Too Much Chain?

Hi All,

When taking delivery Saturday the PO told us he has 300' of chain in the locker. He said if he'd kept the boat, he'd take the chain out and replace with a length of chain and use anchor line. He said the weight of the chain digs the bow in and the fuel mileage isn't as good as it can be.

For those of you with Taiwanese Trawlers, what do you suggest? If I opt to use chain and line, how much chain for a 36 footer?

Thanks - Dave

Dave,

It depends on where you will be anchoring. We carry 400' of 3/8". And have used it all on this trip. Wouldn't need half of that in the Chesapeake bay, where I used to cruise.

Deeper anchorages and shorter scope both require more chain.

300 ft of chain sounds about correct for any real cruising in different area's, at times I'm sure you wish you had more!

Hows the trim on the boat when at anchor? is it already bow down or level?

When we fill our forward fuel tank (3000 Gallons)we get another one- two knots @ the cruise speed RPM (displacement vessel) so being bow down dosent always mean slow or more fuel usage,

Cheers Steve

How much does your boat weigh? You probably have chain weighing about 1# per ft, so reducing the chain would save you only a couple of hundred lbs. If trim is your goal, move some more weight into the lazarette and achieve the same thing.

All chain is way better than rope with a short length of chain.

I have 300' of 5/16 chain on my 43' 33,000 lbs boat. This summer I could have used a bit more. Nothing wrong with a combination rode (length of chain followed by rope) but I wouldn't start looking at making any changes in your anchor tackle for at least a year. Use it as is and them you can make some more informed choices if you decide you want to change.

300 is more than I wish to carry on a 40 footer with little forefoot.

I have 200. If I need more than that on the East coast but occasionally, I am in the wrong spot or will just add some line.

A boat designer here once said, not to worry a little bow down in many of our trawlers,we would actually be more efficient as we wouldnt be dragging as much immersed stern at displacement speeds.

We've got 400' of chain (as far as I know) and we do throw a bit of a bow wave, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Judging by the paint lines on the hull, we still sit and travel relatively flat.

Our next project (after the weather degrades) is to pull in bow first and lay the chain out on the dock to see exactly what we have and paint the chain so we know how much is laid out.
I'm sure we put too much out for the most part, but I'd rather be safe than sorry at this point.

By the way Dave,
Where are you in La Conner?
We're over on D Dock in the south basin of La Conner Marina.

removing the chain probably wont affect mileage in a measurable way. 300' sound good to me.

If your prop or props are out of the water, you have too much chain.

We have 300' of chain on our 41'. Seems about right.

I have two anchors on the pulpit with a total of 450 feet of 5/16 chain. As suggested above, keep it and move a bit of stuff aft.

I would estimate length of chain based on how deep I most commonly anchor in my cruising grounds. I don't anchor any deeper than about 15 feet. With a 6 ft pulpit that puts me at around 60'@ 3:1 and 100' @ 5:1. I'm usually between 50' to 75' of rode out depending on depth and wind conditions. I carry about 130' of chain. I have it backed by 125' of line that never sees the sun or gets wet.

Needs vary regionally.

Our 40' trawler carried 240' of rusty 3/8" chain that kept our bow down. Got rid of it and replaced it with 120' of 5/16" G4 that fit the same gypsy. No more bow down and enough chain for our anchoring needs.

We have 400' of 5/16 chain & a 73# anchor up forward with no adverse effects. Filling our 200 gallon (total) water tanks close to the rear has a far more significant effect on our trim.

Moonstruck said:

If your prop or props are out of the water, you have too much chain.

Click to expand...

:lol:

You've gotten your answer right?

Someone said to not make changes until you've had the boat for a while and see how it works. That's advice I usually give as well.

That said, I do just fine with a combination rode. 30' of heavy chain, the rest line. Many people are happy with combination rodes. Talk to people with boats similar to yours who boat in the same area you do. Ask what they use and how well it works. A combination rode eliminates the need for chain hooks, bridles, snubbers, etc. Just cleat it off and you are done.

