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Anchor chain length

SMOKEU

Member
I've got a 10' Fyran aluminium dinghy. I'll be anchoring in waters probably 10-15m deep at the most. How long should my anchor chain be? I'm thinking of buying a chain a few metres long to attach directly to the anchor, then a rope to attach the chain to the boat. Rope is cheaper than chain so I don't want the entire thing to be chain.
 
The chain is there to weigh the arm on the anchor down so it grabs the bottom and only needs to be a couple feet long. The heavier the chain the better.
 
Actually, you should have more than "a couple of feet." You want enough weight to assure that the anchor tips over on the bottom and any lateral pressure on it keeps it tilted over so that it digs in. So I would suggest about 8 to 10 feet. Also, the rope and chain combined needs to be at least four times the depth to the bottom. So if the maximum depth in which you are anchoring is 15 meters, you will need to let out 60 meters.
 
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