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Old 06-04-2016, 02:58 PM   #37
caltexflanc
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City: North Carolina for now
Join Date: Aug 2011
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If you are truly setting the anchor by powering back on it, you are by definition eliminating the catenary of the chain. I've seen all-chain rodes pulled completely tight on a variety of boats, typically at around 25 knots depending on boat design.
A snubber doesn't change the angle of incidence or pull one bit; it essentially creates a combination rode.

Chain accomplishes a number of things that casual or occasional boaters may not have particular need of. Beside dampening the motion of the boat in fair weather conditions, it eliminates chafe on the bottom in those conditions, such as when only mild current shifts or breeze directions cause the boat to move about. I've recounted here the time when I saw our anchor (or the end of the shank, I should say when I got up one morning, off our port quarter with the half-buried chain running parallel to the boat all the way on up past the bow... we were lying to the chain due to a breeze shift during the night. Likewise, we have brought in several yards of mud packed chain when weighing anchor.

And it reduces the exposure of the rode to chafe at the boat as well, though of course care with snubbers/bridles requires chafe protection too... it's just that they are more eminently and quickly easy to replace should they be compromised by chafe.
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