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Paint to mark anchor chain?

20K views 34 replies 23 participants last post by  Multihullgirl 
#1 ·
Anyone painted their anchor rode to mark chain at specific intervals? What kind of paint did you use? WM does not show anything for that purpose.
 
#2 ·
I painted my chain every 30 feet. First 30 I made one mark and then two marks at 60, 3 at 90. I used a orange red paint used for auto engines just because I had it in the garage. I did clean the chain with muratic acid first. I do not know how it will hold up. I was actually repainting it. It has worked well but was wearing faint.
RDW
 
#3 ·
Regular rustoleum paint works well enough, spray or brush.
No matter what you put on it won't last more than a couple years so it's pointless to get expensive.

Make the marks at least 6 inches long and add tie wraps so you have something to 'see'/'feel' at night.
 
#10 ·
Regular rustoleum paint works well enough, spray or brush.
No matter what you put on it won't last more than a couple years so it's pointless to get expensive.

Make the marks at least 6 inches long and add tie wraps so you have something to 'see'/'feel' at night.
What he said. I tried other markers, but the windlass didn't like them.

A box can make the job neater:
Sail Delmarva: Marking Chain
 
#14 ·
Tie wraps seem to last a year or two, but always concern me that they will hang up on the windlass.
I've never had a problem with the tie wraps in my vertical windlass.

I use the USCG and USN practice of marking with red then white then blue. Since I carry less chain than a carrier, I put marks at 10 meter points -- that means when the blue hits the roller I have 100 feet out.
 
#8 ·
I am a full time liveaboard on the hook 98% of the time. I have tried several different paints [ not model dope or nail varnish ] but nothing survives long on a sandy bottom. Sometimes after just one month almost all is gone.

Cable ties work well and that is what I am curently using. I use different colours double them up and replace annually.

What lasts longest is nylon string. Knots to show the length. But they are hard to see esp at night.
 
#11 ·
I use green and orange flourescent spray paint made for steel (rustoleum i think). I have many years on it and still going strong. I marked my first at fifty feet (orange about 2 feet long) then every 25 feet thereafter. I dont see the point in marking less than 50 since that is 5:1 at 6 feet of water (remember to add freeboard). The next mark is green-orange which is 75. Next is orange-orange. That is 100. Orange-green-orange is 125, etc.

I like the flourescent because it stands out better, esp at night. It does not glow, but light is easier to read off it. I always leave the colors just above the water so it stands out for others too. You can buy this at home depot or lowes.
 
#15 ·
I've given up on paint, just doesn't seem to last. Different colored small wire ties hold up much better than I expected them to so that's what I use now. I use fathoms on the sounders so I mark every 5 fathoms (30'). I use two ties of one color then a different color, etc until I get to 20 fathoms where I use three white, and white again at 40, etc.
 
#17 ·
We used rustoleum-type spray paint on about 1-2 feet of chain: red at 20 feet (useless on the way down, but on the way up it warns the person at the bow that the anchor is about to come free from the bottom); yellow at 40 feet (nice for a lunch hook); green at 60 feet and blue at 80 feet (where we usually anchor for the night). At 100 feet we switch to rode, marked at intervals with colored zip ties. Put 3 ties at each location, when you see the first one or two break, the third one is still in place showing you where to re-mark the rode.
 
#19 ·
I go back and forth on paint and cable ties. Paint last about a year on a daily anchoring basis. The cable ties seem harder to see when the chain is whizzing out, especially after sunset. After reglavanizing the chain last year I painted a strip 1 meter long with a base coat of black and on top of that white, every 25 feet. Just need to count the white/black as it goes out....Funny thing a kiwi gal I had on board insisted on using, red and yellow and pink and green..an old school girl ditty..maybe the red, white blue would be easier?
 
#20 ·
I use nylon webbing of different colors to mark chain intervals. Take about 5" lengths of 1/2" or 3/4" webbing and sew them around a link so that you have two tabs coming off the chain. Mark the length interval with black magic marker. E.g., use red tabs at 100 ft intervals, yellow in between at 50 ft intervals....so as it runs out it's yellow @50, red@ 100, yellow at 150 etc. Tabs will last for years and if they get muddy so you can't read the numbers, you can always see the color.

PS -- I have never had the tabs catch in the gypsy.
 
#21 ·
I had paint, but coral, mud and sand eat it. I now use cable ties and these last for ever, although I do replace the odd one every now and then, come to think of it they used to be black now they are nearly all white with some yellow and I don't know where the red one came from.
 
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#22 ·
using paint...yes as many have said it wears off after a bit and you need to renew it. I might try those specialized markers...

Such a nerd, my marking scheme is red (25'), green (50'), blue (75'), white (100), then double red (125), double green (150), double blue (175), and on a previous bigger boat that had that much chain and could hold it all without sinking double white (200)...etc.

Yea, red, green, blue sequence towards shorter wavelengths (higher frequency) of light....helps me remember, I know, what a nerd :), white who knows.
 
#30 ·
We tried paint and as others have said, it doesn't last long. Wire ties constantly break, especially going through the windlass, so they don't work for us. What has worked for years and tens of thousands of miles in countless anchorages is 1 inch nylon webbing sewn through the chain and/or rode. 1 strip at 25 feet, 2 at 50, 3 at 75 and so on. paint can't be seen in the dark but the nylon can be felt and is easier on bare hands than wire ties. It goes through the windlass with no problem, lasts for years and won't wear out on the sea bottom. Chuck
 
#31 ·
Well I marked my chain this weekend. I used Rustoleum spray and PDQaltairs idea to use a box to minimize the mess. I wanted to make each 25 ft mark distinguishable, ie one red 25. Two red 50 but my box was not big enough so I marked each segment the same. I'll just have to keep track in my head. Thanks!
 
#32 ·
CapnChuck: would you be so kind as to post details on how you sew the nylon webbing to the chain, so that the fastening (sewing threads) are not worn thru by the windlass-gypsy? Might as well advise best way to fasten webbing to rope rode as well, tho I have a head-start in THAT department, siunce my rode is three-strand - I suppose the webbing goes between the strands, no? Thanks.
 
#34 ·
Wayne, The webbing is cut to lengths of about 6 inches. They are pulled through either a single link in the chain or one strand of the three stands in the road. This makes each piece about 3 inches long when folded over. We then sew the folded piece of webbing together by hand using a large sail needle and waxed thread used to repair sails. The windlass doesn't damage the webbing at all. Our current road has been used very, very extensively for the last 6 years and shows no sign of wear. We have been on our current cruise for 2 years and we anchor a lot. On our previous boat, the system was used for 10 years and was still fine when we sold the boat. Chuck
 
#33 ·
We use these plastic chain markers and like them a lot. For liveaboards, painting the chain is an impractical and messy chore that needs to be done frequently. We have gotten several years of daily anchoring out of a set of these little babies.
 

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