Ok. Not all chain, what do you use?

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Franziska

Hi,

some of us in the multihull community choose not to go all chain on our ground tackle for various reasons.
May it be the lack of a windlass, the cost of chain or the weight of all chain.

In this thread let's focus on this choice having been taken (=not a discussion on all chain or not!).

Now that you have chosen not to have all chain, how does your ground tackle look like.
What did work, what did not? Have you had failures in coral or rocky waters?
What type of boat do you have, where do you anchor?

Interested to hear your experiences.

On our boat, a Woods Mira 35 cat , we use so far all rope (25mm dia three strand nylon) in sand and (occasionally) combine this rode with 15m of 8mm chain in rocky waters.
Usually I let out a lot more scope than one would with all chain.
Tends to be no issue, we anchor in more shallow areas than the monos.
So far this worked fine.


Out of curiosity there is for example one thing I was wondering, how Dyneema fairs for some of us.
Has someone combined it with rubber dampers to adjust for its lack of stretch?
Did you achieve the same with a riding weight?
How does its chafe resistance hold up in coral or rocks?
Do some go for all Dyneema despite the missing stretch?

Will be great to hear experiences, especially from those who have really gone a far.

Thanks already for all contributions, Franziska

They can call me old fashioned. There is nothing wrong with three strand nylon and a length of chain. The stretch makes for and easier motion while moored. An anchor sally can effectively increase your scope and preclude fouling the rode on keel / rudder /prop, during a slack tide.

[Franziska]

Actually the stretch is something desirable in my eyes, at least to some degree.
It means that you are not yanking with full force on both ends (boat&anchor).

Thats why we have avoided something like Dyneema, it has no stretch. The only reason I could see for adding a short stretch of Dyneema following our 15m of chain would be its very high chafe resistance and low weight.

It's just a thought.

Let's say 15m chain+10m of thick Dyneema followed by the 3 strand.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Training Wheels

I’m an oddball. I use 120’ of 1/4” G70 with 300’ of 1/2” Sta-set polyester. I have climbing line I use for a bridle, that I can let out to 40’ legs. I’ve yet to put out more than the chain, with the bridles attached to the shackle joining the chain and rope. I use a Fortress FX-23 anchor.
Did I mention I am the windlass?

Sta-set strikes me as expensive rope to use as rode, not to mention its relative lack of stretch compared to three strand or eight brait.

A few others have mentioned using braided rope over three strand. Why is it better in your opinion?

I’m just curious. I have all chain, but also 300’ of 5/8” braid and 300’ of 3/4” three strand for back up (the braid’s primary purpose is for a galerider).

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Suijin

A few others have mentioned using braided rope over three strand. Why is it better in your opinion?

Our 8-plait was what Maxwell recommended for the "snaky" rope/chain gypsy on our new windlass when we installed it. I needed rope of some sort at the time anyway, seemed like an easy solution. It does lay nicely in the rope locker...

-Chris

[Sailorman Ed]

We are 12,000 lbs, 105 ft of 5/16", then 150 ft of 8 plait. Really like the 8 plait over 3 strand, wet noodles vs stiff 3 strand. Seems to go thru the windlass much easier also. We almost always use a 1/2" 3 strand bridle about twice the beam, takes all the shock load, Rocna 25kg.

[Benz]

Originally Posted by Franziska

Actually the stretch is something desirable in my eyes, at least to some degree.
It means that you are not yanking with full force on both ends (boat&anchor).

Thats why we have avoided something like Dyneema, it has no stretch. The only reason I could see for adding a short stretch of Dyneema following our 15m of chain would be its very high chafe resistance and low weight.

It's just a thought.

Let's say 15m chain+10m of thick Dyneema followed by the 3 strand.

As has been mentioned before, Dyneema floats. Imagine being anchored in relatively shallow water (3 fathoms or so), the wind is calm, and a bight of the dyneema floats to the surface a boat length or so forward of your boat. The first passing outboard engine, whether it be cruiser's dinghy or fishing boat, will snag it and chew it right up. Best to have all your ground tackle sink-able.
If you are careful, nylon will last for many years without undue chafe. My kedge rode is ten years old, and while I've had my primary chain re-galvanized, I've only ever scrubbed weed off the nylon.

[Cheechako]

Mine would usually be maybe 25 ft of chain and the rest nylon rode.

Another option might depend on your cruising grounds. I had 200 ft of chain in the eastern Caribe, most often I anchored in 15-20 ft. So I could have readily lived with 80-100 ft of chain+rope backup and been using chain rode most of the time without carrying the weight of 200 ft of chain.

Frankly though, I dont think the weight is much of an issue except on the lightest of cats. The only thing it's really going to effect much is acceleration, not so much velocity.
My 42 ft cat carried all the weight/gear that was on my 47 mono and was maybe 1.75" down on the waterline. The 47 mono was down a full 5" with the same weight.

[Cadence]

As I recall there is soft lay and hard lay three strand nylon.

[Training Wheels]

Originally Posted by Suijin

Sta-set strikes me as expensive rope to use as rode, not to mention its relative lack of stretch compared to three strand or eight brait.

A few others have mentioned using braided rope over three strand. Why is it better in your opinion?

I’m just curious. I have all chain, but also 300’ of 5/8” braid and 300’ of 3/4” three strand for back up (the braid’s primary purpose is for a galerider).

We have a lightweight multihull. The 1/2” sta-set is as strong as the 5/8” nylon we used to have, but lighter, more chafe resistant, and takes up less space. Also, polyester doesn’t lose strength when wet like nylon does. I use a long, stretchy bridle, so I’m not concerned about having less stretch in the rode.

[mikedefieslife]

Multihullers with an all nylon or mixed chain/nylon rode, how do you attach your bridles?

[Sailorman Ed]

when using the 3 strand or 8 plait, we use a prusik knot: https://www.animatedknots.com/prusik/

[Training Wheels]

I use a soft shackle, depending on the circumstances, a Dyneema loup as a prusik.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by mikedefieslife

Multihullers with an all nylon or mixed chain/nylon rode, how do you attach your bridles?

Once it's more than chain out, a prusik.

[RaymondR]

You already paid to have two engines and two hulls so bite the bullet and buy a proper anchor winch and chain you cheap beggar??

[Franziska]

Interesting training wheels, I'd have thought the Dyneema might slip if used as a Prusik. Never had that problem?