How much chain for secondary anchor?

[Cthoops]

We bought a Rocna last year for our Bristol 24, along with 25 feet of chain and 275 feet of 8 plait (this was strictly for weekend anchoring in pleasant conditions).

Now we have a Bristol 29.9 and will head out cruising in 3 years and 10 months (but who's counting?). As luck would have it, the Rocna we currently own is still the right size for our weekend anchoring, but we will be buying a larger one (and the corresponding larger chain) before we head out full-time. Our current Rocna will be our secondary anchor.

Since we have a bigger boat now, we wanted to buy some more chain and shackle it to our existing 25 feet. Given that our current setup will become our secondary system, how much chain would be reasonable for a secondary anchor? I'd rather buy the proper amount now vs. (for example) buying 25 feet now and buying another 100 feet later.

Thanks.

[zeehag]

i use all chain rode for anchoring, as i enjoy my sleep. primary bruce has 196 ft and secondary cqr has 250. longer is older.

[Stu Jackson]

Keep the 25 feet on it for your secondary and buy all new chain for the new bower.

[tkeithlu]

Both our rodes, plow and Dansforth, are 250' of chain. We started with 25' of chain and the rest nylon, and gradually decided that like zeehag above, more chain is better. It's also almost impossible to get caught in your prop.

[Cotemar]

Most cruisers deploy a secondary anchor from there dinghy, so weight is a big issue.

The recommendation for secondary anchor rode is to use 1 boat length of chain and the balance 3 strand nylon or 8 Strand Plaited rode.

[model 10]

Buy a half barrel of 5/16 now and cut off 75" for your back-up and forget about shackling stuff together. Then can save the 200' for the big cruse.