How much rode do I need?

[votrechien]

Hi guys,

Whats the rule of thumb for rode? Here's what I've heard:

-You need about 8 feet of rope for every foot of water you'll be anchoring in
-You need a foot of chain for every 6 feet of rope
-You need 1/8" diameter of rope for every 9' of boat.

Does this sound about right?

 

[dingbat]

Re: How much rode do I need?

Hi guys,

Whats the rule of thumb for rode? Here's what I've heard:

-You need about 8 feet of rope for every foot of water you'll be anchoring in
-You need a foot of chain for every 6 feet of rope
-You need 1/8" diameter of rope for every 9' of boat.

Does this sound about right?

Your 6:1 rope to chain ratio sounds a bit out of whack. If it was true you would need 40.8' of chain to anchor in 35 ft of water (35 x 7)/6. That's crazy. I have 10' of 1/4" link chain on mine.

 

[rndn]

Re: How much rode do I need?

8-10 feet of chain should be fine, although I see most with 6 feet.

 

[gss036]

Re: How much rode do I need?

What size of Yacht are you talking about?

 

[External Combustion]

Re: How much rode do I need?

7 to 1 scope will work in heavy blows. Most around here do 4 to 1 in light winds. Eight to ten feet of chain for small boats is correct. The diameter of the chain and rope is related to the working load of the anchor you need.

I use a quarter inch line on my 15 footer as a working line, but up to a full inch on the storm anchor for my 30 footer.

Check the catalogs for anchoring recommendations.

 

[Boatist]

Re: How much rode do I need?

You need 7 of rode for every 1 foot of depth. However the depth is figured from your tie point. Example: Your anchoring in 8 feet of water plus your tieing to a bow cleat 2 feet above the water.
So you need 8 feet plus 2 equals 10 feet times 7 or 70 feet of rode.

Chain is use for two things.
1: If you useing short scope less that 7 to 1 in light conditions then chain on the front of the anchor will lie on the bottom and as you pull the chain will stay on the bottom and keep the shank of the anchor down on the bottom so when pull the anchor will dig in. With short scope like 3 to 1 and no chain ln light conditions then when you pull the shank will point at the bow of the boat. With the shank pointed up the flutes will also be pointed up and not dig in. Instead it will just drag on the bottom. So in light conditions with chain you do not have to use as much rode to hold bottom.
However if you have strong winds and current even if you have all chain it will not dig in. As the boat put more load on the anchor rode the chain will lift off the bottom. When the load is great enough the chain and the shank of the anchor will still point at the bow of the boat and the flutes will not dig in.
In these conditions proper scope (7 to 1) with no chain at all will still cause the anchor to dig in. Reason is when the shank points at the boat it is still at a low angle and the flutes will be pointed down and dig in.

2: Chain is used to keep Sharp rocks and coral from cutting you anchor line.

The size and weight of the chain will also make a difference in light conditions, as the weight of the chain goes up it takes more load to lift it off the bottom and cause the shank to point at the boat.

We hate chain so use very little. One anchor has no chain at all. The other has 4 feet of 1/4 inch stainless steel.

We have not used the one with chain since we bought the Fortress FX-7 4 pound anchor.

My boats 21 foot and 2800 pounds dry. My Fortress anchor has 5/16 nylon line. The 8 pound Danforth Has 3/8 inch line.


Bodega Bay Weather on May 2 08 Improving Launch but watch the weather.
Winds NW 310 degrees true at 25.3 knots with gust to 29.2 knots
Seas 6.2 feet with swells every 16 sec and chop every 4.6 sec Sea Temp 49.1 degrees.
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=46013