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A rule of thumb is 1 pound of anchor weight for every foot of boat length. So for a 4 metre/13 ft RIB, you'd be looking at 6Kg of anchor. Add at least a couple of metres of chain although more would be ideal.
As for the rode, modern artificial rope can be so strong that the minimum thickness is dictated mainly by comfort when hauling the anchor back up. Wear fingerless sailing gloves to reduce the discomfort, or even just a pair of work gloves. You're only hauling the anchor for a few seconds or a minute once or twice on a day's boating.
I'd say something around 12 mm will do the job adequately. It's not an exact science. Thicker rope will be more comfortable to haul, but will take up more space.
Flake the rope into a bucket rather than coiling it. Motor slowly forwards to take the tension off as you haul in the line, but taking care not to run over the line and foul your prop. You should be pulling 8 or so Kg of anchor + chain vertically upwards, not pulling the entire boat towards the anchor into the teeth of the wind, waves or tide.
As for ideal length: something between 4 or 5 times the depth of water you will be anchoring in. More if you think you'll be anchoring in adverse conditions. Many boaters have 2 or more lengths of rode that they can connect in series if they need to lay out more rode than usual.
If you use a conventional shackle, check it is tightly done up. For one that is in lace permanently (e.g. at the anchor end rather than the boat end) "mouse" it by threading wire through the small hole in the pin, and around the body of the shackle to stop it working undone.
The most common mistake I have observed is boaters not laying out enough anchor rode. That means the line is too vertical, the anchor does not grip as well as it should, and the boat snatches and jerks with the waves. A longer line will hang at a shallower angle; the anchor will grip better; and the catenary curve of the line will act as a shock absorber making the boat ride more comfortably.
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spy-sea-one
