Anchor Rode

Anchor Rode Problem

Recently, I needed to drop my anchor (300 ft Chain) from my Grand Banks 42. The anchor rode did not drop and upon further investigation, the chain was tangled up in the chain locker. I believe the chain was tossed around while I encountered heavy seas outside of the Golden Gate Bridge. Typically, I never had a problem of dropping anchor until this event. Aside from a crew member being down below handling the retrieved chain, what have others experienced and are there solutions?

It will happen from time to time, especially if you don't use your anchor very often.

Other than manually sorting it out, one option I know of is changing to stainless chain. It is not as strong and much more expensive, but more slippery and it lays much better without piling up (castling) and falling over, which often causes the tangles.

I've heard that putting a witches hat type traffic cone directly under where the chain drops will spread out where the chains falls and stops the castling effect. I haven't tried this, but it may be another option.

Great solutions...thank you

If you have the room, build a vertical silo for the chain to fall into. The problems usually occur when the chain is allowed to spread out in a large locker. As it is retrieved, it forms a conic pile. If this pile gets upset by seas, you have a tangle. If you confine it to a smaller area, say a 2' diameter cylinder, it will pile up in an orderly way and come out the same way. I have 150' of chain in a 12" cylinder on the sailboat, it has never tangled despite offshore passages in bad weather.

I have not tried it but have heard of people putting a large inner tube in the rope locker and inflating it to take up the extra space so the chain can’t mobe around.

"and are there solutions?"

Yes , a proper chain locker is tall and will not allow the chain pile to fall over on itself.

They are NOT universal and sized to your chain.

At your local library is


Skene's Elements of Yacht Design, Eighth Edition: Francis S. Kinney ...

https://www.amazon.com/Skenes-Elements-Yacht-Design-Eighth/dp/0396079687
Skene's Elements of Yacht Design, Eighth Edition Hardcover – September, 1983. ... Elements of Yacht Design: The Original Edition of the Classic Book on Yacht…. ... Noteworthy are the clear negative implications of some features of modern racing yacht design in terms of stability and ...

DDW said:

If you have the room, build a vertical silo for the chain to fall into... I have 150' of chain in a 12" cylinder on the sailboat, it has never tangled despite offshore passages in bad weather.

Click to expand...

VERY cool idea DDW. I could see using a section of 12+ inch pvc pipe, holes drilled all around for drainage. That would be awesome to reduce 99% of the corrosion in the locker of a steel boat.

I read a ball - mushroom like shape in chain locker where chain falls on top will make the chain to fall off to the sides and not pyramid tangle.