Marking your Anchor Rode for Depth?

backcreeksailor · #1 (**permalink**) 05-31-2009

How many of you mark your anchor rode for depth? And what methods do you think work best both in daylight and after dark conditions?

scottyt · #2 (**permalink**) 05-31-2009

both of mine are marked, the one that came with the boat has plastic tails every ten feet and they are numbered. the new one i bought has small line tied in to it at 25, 50 and 75 feet. i dont need the new one with numbers, its kind of obvious which one i am at. the first is hard to see at night unless i have my headlamp on.

sailingdog · #3 (**permalink**) 05-31-2009

Cloth markers in the rope portion and cable ties in the chain portion.

backcreeksailor · #4 (**permalink**) 05-31-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailingdog

Cloth markers in the rope portion and cable ties in the chain portion.

I've seen elsewhere on the net where people say that they mark their anchor chain. But unless you have an "all-chain" anchor line, why would you ever need to bother with marking the chain?

(In my case, I have a 30' boat and I bought a 30' chain to attach the rode to. So anytime I put the anchor out, the entire chain is always going to the bottom anyway).

JomsViking · #5 (**permalink**) 05-31-2009

Pieces of cloth in the chain - 1 for 10 meters. 2 for 20, 3 for thirty....
Starting over at 50 meters if I really had that much chain

Chain only for the main anchor. Not because I need it for chafe protection but because of the shorter scope required.

T37Chef · #6 (**permalink**) 05-31-2009

These work well for me, but then I only have 50' of chain

Craig Smith · #7 (**permalink**) 05-31-2009

Lots of cruising folk have longer lengths of chain than is always deployed, so marking the chain as well as the rope is necessary.

We use reinforced awning fabric, on both the chain and the rope. This is soft, easy on the gypsy, durable, and very easy to add and maintain.

Brighter colors are best, and a flashlight on the foredeck is necessary for nighttime use!

More, including photos, here:
www.rocna.com/kb/Counting_chain

poopdeckpappy · #8 (**permalink**) 05-31-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by T37Chef

I have the same setup

sailingdog · #9 (**permalink**) 05-31-2009

I have 60' of chain or so....but can anchor in as little ad 3' of water with no trouble...since my board up draft is 16"... so, marking the chain makes sense...

Quote:

Originally Posted by backcreeksailor

I've seen elsewhere on the net where people say that they mark their anchor chain. But unless you have an "all-chain" anchor line, why would you ever need to bother with marking the chain?

(In my case, I have a 30' boat and I bought a 30' chain to attach the rode to. So anytime I put the anchor out, the entire chain is always going to the bottom anyway).

Sequitur · #10 (**permalink**) 05-31-2009

My main anchor is on 100 metres of chain, which I count from the cockpit with an AutoAnchor, a wonderful little New Zealand device.

As a back-up, I have the chain tagged with bright nylon strips: one at 20, two at 40, three at 60 and four at 80 metres. My three other rodes are also similarly marked.