One important point to consider is that an anchor,chain,rope combo isnt just for anchoring while in safe protected bays etc it's also a crucial bit of safety kit and you never know when or where you may need it.

I had an issue once of a fuel filter housing breaking which meant the engine cut out. I was in the main channel approaching poole harbour entrance in about 14 metres of water, the weather was moderate but with a strong wind that without deploying the anchor chain and line would have blown me onto the training bank and definately ruined my day and boat. (dont know why they call it the training banks as its concrete and rocks). With the anchor set-up deployed it stopped my drift but that was with 10 metres of chain and 40 metres of rope plus anchor, not sure if I had half that length of chain it would have been sufficient.

Hi, I asked that question before because we have a Training Wall on the River Mersey and also the River Dee. I was told that it was because the line of underwater rubble or rocks placed there on purpose 'Trains' the river to run on a certain course to ensure the channel is scoured by the current for marine safety.

[RoyP]

Originally Posted by lakelandterrier

I agree, with PD, 5mm chain should be strong enough for your need. It's not holding morev than a tonne of boat. I'd go for a longer length of lighter chain.

I use a 6 mm at 10 meters long......

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by RoyP

I use a 6 mm at 10 meters long......

There’s nowt wrong with overkill[emoji106]

[ShinyShoe]

Originally Posted by boristhebold

please try not to speak for me, yes of course I would know what and did not work, it is easy to tell if your anchor, chain and rope combination works well or does not, 10m of chain works well on my rib whereas only 5m would mean in some situations my rib would move as the chain and anchor would drag on tide and wave force.

Oh trust me, the last thing I want to do is speak for you!

The ONLY way to conclusively say 5m was not enough would be to repeat the process with 5m. And preferably in a scientific way. So triplicate results. Same conditions. Same sea bed.

I've never had an anchor not hold with 4:1 or more on it and a boat length of chain. If I was leaving the boat, I'd want 7:1 on it, but that's partly to allow for changes in conditions, tides etc.

What I believe the OP was asking was does length or weight of the chain make the difference... Not sure we are any the wiser

[ShinyShoe]

Originally Posted by jwalker

Unless you're anchoring regularly and needing to haul often over the same section of tube, I wouldn't worry too much about the chain on the tube. When you lift it it'll be wet and lubricated, often slippery with mud and/or weed. If you've not got it already, a bit of extra rubbing strake around and over the bow area is generally a good thing to have anyway and will allow you to haul your anchoring gear without issue.
Depending on current, wave angle, wind direction it's likely you're not going to just be hauling neatly over the centre of the bow each time.

I don't think my concern is the chain being retrieved or deployed.

It is loaded chain. So if you have 10m if chain, and anchor in 2m with 3:1 you would have chain over the tubes (or strake) with load on it. For hours. With movement of tide etc.

[jeffstevens763@g]

The chain needs to be heavy enough and long enough to stop the chain leaving the seabed and pulling inline with the anchor at bed level and not lifting preventing drag so it needs to hold in all conditions. P for plenty IMO

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by ShinyShoe

I don't think my concern is the chain being retrieved or deployed.

It is loaded chain. So if you have 10m if chain, and anchor in 2m with 3:1 you would have chain over the tubes (or strake) with load on it. For hours. With movement of tide etc.

Yep, it's loaded and fairly static because of that. I get considerably more marking of the strake when hauling up. Actually, I use chain only, no rope.

[ShinyShoe]

Originally Posted by jwalker

Yep, it's loaded and fairly static because of that. I get considerably more marking of the strake when hauling up. Actually, I use chain only, no rope.

I guess it depends on conditions.. how "snatchy" it will be

I prefer to have my anchor rope to my bow eye and then loose to the locker...

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

There’s nowt wrong with overkill[emoji106]

X2
I've had to use/deploy an Anchor twice in serious situations over the years and was certainly pleased I didn't UNDERCOOK it!

[Maximus]

I prefer to have my anchor rope to my bow eye and then loose to the locker...[/QUOTE]

Not exactly sure what you mean.
My Anchor/Chain/Rope set up is permanently stowed in the front locker ...complete and ready to go.
If you have a decent strength/and length! Bowline ..attached permanently to your Boweye (Don't we all?) it takes just seconds un-stow and tie the Anchor line directly to it...and over she goes

[Searider]

On by 6.5m I've had for the last 15 years a 7.5kg Bruce, 10m of 6mm chain and 30m of 14m anchorplait. This is what the MCA Code requires and considers it to be a piece of safety equipment of last resort - engine failed, being blown onto a lee shore by a F6+ and a swell. It has worked every time it was needed (2 breakdowns).
Would probably have worked with a smaller anchor and less chain.
However, it's a right royal PITA to deploy and recover over the bow. Unlike JWalker it does matter if you have to let the chain rub over the bow of your brand new white tubes!

Recently I've been carrying out some rescue boat and coaching duties and have had to anchor several times a day and the tackle above is overkill.
Last season I bought a ready use kit comprising of 4kg Delta, 5m of 6mm chain and 20m 12mm rope. This has been more than adequate where I have been using it. Generally less than 5m deep with a mud or sand bottom.
The 5m of chain isn't too heavy to haul back on board.

I'd recommend you go for the longer 6mm chain rather than the shorter 8mm.

[Uh Oh]

Originally Posted by jwalker

Unless you're anchoring regularly and needing to haul often over the same section of tube, I wouldn't worry too much about the chain on the tube. When you lift it it'll be wet and lubricated, often slippery with mud and/or weed. If you've not got it already, a bit of extra rubbing strake around and over the bow area is generally a good thing to have anyway and will allow you to haul your anchoring gear without issue.
Depending on current, wave angle, wind direction it's likely you're not going to just be hauling neatly over the centre of the bow each time.

Thank you

[Uh Oh]

Thank you !

[ShinyShoe]

Originally Posted by Maximus

I prefer to have my anchor rope to my bow eye and then loose to the locker...

Not exactly sure what you mean.
My Anchor/Chain/Rope set up is permanently stowed in the front locker ...complete and ready to go.
If you have a decent strength/and length! Bowline ..attached permanently to your Boweye (Don't we all?) it takes just seconds un-stow and tie the Anchor line directly to it...and over she goes[/QUOTE]

Well I don't think it's universally done I think people tie to a cleat on deck and so apply a load over the tube.

But you can't tie chain. That's my point. Too long chain you can't tie it off...

[Uh Oh]

Originally Posted by Searider

On by 6.5m I've had for the last 15 years a 7.5kg Bruce, 10m of 6mm chain and 30m of 14m anchorplait. This is what the MCA Code requires and considers it to be a piece of safety equipment of last resort - engine failed, being blown onto a lee shore by a F6+ and a swell. It has worked every time it was needed (2 breakdowns).
Would probably have worked with a smaller anchor and less chain.
However, it's a right royal PITA to deploy and recover over the bow. Unlike JWalker it does matter if you have to let the chain rub over the bow of your brand new white tubes!

Recently I've been carrying out some rescue boat and coaching duties and have had to anchor several times a day and the tackle above is overkill.
Last season I bought a ready use kit comprising of 4kg Delta, 5m of 6mm chain and 20m 12mm rope. This has been more than adequate where I have been using it. Generally less than 5m deep with a mud or sand bottom.
The 5m of chain isn't too heavy to haul back on board.

I'd recommend you go for the longer 6mm chain rather than the shorter 8mm.

Many thanks.