How much chain and what size buoy?

[LostPiker]

I have a 5kg bruce anchor and a lot of chain I got from @Saintly Fish, I think it was 20m of chain? I've not got the chain at home but I think it was 6mm? 

 

I have the anchor, rope, chain and alderney ring for my little pilot 520, so a buoy is all I need. I don't think I need all 20m of chain and I don't want to have to carry a giant buoy if I can avoid it.

Would cutting the chain down to 10m so it's about 2 x boat length and an A3 buoy be ok? 

[Saintly Fish]

16 minutes ago, LostPiker said:

I have a 5kg bruce anchor and a lot of chain I got from @Saintly Fish, I think it was 20m of chain? I've not got the chain at home but I think it was 6mm? 

 

I have the anchor, rope, chain and alderney ring for my little pilot 520, so a buoy is all I need. I don't think I need all 20m of chain and I don't want to have to carry a giant buoy if I can avoid it.

Would cutting the chain down to 10m so it's about 2 x boat length and an A3 buoy be ok? 

I always go for 3x boat length in chain. 
some do 2x. The more chain, the less rope needed. But that depends on depth of water your fishing in of course. If you’re using the Alderney method then a large bouy is essential .

[Maverick]

Agree with fishy, 2 or 3 times boat length of chain would be fine along with however much warp needed to give you 4 or 5 times depth being fished.  The weight of the anchor and chain will determine the size of buoy required as large as you can store as it will make you life easier.

[Andy135]

As said already, size of buoy will depend on mass of anchor plus chain. Needs to be able to suspend them both.

Not sure of your exact set up but the buoy I used to suspend my 5kg bruce and 6m of 8mm chain wouldn't fit through my forward hatch, so some forward planning may be required.

[mick]

10 hours ago, Andy135 said:

As said already, size of buoy will depend on mass of anchor plus chain. Needs to be able to suspend them both.

Not sure of your exact set up but the buoy I used to suspend my 5kg bruce and 6m of 8mm chain wouldn't fit through my forward hatch, so some forward planning may be required.

Had the same problem on our Explorer,used to hook ring on boat hook and pass around cuddy.

[Saintly Fish]

31 minutes ago, mick said:

Had the same problem on our Explorer,used to hook ring on boat hook and pass around cuddy.

Yes, I did the same on my parker. A lazy line I think it’s referred to? Then deploy the anchor from the deck space. 

[Andy135]

39 minutes ago, Saintly Fish said:

Yes, I did the same on my parker. A lazy line I think it’s referred to? Then deploy the anchor from the deck space. 

I ended up passing the anchor, chain and line out of the hatch then back round the cuddy and into a builder's bucket which was then store up front. To deploy I would move the bucket to the cockpit, clip on the buoy and send the lot over the side. Recovery was similar using the Alderney method to handball the ground tackle back to the boat and into the bucket.

Ended up never using the forward hatch in practice, just closed it over the anchor warp and that was that.

[Saintly Fish]

6 minutes ago, Andy135 said:

I ended up passing the anchor, chain and line out of the hatch then back round the cuddy and into a builder's bucket which was then store up front. To deploy I would move the bucket to the cockpit, clip on the buoy and send the lot over the side. Recovery was similar using the Alderney method to handball the ground tackle back to the boat and into the bucket.

Ended up never using the forward hatch in practice, just closed it over the anchor warp and that was that.

But you could never fully close the forward hatch? 
What about if you took a wave over the front? Would it not then flood the cuddy or at least damage the hatch?

[Andy135]

46 minutes ago, Saintly Fish said:

But you could never fully close the forward hatch? 
What about if you took a wave over the front? Would it not then flood the cuddy or at least damage the hatch?

My hatch had a two position closure so there was space to let the rope pass through whilst still keeping it weather tight.

[Saintly Fish]

1 hour ago, Andy135 said:

My hatch had a two position closure so there was space to let the rope pass through whilst still keeping it weather tight.

Ooooo laady daaa

Humble brag alert! 🤣

 

[JonC]

4 hours ago, Andy135 said:

My hatch had a two position closure so there was space to let the rope pass through whilst still keeping it weather tight.

I bet that was quite some hatch you had there. A hatch to be proud of. 

[GPSguru]

23 hours ago, LostPiker said:

Would cutting the chain down to 10m so it's about 2 x boat length and an A3 buoy be ok? 

I have always used chain that is equal to the boat length. It has always worked ok fo me, you will only be out in relatively calm conditions, and probably not leaving the boat unattended at anchor 😉

 

[Odyssey]

I’ve got 45ft of chain, 20kg Bruce, 500ft of rope. Can hold in 5-6 knots of tide….

Chain is there to keep your anchor down but if you got the wrong anchor for the ground you won’t hold….