[backcreeksailor]

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]

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]

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

 

[backcreeksailor]

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]

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]

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

 

[Craig Smith]

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]

I have the same setup

 

[sailingdog]

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...

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]

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.

 

[pdqaltair]

I generally just count the time on the drop if it is dark.

Yes, I have marked the line, but since the windlass lowers at a known rate (~1.5 ft/second), I don't need to look at the numbers in the dark. I need 50'? Count to 33.

Just one more option.

 

[Bilgewater]

I have 350' of chain and mark it with coloured wire ties every 25'. From 25' to 100' I use 1 wire tie every 25' of different colours. For 100' to 200' I use 2 ties a link apart of different colours and repeat this procedure. I made up a small colour coded laminated reference card that I have next to each of my controls. This system has worked very well for me.

 

[Sarguy]

Yes, I have marked the line, but since the windlass lowers at a known rate (~1.5 ft/second), I don't need to look at the numbers in the dark. I need 50'? Count to 33.

Just one more option.

When I took the ASA 104 class last month, I let the anchor down (unmarked rode) and counted lengths of rode from the windlass to the roller, (about 3 feet) and figured 4 inches went by while I shifted my eyes back to the windlass, thus three lengths was about 10 ft. The instructor told me I had let out a LOT more rode than I thought, but the angle leaving the boat looked about right to me.

Since the rode wasn't marked, there was no way to tell, but I think a windlass with a known speed would be very accurate if you can count off seconds fairly accurately.

Almost a sailor - Bob

 

[JiffyLube]

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).

I have chain and line too. 200' of chain and 250' of line. Marking the chain and line rode is very helpfull in the deeper water we have around our Channel Islands.

 

[T37Chef]

Yes, I have marked the line, but since the windlass lowers at a known rate (~1.5 ft/second), I don't need to look at the numbers in the dark. I need 50'? Count to 33.

Wait, somebody give me calculator, I'm confused :laugher

 

[capitanissa]

Use Those Old T's

years ago in Turkey I was given a bag of rags containing strips of t-shirt material in all colors. I have used them ever since as my chain markers and they last a long time.

 

[imagine2frolic]

I mark my chain with colored zip ties. The lengths are also written down on the inside of the chain locker hatch. I open this hatch each time, so I can watch the chain. My rope rode has eyes spliced in place every 25 feet after the chain ends.....i2f

 

[josrulz]

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

I have the same set-up, except 30 feet of chain, then 300 feet of rode. I really like the markers simply because I can make sure I have out the amount I intended to have out.

 

[T37Chef]

I have the same set-up, except 30 feet of chain, then 300 feet of rode. I really like the markers simply because I can make sure I have out the amount I intended to have out.

Hey, was that you I saw heading North Sunday, maybe toward Fairlee Creek...a beautiful Sabre 34

 

[ratCATcher]

But what are they?

I have the same setup[/QUOTE

These look interesting but what are they and where do you get them?