Anchor line needs replaced

N

Nina Wood

New Member
Sep 11, 2022
9
Boat Info
Sea Ray Sundancer 440
1993
Engines
Diesel Cummings 315hp
So our boat is in dry dock at Rebel Marine in Biloxi, Ms. Getting bottom paint done and some engine work. We haven't used the anchor yet since we have only had her a couple months. We decided to check out the anchor line while on land. Glad we did! It was awful! Rusted thru in many places prob 30 year old chain. Some links was so bad just crumbled like year old cookie! So she is 44 feet and a sundancer. I need at least 125 feet I guess, but my question is, can I use rope and if so what is the size or load I need? If I have to go chain what is my load needs and size? Any recommendations? Remember we are fairly new to this. Thanks in advance ☺️
 
Nina, on a boat that size I would not trust rope. Chain is going to cost more but it's going to hold the boat securely.

BTW, I was stationed at Keesler in the late 60's and got to enjoy Camille when she passed through. Fun times were had by all.
 
Might depend on your plans though. If you're just hanging out at party cover for a few hours on a calm day, you might get away with a chain rope combo. Overnights, Gofirst has probably got it.
 
The type of chain you need should be stamped on the gypsy (the drum on the windlass). You can go with a chain/rode combo, or all chain. If you go with a combo, you should have, at a minimum, at least a boat's length of chain.

I'm a fan of all chain, as long as you have sufficient room in your anchor locker. Also, depending on where you anchor, 125' doesn't sound like much. Consider that if you are anchoring in 20' of water, you'd only be able to get about 5:1 scope, which is probably fine unless you are anchoring in high winds or large tidal swings. If that's the case, your target should be 7:1 in which case, you'd need about 170'
 
Going all chain is an upgraded option offered by the factory for many models. Those who anchor a lot and went all chain, will not tell you that they have any regrets.

Do it once and do it right. Go all chain. There are just so many benefits. My recommendation is not less than 250'. Common anchorages in the areas you're looking to visit would determine the desired length. I anchor all the time and don't do anything less than 7:1 scope for short stay on a calm day. For overnights I do 10:1 scope. Simple math shows that 200' is barely enough at 20' with 10:1 scope. That's the reason I'm recommending to go with 250'.

As bobeast said, check your windlass specs for the chain type recommendation. You can also check your parts manual. For example, this is what mine states: GRADE 40 GALV 5/16" 200'

I have 200' and whish it was 250. When I'll be replacing it, I'll go with 250'.
 
There are a lot of choices to make...But, to give you some reference, most boaters I know and probably most manufacturers in your category of boat provide 200 feet of a combination chain and rope. However, from there it all depends on the waters you boat in and the type of boating you'll be doing. Deep water drops with lots of wind and weather may require longer rode as well as the safety and security of all chain as stated above. Shallower day anchorages at party coves...200 foot combo is likely enough. I would not go all rope in any scenario. Remember it is the chain that gives your anchor the ability to "bite". It lays on the bottom and pulls the anchor in a horizontal (dig in) plane.
 
The all-chain owners need to remember they need to have on board, at hand, the ability to cut that chain should the need to arise. Most people will live out their time on the water and never meet that moment, but that moment can present itself. I worked on the water for a few decades and believe me there are times.....
 
One advantage to all chain that we don't talk much: Watching happily as other boats cross a "little too close" in front of you when you're at anchor knowing if they hit your anchor line...it's not going to damage my chain :)
 
Jus Cruisin said:
I need to find some old sailor that can splice rode to chain near me. I'm going to replace my anchor in the spring and the rode needs replacing as well. The chain is fine and it's about 30 feet long which is plenty for my area. Combos seem to use 20' of chain. I don't need all chain.
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I found it not hard to splice myown chain to rope rode with no prior experience. There are several great youtubes on how to do it and the rope size and type is easy to handle. Was prepared to cut it off and start over but first time came out well and no issues over two seasons of anchoring most every weekend.
 
Njlarry said:
I found it not hard to splice myown chain to rope rode with no prior experience. There are several great youtubes on how to do it and the rope size and type is easy to handle. Was prepared to cut it off and start over but first time came out well and no issues over two seasons of anchoring most every weekend.
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Agreed, I found a great one on YouTube, and after watching it said "Heck no, all chain for me!" ;-)
 
I will say this, splicing lines is pretty easy after you have done it once or twice. But with regard to the anchor rode, all chain is the only way to go. It will cost a few extra bucks but highly worth it. As mentioned above, 250' at a minimum. You will thank yourself for doing this. Especially when in any type of weather, the extra holding strength is needed.
 
I may have missed it in this thread, where have you folks purchased your chain from, somewhere online or local?
 
Halfhitch said:
The all-chain owners need to remember they need to have on board, at hand, the ability to cut that chain should the need to arise. Most people will live out their time on the water and never meet that moment, but that moment can present itself. I worked on the water for a few decades and believe me there are times.....
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can you just disconnect it from the anchor locker and let it go?
 
I replaced my anchor and rode last year. I’m in the Chesapeake Bay and we don’t do a lot of deep water or high wind anchoring. So even for overnights, a combo rope and chain works for me. I got DefenderMarine to splice a new rode for me with 50’ of G4 (OEM was 25’) and 200’ of 8-strand. I went with the S1 swivel from Mantus for the connection to the anchor.

Im the captain, my admiral mans the windlass at the bow. And fetches the anchor. All chain will put a lot of shock on your boat every time the rode goes slack and taut. So you’d need snubbers. Having to buy sniggers on top of the chain, then having the admiral have to add snubbers every time we anchored, was too much. Rope gets a bad name but fresh rope is fine, especially with a nice run of chain at the start.
 
jmauld said:
can you just disconnect it from the anchor locker and let it go?
Click to expand...

Possibly, but it would have to be let out to the end and if it remains under tension due to current, wind or debris or a large vessel pushing on you, you would not be able to release the chain if it was attached with a shackle. If the chain was retained by a pelican hook, then it could be done but when was the last time you saw one of those on a recreational boat. Bolt cutters not made in China will cut chain the size we use.

A person could attach a short section of soft line to the terminal end of the anchor chain so if you had time and power to deploy the chain fully, then you could cut the soft line to free the chain.
 
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