Anchor chain marking

[SteveK]

Peter, How was it to run the wires to the bridge

 

[O C Diver]

Mine never failed in the 12 years after I installed it, and how 'simple' is it when you need to up-anchor and move in a hurry say, at night, p*ssing down with rain and wind, and the bottom muck is making the thingies on your rode hard to see, even with a light shone on them. I suspect you'd have to go out in person to deal with it. I could do that all from the comfort and protection of the inside helm, without added light, or having to step out at all. Even with my old tub, I still think it was one of the best things I ever did to her.

Is there anyone out there who used to say all those things OC Diver and others have said on this that has actually finally installed one..? And your experience has been..? Would you ever go back to counting thingies..?

If I was of a mind to move at night in the rain, I would aim the spot light at the anchor pulpit and windlass. Can't imagine wondering around in the dark without a bright spotlight to look for things like cab and fish trap buoys. But then I have to go out anyway to remove the snubber.

Certainly there are lots of electronic things that make boating easier and better. I've so far resisted the urge to have electronic antifouling bottom protection, a self cleaning electrical sea strainer for the engine, electronic blinds for the saloon, and an electronic chain counter. But if you feel those are important, by all means add them.

Ted

 

[Bendit]

Mine never failed in the 12 years after I installed it, and how 'simple' is it when you need to up-anchor and move in a hurry say, at night, p*ssing down with rain and wind, and the bottom muck is making the thingies on your rode hard to see, even with a light shone on them. I suspect you'd have to go out in person to deal with it. I could do that all from the comfort and protection of the inside helm, without added light, or having to step out at all. Even with my old tub, I still think it was one of the best things I ever did to her.



Is there anyone out there who used to say all those things OC Diver and others have said on this that has actually finally installed one..? And your experience has been..? Would you ever go back to counting thingies..? [emoji3]

Yep, I’ve had a Cruz Pro for 19 years. It has never failed. Would never go back to counting thingies you can’t see in the dark. I know that the chain deploys at 1 meter per second - or near as dammit - so a wrist watch is my back up chain counter - if ever needed.

 

[Simi 60]

And if you're dumping chain using the clutch how does a counter work for you then?

 

[Caballero II]

Anyone tried these gadgets? Expensive for what they are, but do they work?

https://www.westmarine.com/imtra-corporation-3-8inch-chain-marker-red-17192881.html

No good. My windlass spits them out pretty quickly, and I find them on the fore deck. T'was a waste of money for me and I went back to colored zip ties.

 

[garbler]

Okay I just returned to Earth but has it been so long that the ‘ fathom ‘ is no longer used ? They used to be on NOAA charts but maybe it was Phoenician measurement or something. And what about a shot of chain ? Nobody here ever in the USN or USCG or commercial marine ? Looks like I’m going to have to recalibrate huh. We used to range chain every two years or so, i.e., haul it all out to the floor to the bitter end, inspect,and sand blast as needed then paint. Stowed chain rusts badly so running it in and out periodically will descale or cleaned it off. The common routine was paint every six or fifteen fathoms. Fifteen fathoms is a shot of chain ( the way chain makers measure ) and a shot is 90’. Old school I fear and apparently irrelevant in more ways than one

Rick

 

[Caballero II]

Yep, I’ve had a Cruz Pro for 19 years. It has never failed. Would never go back to counting thingies you can’t see in the dark. I know that the chain deploys at 1 meter per second - or near as dammit - so a wrist watch is my back up chain counter - if ever needed.

What does the actual counter at the windlass look like? I have very little room between the chainwheel and the anchor shackle because I have maxed out my anchor size. I'm not sure I would have any room to mount one the counter mechanism.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

We painted ours for several reason’s. Bright white first and last 25 feet of our chain. Main anchor was all chain. Then we painted orange every 25 feet for a few feet and at each 100 ft mark added white on both ends.



1) We wanted to be able to see clearly from the pilot house in order to set or retrieve the anchor. I was able to drive up on the chain when retrieving and backing down when setting. We preferred not over working the windless anymore than required during retrieval. The zip ties were hard to see unless we were up on the bow during the process.



2) Painting the chain was required every couple of years and forced us to inspect the entire chain as well as connecting points During this process.



3) Was easier to wash down the chain when required.



Hope that explained our process.

Yep, you taught me this method, although I used a different color scheme, and my spacing was 20ft. W have 550ft of chain.

I do refresh my paint every spring. We are on the hook a lot, so re-painting is needed.

 

[Delta Riverat]

My boat has zip ties every 10 feet after the first 25 feet. No, I did not install them.

 

[Bendit]

What does the actual counter at the windlass look like? I have very little room between the chainwheel and the anchor shackle because I have maxed out my anchor size. I'm not sure I would have any room to mount one the counter mechanism.

