Mailport: August 2012

Anchor Rodes

Your response to Robert Max about anchor rodes for the Chesapeake Bay (PS, March 2012) left a bit to be desired. We had a 23-foot sailboat that weighed about 4,000 pounds without bodies on board. I quickly learned that 6 feet of chain was not enough. We ended up with 30 feet of chain and a little over 300 feet of three-strand nylon rode.

When we anchored, I could sleep all night without any worries. There are a lot of boats that have dragged on shore here in Colorado because of too little chain and too short of a scope.

As an aside, the first time we launched our boat, I used a nylon double-braid between the hitch and one side of my dual axle trailer tongue and a 3/8-inch three-strand nylon rope on the starboard side. I was amazed that the three-strand nylon had melted when I gently allowed the trailer to back down the launch ramp.

Gordon Allison

Compac 23/II

Arvada, Colo.

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