We have 110' of 5/16" which I consider a little short. BUT we only cruise in Florida right now. 200 ft should be good except US west coast.

600' of 1/2". It depends on where you anchor, the bottom and the weather conditions. I usually anchor in deep open anchorages. Rule of thumb for length is all chain 4:1 and line 7:1. Weight of chain holds the shank down better. In bad conditions I might do 10:1.

Doesn't it depends on what anchor you are using?

gaston said:

Doesn't it depends on what anchor you are using?

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Uh oh...you can add 100 to the post count.

got one

You mean these guys w all chain use anchors?

I've got 200 feet of 3/8-inch chain. Plenty for local waters. But then another hundred feet would help even out the bow-light trim. See no immediate need for change, however.

all chain all the time

WD40 said:

Our next project (after the weather degrades) is to pull in bow first and lay the chain out on the dock to see exactly what we have and paint the chain so we know how much is laid out.
I'm sure we put too much out for the most part, but I'd rather be safe than sorry at this point.

Click to expand...

Are you aware of these quite low cost, easy to self-install chain counters, like this...
CruzPro CH55 Anchor Chain Counters - Windlass Parts & Accessories - Anchoring & Docking - Downwind Marine

Chain is great , when anchoring in coral.

How often do you do that?

Remember chain has to be scrubbed clean each time its used before dropping it in its locker , or it will stink like low tide.

300ft of scrubbing ,every AM?, no thanks !

The chain locker is a design , built to properly hold the size and volume of your chain.

Just dumping it down a hole can causes problems when letting the chain run out.

FF said:

Chain is great , when anchoring in coral.

How often do you do that?

Remember chain has to be scrubbed clean each time its used before dropping it in its locker , or it will stink like low tide.

300ft of scrubbing ,every AM?, no thanks !

The chain locker is a design , built to properly hold the size and volume of your chain.

Just dumping it down a hole can causes problems when letting the chain run out.

Click to expand...

No coral here, yet all chain is still the better choice. Bottoms vary from mud with or without weed to gravel, bedrock, glassy smooth granite. The only bottom that you might wish you had rope is the mud bottom, which does require some cleaning as the chain rises. But then, you would need to clean rope from that bottom. All other bottoms release clean chain.
Cleaning the chain is easy if you have a salt water hose at the bow. I use a nozzle that projects a stream of pressurized salt water directly onto the rising chain. I also have a hose with a hand held nozzle if the mud is too thick for the other nozzle. I never put muddy chain into the chain locker, so never have to deal with any bottom stink other than that of wet rode. If anything the chain dries faster than rope.
Elsewhere on this site are discussions re the pyramiding of chain if allowed to drop uncontrolled into the chain locker...all manageable.

Yes,
Here in the PNW we uszually have clean chain. And Kieth is right chain is the beter rode. Better bookmark this as I may not say it again. I would never say bad about chain if people didn't take it to such extremes. All chain may actually be stupid as the weight of the chain near the boat may actually reduce catenary at the anchor.

HOWEVER .... If one gets reasonable and considers the weight of chain one will find only a small amount of chain is needed. The weight of the chain significantly aids the ability of the anchor to set. Once set and burried deep at 5-1 scope chain is not needed. I think Chapman says "a few feet of chain".

The real reason for lots of chain is convenience.

Re the dirty rode I have more trouble w nylon than my chain.

Peter B said:

Are you aware of these quite low cost, easy to self-install chain counters, like this...
CruzPro CH55 Anchor Chain Counters - Windlass Parts & Accessories - Anchoring & Docking - Downwind Marine

Click to expand...

I was not aware of that option.
Thanks!

Dave,

We switched to all chain (300') on our 32' GB and noticed no difference in economy or speed. It does eliminate one potential failure point at the rode to chain connection for all but the deepest anchoring (chain is backed with 200' of rode). I would guess that we are in the same general cruising area and this setup has worked quite well for us.

Bob