Is there a mathematical formula to determine how much weight your bow can handle?

[Cadence]

Sam, my concern, if a lot of chain and weight might be more about how it changes your center of gravity rather than your fore and aft concern. The lower you can stow it the better.

[Mauro47]

Originally Posted by Sam Woodbridge

Is there a mathematical formula to determine how much weight you can hold in the bow before it’s too heavy? Is there something based on the length and weight of sailboat to determine it?

This question arises after much thought and input from other people concerning weight of anchor and carrying as much chain as possible in the bow of a sailboat.

The sailboat in particular is a 2018 Beneteau 38.1.

Thank you for any and all responses. I’m also at work so my returning replies might be slow.

Daily reader Sam.

In the design stage all material and equipment, water, fuel, crew, stores etc. Are located
Their mass and location defines the location of the Cg. I am sure that your boat has a target mass for friend tackle. That should your starting point.
If you increase the mass considerably, so that you notice a visible trim by the bow, you can expect an impact on performance
The change could become dangerous and lead to bad behavior, like broaching, fish tailing, etc.
Also by increasing the mass far away from the Cg, inertia increases pitch will increase and structural stress due to ship's motion will increase.
So, there is no upper limit to the anchor weight on a small boat, unless you do not sink it. There's a change in trim and stability and a degradation of load capacity and performance