Best rodes for your Boat are essential insurance for a safe and successful cruising. Lack of confidence and worry over the set of the anchor are not only guaranteed to spoil the next day cruising and sightseeing, they will also cause disenchantment with the cruising lifestyle.

Anchor Rodes These should be all chain, or a combination of rope and chain.

On our Bruce main anchor we have 300 feet of 5/16-inch, high-test chain. Our storm rode is 80 feet of 3/8-inch chain and 300 feet of octoplait rope.

An all chain rode for the main anchor is considered a must in the Pacific and Indian Oceans to avoid coral chafe on the rope. The chain should be marked with color coded paint . After 3 years the chain will need to be re galvanized to protect it from sea water or when exposed to the weather.

Anchor Chain

The anchor chain is the basic component of the anchoring system which will consists of a combination of the following parts:

Anchor Chain: basic link between the anchor and the vessel. Chain is desirable for it's durability, strenght and weight. Weight of the chain aids the natural burying design of the anchor.

Anchor Rope: a part of the anchor chain may be replaced by a strong nylon rope. This is easier to handle and due to it's elasticity, better suited to absorb shock loads while the the vessel is riding on the anchor or pitching and straightening out the chain. On the other hand an all-rope anchor rode is unsuited for rocky bottoms where it will be destroyed quickly due to chafe. All anchor rode requires more scope to prevent the anchor from braking out.

Anchor Snubber Line: by using anchain anchor rode which - under strong wind conditions - may be pulled straight tight, a nylon rope of 5 to 20 m should be used to absorb the tugging on the anchor chain.

Types

Stainless steel chain

is available at a price but is considered by most offshore sailors to be impractical; moreover, stainless steel is only stainless when exposed to air, so submerging it for long periods will cause corrosive decay.

Galvanized /High Test/ Grade 40 chain

Fabricated from high-carbon steel with a higher breaking strength threshold than BBB. High-test is also lighter than BBB - by 50% - so you can either carry more of it or you can carry the minimum and save a lot of weight. Because high-test chain has grown in popularity, most windlass manufacturers sell their products with a standard high-test gypsy.

Carbon Grade 30 chain

Proof coil is the least expensive form of low-carbon steel chain on the market. While its rated breaking strengths are similar to BBB, proof coil has longer chain links and these do not fit into the gypsys of most modern windlasses. Moreover, under extreme loads, proof coils longer links have a higher tendency to collapse than either BBB or high test. Good for fixed moorings, proof coil is not the choice for a cruising boat.

Chain Problems

Chain comes with its own set of problems, as noted above. On many modern boats, the weight of the chain in the fore peak will alter the way the boat handles. There are few ways to combat this problem:

- use high test chain with better strength to weight ratio

- when going to sea, move the anchor and chain to a cockpit locker
- move the anchor locker aft, right over the keel if possible
- carry only the minimum length of chain in the fore peak with an extra length stored low in the middle of the boat to be used in unusually deep anchorages

Size, Dimensions, Working Load and Weight Chain
Chain is made if a series of connected chain links. Chain size referres to the diameter of the link material, but chain size is often also a trade or product name. A 10-mm chain from the European continent may be selled as 3/8" chain on the American and Europa continents.
Remember, there are some different standards on chain link dimensions in the world !