chain rode

[iredrider1177]

considering our small anchor locker which is better, a shorter heavy chain or a longer lighter chain for rode?

[Ormonddude]

Depends how deep and the conditions on a calm lake anything will work in the ocean fishing on a reef you want some serious chain so consider your most common scenario. Most folks suggest 15 foot if medium chain.

[Divecoz]

I have 30 feet of chain.. 5/16" IIRC and 150 feet of anchor rode and another that is 15ft of the same chain and another 150 ft. of rode.. it all fits in the anchor locker of an My Claw is on the anchor roller and my Danforth is on a bow hanger.. both attached to chain and rode..

[Crikey]

I agree, in this department you can't have too much chain on the rode. Because the MacGregor is so light it will pirouette like a ballerina, at anchor. Having a sufficiently long, and hefty chain, will cover a multitude of anchor/bottom mis-matches during foul weather.
Anyone who says otherwise hasn't stayed up all night during a spate of foul weather, at anchor. Besides, the locker isn't that small!

R.

[Harrison]

I have 2 anchors. A 22# Lewmar Delta on the roller, and a 13# fluke type anchor. Each have 25’ of chain and 200’ of 7/16 rode on them. All but the Delta is in the locker.

[Divecoz]

I also employ a Rubber snubber ( Cheap Black Truckers Bungee ) to take the shock / bounce / jolt... out of my anchor rode.. IMHO it allows me for a much smoother ride at anchor...

[Ixneigh]

Real world anchoring with the M requires a minimum of 20 feet of quarter inch chain. And 100 feet of half inch line.
I have sixty feet of quarter inch high test chain thirty feet of 5/8 line and a 22 delta. I'll increase the line part of the rode to fifty feet next time out. I shoud have eighty feet if that chain too but i dont want to shackle two lengths together. I also have a small fortress anchor on the pulpit but I hardly use it. Planned is a three piece 50 lbs Luke or knockoff for staying long term someplace. That will store in the bilge.
I anchor out ALL the time. I hate docks because I hit them. Unless you are in a fish pond, have the tackle to hold the boat in crappy conditions. If you are worried about weight get the high tensile danforth or a fortress. IMHO avoid the rocna and look alikes. I prefer the delta.
The perils of anchoring in shallow water or near beaches or shore demands special care choosing anchors. I've had more issues with this boat then my larger heavier ones in the past because I used to anchor those way far away from shore. I park the M in shallow water and don't have much room until I'm on the beach, mud, rocks, seawalls or coral. If you plan the tides right however, and let the boat dry out on something appropriate, it increases the holding power of whatever hook you have down by many multiples!!

[Harrison]

Whatever ground tackle you go with, it better be adequate for the unexpected.
A quick story. . .
Several years ago the admiral and I anchored at Lake McConaughy in Nebraska. We choose a quiet cove on the windward side of the lake. Calm breeze and an unbelievable sunset. I drop the delta and pay out 5:1. It’s now around 8:30pm. We finish dinner (Jambalaya, yum!) and take our places to watch a movie. Not 2 minutes into the movie and we heal violently 40+ deg to port. I open the slider to see who just and ran into us, only to immediately close it as a wave completely covers the boat! I saw water in ALL the windows at the same time! Waves are pounding the crap out of us. Every single wave is OVER the bow pulpit. We are submarine-ing! I’m freaking out as my scope is not enough for the conditions and we’re surrounded by a rocky shore. I struggle to go on deck and make effort to increase the scope, but there is no way I’m able to loosen the anchor line at the cleat. It’s too tight for me to undo. All we can do at this point is to ride it out. I turn on the WX on the VHF and they confirm 45 mph steady winds, with gusts to 55 mph. . . through midnight! The entire night was spent chasing and re-securing everything that was moving. . . as well as tasting Jambalaya over and over again.
The next morning at about 6:00am waves dropped to about 5’ so we made our move to get off the water. Expecting to find us dragged all over the place, we didn’t move a bit! It was amazing! We held securely. It took me over 20 min to weigh the anchor (caught under a root), and I seriously thought about cutting ourselves free. Later that night safe and sound at home, the television weather report, talked about the tornado that was reported in Pitken county where we where!
You never know!

[The Mutt]

I keep forgetting to get chain.

Glenn

[Divecoz]

Wow! That's Not a huge lake that's for sure.. Its Max Width is 4 miles and Max Length is 22 miles .. Its actually Hydro Electric Plant Reservoir and there by it sits in a valley.. Dang ..
Ixneigh.. As for needing 1/2" Anchor Rode? Do as you like.. However I have 150' of it and I have it now on my 2nd.. For the even loaded down? It responded like a steel cable.. 3/8" is now better for me, anyway.. I made my 1/2" work for my winter trip to PCF with use of a rubber snubber.. as described above..

