Marking the Anchor Chain

One of the many boat projects we did today was mark the anchor chain. It was probably the simplest project we have done yet. It is useful to mark the chain at intervals to verify that enough chain is let out when the boat is anchored. If too little chain is let out the anchor will not hold. There are various methods for determining how much chain is let out. One is to count how many feet of chain go out per second and then count the seconds. Another is to spray paint the chain at various intervals. Another is to buy colored plastic pieces that are inserted into the pieces of chain. Each of those methods has it's advantages and disadvantages. When I attended Cruiser's University in April, Pam Wall, cruiser extraordinaire, told us about an ingeniously simple and effective way to mark the chain. She suggested asking a sailmaker for scraps of spinnaker cloth in three colors. Cut strips that are about one inch by one foot. Tie the strips on the chain at the intervals of your choice, using a square knot and alternating the colors. She told us that the cloth is so light it goes through the windlass (device that hauls the chain up and down) with ease. The cloth is durable so lasts a very long time and the colors hold.

When we picked up our new gennaker (like a spinnaker) from the sailmaker a few weeks ago we asked for scraps of spinnaker cloth. He gave us this piece.

I cut the strips.

George tied one through a link of chain and tried running it through the windlass just to make sure it didn't foul the windlass. When he was convinced that it would work he measured the chain on the deck.

Then he tied the strips on the chain at intervals of 10 feet, 30 feet, 50 feet, 70 feet and 90 feet. (We have 100 feet of chain.)

We hope to test it when we anchor out next week. Maybe we will even sleep better while we are anchored!

 

 

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