The “mechanism” is simply a permanent magnet glued into a hole drilled in the chain wheel. As this passes a sensor mounted on the windlass base plate, or on the deck, each turn is counted. The sensor has a couple of wires which you run to the counter.
It’s quite simple - must be cos I’ve installed on this boat and the two previous ones

 

[Peter B]

Peter, How was it to run the wires to the bridge

It was easy Steve. Simple as really. The only two things that were a bit of a challenge was the original magnet rusted away over about 2 years, so I just replaced it with a bigger rust-resistant ferrite one. Had to buy about 20 to get one. Still have the other 19 saved away somewhere.

The other thing was calibrating it - but not hard to do, just dropping a measured length into the marina by backing boat out about 6 feet. It's all in the 'structions...

 

[Peter B]

And if you're dumping chain using the clutch how does a counter work for you then?

Simi, one would preferably not drop the anchor that quickly, but at long as it doesn't jump off the gypsy, it would still count it ok. The magnet is in the gypsy, and the sensors and sender are mounted aimed at the magnet when it is opposite them. It's the number of revolutions the gypsy makes that gives the count. The speed is not that crucial.

 

[Peter B]

What does the actual counter at the windlass look like? I have very little room between the chainwheel and the anchor shackle because I have maxed out my anchor size. I'm not sure I would have any room to mount one the counter mechanism.

This photo basically shows how it goes with a horizontal windlass arrangement. With a vertical one, you'd need to mount the sensors looking up from below I guess, but the principle is the same.

The magnet is glued into the outer part of the chainwheel, about 5mm in from the edge. The two white looking things, encircled with white duct tape, are the twin sensors mounted on the body of the winch - again, cemented into a convenient recess in the top of the body.

 

[ranger58sb]

I still find it amazing, after all these years, that when this subject comes up, how few have actually bothered to install an actual chain-counter. There are a number of quite inexpensive ones out there easily installed by ones-self. There are expensive fancy ones too - ones that actually park themselves and are virtually hands-free, but the simple ones are still amazing.

We had a chain counter from Maxwell -- AA150, I think -- and it worked like a champ. On the chain. Not so great on the rope. So not so perfect on the mixed rope/chain rode we had at the time.

-Chris

 

[jleonard]

I never cared about a chain counter because simply I never cared to be that precise. Not necessary.
I would let out "approximately" 50 feet on the drop windlass, wife would lock the clutch. Then I would set the Danforth lightly. Then let out to 100 lock again and set the hook for the night and rig the snubber.
Never had a need to be more precise than that.
If I needed more or less than that I would estimate. That is close enough. There is no magic in being exactly 7 to 1 or 10 to 1 or whatever ratio that works for you. They are only targets.

 

[twistedtree]

Now Peter, some of us ( maybe most of us) are just old and stubborn. But if we had a chain counter that worked in the first place, I doubt we would have done the Paint/Rope/Zip tie thing….just saying.

Old and stubborn? Surely not me?


Anyway, on the last two boats I have had the Maxwell/Lewmar/AutoAnchor chain counter and really like it, but I have had failures on both boats. In both cases the magnetic sensor flaked out.


I like the counter because I can both pay out and draw in the chain without having to hold my finger on a button for 5-10 minutes, plus it frees up both hands to maneuver the boat, set anchor alarms, etc. Oh, and it shows how much chain is out. But when it fails it's nice to have a backup.


I have tried painting chain, but it doesn't last very long (we anchor a lot). And I recently tried colored zip ties, but I struggle to see them from the pilot house. I could add more or bigger zip ties, but I really like this idea of threading colored line through the chain. This is the first I have heard of it.


As an aside, I only mark our chain every 100'. Based on that I know how much I have out within 25' or so, and that's plenty accurate. I just don't think anchoring is a precise thing, and +/- 25' to 50' is just fine. But we also anchor in relatively deep water. In shallower water things may need to be tightened up a bit.

 

[rslifkin]

I mark every 25 feet on mine, figuring that knowing more precisely than that isn't useful. But marking every 25 also means I don't have pay as much attention to where I am in a big gap between marks (compared to marking at 50 or 100).



We typically anchor with me on the bow (with wireless remote for the windlass) and the admiral at the helm. That way I can see what's going on and signal back to the admiral for maneuvering.

 

[HeadedToTexas]

I still find it amazing, after all these years, that when this subject comes up, how few have actually bothered to install an actual chain-counter.

I am both new enough to the world of anchoring and geeky enough to be drawn in by electronic gizmos, especially when I can replace one switch with a gizmo like the CruzPro CH60 to double its function.

Santa may put one under our tree this year. That said, I am a belt and suspenders guy and will probably weave the colored rope in for reassurance.

 

[Peter B]

Dear people, one accepts that anchoring is not an exact science - nor do we want to make it a rocket science - but not having to count thingies, especially when the light is poor, or there's a need for speed, is surely a good thing..?

As for being electronic, and the possibility of failure..? You can of course still mark the chain as a back-up if you want to. However, if you do have a counter, and have also marked the chain, I can predict how often you'll count your marks - zip - zero times.

