Anchor and chain weight

Danjcon · #1 (**permalink**) 12-14-2008

We have just completed our first season as owners of a 31 foot sailboat. This has been a dream come true, and I have been addicted to this site for a year and a half. So now I have loads of questions for all the experts.

I bought a 22 lb Delta anchor. I do not have a windlass. How much chain can I use (weight wise) and still be able to pull the anchor up manually? I have a winch on the main mast. Also, I am going to add a bow roller. I have looked everywhere, and looked at many boats, but can't tell if it is better to install the bow roller parallel to the deck, or at an angle to the deck. If parallel, would I use a block of wood to support the back end?

Dan

StoneAge · #2 (**permalink**) 12-14-2008

50' of 5/16 chan ought to be enough.. Depending on where you are sailing. We are using that configuration on Stone Age and it works well.. We have a bit bigger anchor (60#) and are using 3/8"chain, but 50 feet is great.

I had 50' of chain and a 13# danforth on our 26 footer and same results. Only dragged twice and that was because of operator error and nothing else.

Add a kellet to your arsenal and you're in good shape.

John

JohnRPollard · #3 (**permalink**) 12-14-2008

Danjcon,

Usually more chain is better for holding power, but a lot of folks find that an all-chain rode is a heavy load to haul around for typical weekending/coastal sailing. Whereas long-distance voyagers often feel it's a worthwhile trade-off/insurance policy.

It sounds like you're more of a weekender/coastal sailor. Another variable is where you're anchoring. Assuming you're on the Chesapeake, one consideration is the amount of mud that gets embedded in the chain links. It can make a real mess on deck if you don't have a system for getting rid of it.

We have a 31 footer also. One of our primary anchors has about 30 feet (35lb CQR) of chain, the other about 20 feet (25lb Delta), with the rest of those rodes being 3-strand. We get very good holding with these arrangements, especially the CQR. More chain would probably yield better holding, but realize that more chain = more mud mess.

Danjcon · #4 (**permalink**) 12-14-2008

Thanks for the responses. I do mostly do short cruises around the Chesapeake. I want to use as much chain as possible, but hadn't tried it yet with the Delta anchor and was concerned about the weight when trying to raise anchor manually.

JohnRPollard · #5 (**permalink**) 12-14-2008

If you are reasonably able-bodied, even a 35 lb anchor with 25 - 50 feet of chain should pose little trouble. We do not have a windlass and I've never really wished we did. I've never had to use a winch either. Sometimes, if it's really blowing, we'll motor up to the anchor slowly, and use the boat's momentum to break the anchor out.

The weight of the chain generally doesn't amount to more than the length of chain equal to the depth of water you've anchored in and a bit more for the rise between the surface and the roller-- 10-15 feet typically.

Vasco · #6 (**permalink**) 12-14-2008

In the Chesapeake 50 ft. of chain should do you. As you'll probably be anchoring in ten or so feet most of the time that's all the weight of chain you'll be hauling so it won't be that much.

sailingdog · #7 (**permalink**) 12-14-2008

That kind of depends on how strong you are, now doesn't it??? I'd highly recommend going with at least 30', preferably 50-60' of chain. Anything more than that is overkill unless you anchor in areas with coral heads all the time.

One thing that will help a lot is a chain pawl. Makes it much simpler to haul the anchor up... since you can let go of the anchor chain to adjust your grip without the chain rattling back overboard. A good chain pawl helps a lot if you don't have a windlass.

One common type looks like this:

As for bow rollers, it really depends on how your foredeck is setup. A photo of it would help...as would saying what 31' sailboat you have.

The ground tackle setup I installed on my boat looks like this:

It is a bit tight, but that is mainly due to the fact that a trimaran has a pretty narrow foredeck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danjcon

We have just completed our first season as owners of a 31 foot sailboat. This has been a dream come true, and I have been addicted to this site for a year and a half. So now I have loads of questions for all the experts.

I bought a 22 lb Delta anchor. I do not have a windlass. How much chain can I use (weight wise) and still be able to pull the anchor up manually? I have a winch on the main mast. Also, I am going to add a bow roller. I have looked everywhere, and looked at many boats, but can't tell if it is better to install the bow roller parallel to the deck, or at an angle to the deck. If parallel, would I use a block of wood to support the back end?

Dan

camaraderie · #8 (**permalink**) 12-15-2008

Dan... you might as well cave in now. You're gonna get sucked in anyway! First, you should get about 25 feet of chain. Then you will want it spliced to your rode since shackles don't do so well on windlasses. (more on that later!)...Next you will anchor a few times and find muddy chain all over your deck, exhaustion from setting and resetting the anchor to find good holding and you will be installing a wash down system to get the slime off of you and the boat. Then you will be thinking "it would be a lot easier to wash the chain down as I'm bringing it up and not get it all over me and the boat but I don't have 3 hands." Then you will realize that a windlass is really what you should have gotten from the start and be grateful that I told you to get a splice between the chain and rope rode!

Oh yeah..you're gonna need another battery and a bow roller too.

WouldaShoulda · #9 (**permalink**) 12-15-2008

My boat is pretty light, at -5k lbs and 27ft but I probably have -10ft of chain on a 13lb danforth and 100+ feet of rode.

Am I under-chained??

I only plan on dropping it in an emergency in -10ft of water in the Chesapeake. Many pre-pakaged anchor systems come this way.

Danjcon · #10 (**permalink**) 12-15-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by camaraderie

Dan... you might as well cave in now. You're gonna get sucked in anyway! First, you should get about 25 feet of chain. Then you will want it spliced to your rode since shackles don't do so well on windlasses. (more on that later!)...Next you will anchor a few times and find muddy chain all over your deck, exhaustion from setting and resetting the anchor to find good holding and you will be installing a wash down system to get the slime off of you and the boat. Then you will be thinking "it would be a lot easier to wash the chain down as I'm bringing it up and not get it all over me and the boat but I don't have 3 hands." Then you will realize that a windlass is really what you should have gotten from the start and be grateful that I told you to get a splice between the chain and rope rode!

Oh yeah..you're gonna need another battery and a bow roller too.

You've just described what the past year has been like for pretty much every system on the boat.