Whatever ground tackle you go with, it better be adequate for the unexpected.
A quick story. . .
Several years ago the admiral and I anchored at Lake McConaughy in Nebraska. We choose a quiet cove on the windward side of the lake. Calm breeze and an unbelievable sunset. I drop the delta and pay out 5:1. It’s now around 8:30pm. We finish dinner (Jambalaya, yum!) and take our places to watch a movie. Not 2 minutes into the movie and we heal violently 40+ deg to port. I open the slider to see who just and ran into us, only to immediately close it as a wave completely covers the boat! I saw water in ALL the windows at the same time! Waves are pounding the crap out of us. Every single wave is OVER the bow pulpit. We are submarine-ing! I’m freaking out as my scope is not enough for the conditions and we’re surrounded by a rocky shore. I struggle to go on deck and make effort to increase the scope, but there is no way I’m able to loosen the anchor line at the cleat. It’s too tight for me to undo. All we can do at this point is to ride it out. I turn on the WX on the VHF and they confirm 45 mph steady winds, with gusts to 55 mph. . . through midnight! The entire night was spent chasing and re-securing everything that was moving. . . as well as tasting Jambalaya over and over again.
The next morning at about 6:00am waves dropped to about 5’ so we made our move to get off the water. Expecting to find us dragged all over the place, we didn’t move a bit! It was amazing! We held securely. It took me over 20 min to weigh the anchor (caught under a root), and I seriously thought about cutting ourselves free. Later that night safe and sound at home, the television weather report, talked about the tornado that was reported in Pitken county where we where!
You never know!

[Crikey]

Dive, please explain how you deploy, and rig the snubber. Is it somehow attached after you've paid out enough line for the particular depth you've chosen to anchor in?
(just to make you homesick - I think there's going to be a sh@#%*$d of snow this winter!)

R.

[DaveB]

A rubber Snuber is usually used with a all chain rode, you put a ruber shock cord with a large loop in the chain and attach it at a 3-4 ft. distance on the chain,and acts as a shock cord. Most and us don't need this if useing all chain or 3 strand rope as the chain is laid down at bottom and any force will lift it up some takeing the blunt force.
That alone acts as a snuber. 3 strand rope with chain, you don't need any snuber as 3 strand streaches enough to allow the force.
There are rubber snubers that are on the market, but again you will not need this for the light weight Mac.
One other thing, that rubber snubber looses grip or snaps, it is a weapon to deal with.
Dave

Dive, please explain how you deploy, and rig the snubber. Is it somehow attached after you've paid out enough line for the particular depth you've chosen to anchor in?
(just to make you homesick - I think there's going to be a sh@#%*$d of snow this winter!)

R.

[iredrider1177]

i have a 22# lewmar (bruce)type anchor and a 7lb fluke type anchor, and i sail anywhere from lake erie to the keys, i know i dont have the proper chain rode, chain is expensive and i want to buy it just once, im shure the biggest, heaviest most expensive is the best, . but i was worried about weigh and space. and boat bucks. ive been alright so far with my 6ft chain but i want piece of mind.

[Divecoz]

I put mine pretty much as DaveB described it.. I have as I said 30' of 5/16" B&B chain .. I add the Rubber truckers bungee a few feet from the end of my chain with the S hooks crimped a bit so as not to allow it to fall off.. It hold about 3 to 4 feet of chain in slack.. I deploy the rode as needed and that bungee takes Much? Most? All? The SHOCK Load out of the chain and rode.. For me and YRMBD it works Great and cost less than $5 in fact I have stopped and picked up several Brand New Ones(?) laying on the road here and there.

[DaveB]

Useing BBB chain is heavy but every link has been tested compared to proof coil chain tested every 6 links.
Most of us use proof coil 1/4 and is fine for our boats. You went the extra step and thats good as the links are shorter on BBB and weight tho heavier, one can use a shorter scope with the BBB.
5/16 inch BBB is way over kill for what we need but if one wants a shorter scope for swinging room in a crouded ancorage or reverse current changes without useing a Bahiamian moor than there is a favorite in Divecoz system.(sleep at night, no woories)
I used 3/8 BBB on my 35 fter and never draged all thru East coast and thru Carribean and S. America.
Dave

I put mine pretty much as DaveB described it.. I have as I said 30' of 5/16" B&B chain .. I add the Rubber truckers bungee a few feet from the end of my chain with the S hooks crimped a bit so as not to allow it to fall off.. It hold about 3 to 4 feet of chain in slack.. I deploy the rode as needed and that bungee takes Much? Most? All? The SHOCK Load out of the chain and rode.. For me and YRMBD it works Great and cost less than $5 in fact I have stopped and picked up several Brand New Ones(?) laying on the road here and there.