Also, we are talking about folk who have probably all got way more electronics you use every time out than I ever had, and all electronic..! Yet does that stop you having auto pilots, RADAR, remote thrusters, AIS, aside from everyone having GPS and VHF, I'm sure..? So, my point is...why stop there, when if you added a chain counter you'd find it a far more useful thing than practically anything else you have..?

 

[fgarriso]

I have always painted ours every 50' RWB, but it doesn't stay on over a year. I think I will try lacing line though it every 50'.

 

[koliver]

For those with CRS
My watch has a stopwatch function. My gypsey spools chain out at 1'/sec.
My coloured
zip ties are arranged according to the rainbow ROYGBIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) though not all colours appear.

 

[jleonard]

[QUOTEar people, one accepts that anchoring is not an exact science - nor do we want to make it a rocket science - but not having to count thingies, especially when the light is poor, or there's a need for speed, is surely a good thing..?
][/QUOTE]

I had a free fall windlass hence no need for "speed".
The clutch had to manually loosened so someone was always right there to see the painted marks.
Never needed to count thingies as we only had two markings.
We never dragged with our Danforth.
Everyone has their own method. You can never convince me that I should change what we do because we are successful.

 

[twistedtree]

For those with CRS
My watch has a stopwatch function. My gypsey spools chain out at 1'/sec.
My coloured
zip ties are arranged according to the rainbow ROYGBIV (red, orange, yellow, green, indigo violet) though not all colours appear.

That's exactly how I measured chain this summer after my counter went nuts and we had worn the paint off the chain.

 

[mvweebles]

Best method I found was to buy colored polypropylene 1/4" rope and weave it through the links. I found a supplier who had six different colors and would sell it my the foot. I used 20' lengths, but 5' to 10' would be more realistic. Don't tie the ends to the chain as only the first link or 2 will come out. It goes right through the windlass without issue. Probably have 300 plus deployments with no significant wear.

Ted

I had never heard of this. I am installing new chain. I assume this is what you're talking about? 5/16" G4 chain with 1/4" polypropylene line. Sound about right?

Thanks in advance.

Peter

 

[O C Diver]

I had never heard of this. I am installing new chain. I assume this is what you're talking about? 5/16" G4 chain with 1/4" polypropylene line. Sound about right?

Thanks in advance.

Peter View attachment 134306

Yes, that's what mine looks like. Depending on windlass speed, you might want to make it a little longer. I did 20' originally, but will reduce it to 10' as my windlass goes really fast dropping the anchor.

Ted

 

[mvweebles]

Yes, that's what mine looks like. Depending on windlass speed, you might want to make it a little longer. I did 20' originally, but will reduce it to 10' as my windlass goes really fast dropping the anchor.



Ted

Thanks Ted. Good tip on length.

Peter

 

[Marco Flamingo]

Probably time for me to re-do mine, as the paint is wearing after two years. Weaving small stuff sounds good. Seems to me that the best thing would be color coded and night time reflective. For me, 20 foot increments (five colors) would work and then repeat. I keep a little DIY plasticized flip tablet at the helm (so that I can read a MayDay, quickly decipher a horn signal, etc.). Another page to remind me something like red=20 feet, blue=40 feet (and red=120 feet, blue=140 feet) would be simple. Also would be great if the small stuff was reflective for nighttime use (which would require more attention, as does everything at night). All I need is to find a cheap ($5) package 5 different colors of reflective paracord. If I was at home I would have linked to it at Amazon. I've used it before and the reflective ability is impressive.

 

[Stabi]

the old British--- Rub Your Balls With Grease -- Red Yellow Blue White Green

 

[mvweebles]

Probably time for me to re-do mine, as the paint is wearing after two years. Weaving small stuff sounds good. Seems to me that the best thing would be color coded and night time reflective. For me, 20 foot increments (five colors) would work and then repeat. I keep a little DIY plasticized flip tablet at the helm (so that I can read a MayDay, quickly decipher a horn signal, etc.). Another page to remind me something like red=20 feet, blue=40 feet (and red=120 feet, blue=140 feet) would be simple. Also would be great if the small stuff was reflective for nighttime use (which would require more attention, as does everything at night). All I need is to find a cheap ($5) package 5 different colors of reflective paracord. If I was at home I would have linked to it at Amazon. I've used it before and the reflective ability is impressive.

I just did my new chain this morning. I went with 50-foot increments. I thought about 25 foot, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it would be confusing to have too many markings. 50-ft is 7-10 foot water depth difference at 5:1 to 7:1 scope. If I need to lay 125 ft, I'll go 100 feet and then some.

I went with laced 1/4" on my 5/16" chain. One 3-ft lace at 50-ft, 150-ft, and 250-ft. Two 3-ft laces spaced two feet apart at 100-ft and 200-ft. Last 15-ft of chain I did a continuous lace as warning.

Peter

 

[twistedtree]

I had never heard of this. I am installing new chain. I assume this is what you're talking about? 5/16" G4 chain with 1/4" polypropylene line. Sound about right?

Thanks in advance.

Peter View attachment 134306

I see you threaded through every link. Has anyone tried every other link? So for example only the links that are horizontal as they run through the gypsy?