Chain Marking System

[Dockhead]

I just marked my 100 meter (330 foot) anchor chain.

I have done sporadic thinking about chain marking systems, and never liked the ones which require you to have a laminated card under the chain locker lid to figure them out.

My criteria were:

1. Should be instantly understandable to anyone, without a key.
2. No more than two colors.
3. Minimum number of stripes required.

I thought about Base 2 systems and realized it fails Criteria 1. Also 3.

Then it occurred to me to just do it like Roman numerals, not any base system. One color is worth X; another is worth Y -- just add them up.

So I bought two spray cans -- one flourescent orange and the other white.

After playing with a couple of different ideas, here's what I came up with:

Flourescent Orange ("O") is worth 10 meters
White ("W") is worth 30.

Why 30? Two reasons -- first of all, it's 100 feet. My first 20 years sailing I had not yet graduated to the metric system, and 100 feet is a kind of a yachtsman's "shot" in the back of my mind somewhere (it's actually very close to a real shot, which is 15 fathoms).

Also, you only need two stripes of orange before you get to the next level. If you made White worth 50, you would have up to five stripes for some marks.

So W is a shot (roughly); O is 10 meters.

And it works well! Here it is:

10 O
20 OO
30 W
40 WO
50 WOO
60 WW
70 WWO
80 WWOO
90 WWW


Note that only one (!) mark has more than three stripes, and only 21 stripes are needed in total.

A three-year old could learn to read it in 5 minutes.

Job done! So in summary, I have three, 30 meter (100 foot) "shots" of chain, each marked out in 10 meter increments. If I have crew at the bow, it's a simple matter to call out "two shots, ten meters!", for example.


I'm pleased as punch with this and thought I would share in case someone else is looking for a method.

[Dockhead]

By the way, one variant I considered had more colors (3), but would save a lot of stripes and would be very easy to read.

The idea is to give each Shots 2 and 3 different colors.

Call them Red, Green and Blue

10 R
20 RR
30 RRR
40 G
50 GG
60 GGG
70 B
80 BB
90 BBB


18 stripes instead of 21 and easy orientation to which shot you're in, by color.

[Sandero]

I use color small stuff in 3 colors spaced about a foot apart... woven into or tied to the chain (200 feet long. If / when I end for end the chain... system reverses

25' green
50' green green
75' green yellow
100' yellow yellow
125' yellow red
150' red red
175' red

I usually have at least ONE yellow showing...75', 100' or 125'... or something between

Yellows are easier to see at night.

No need for more precision than 25'. Err on the side of more scope.

[hoppy]

Just had my 100m of chain painted. Each colour should be a couple of links and then with a couple more links in between.

at 55m I restarted with the exact same colour pattern as at 5m. I figured that I'd have to be very drunk to mistake the 1st or 2nd 50m after looking into the locker.

5m - Red
10m - White
15m - red white
20m - white white
25m - red white white
30m - white white white
35m - red white white white
40m - white white white white
45m - red white white white white
50m - white white white white white
start the same colour pattern at 55m
55m - Red
60m - White
65m - red white
70m - white white
75m - red white white
80m - white white white
85m - red white white white
90m - white white white white
95m - red white white white white


BTW if you like diving down to your anchor following the chain, then red is a stupid colour as you can't see it at any distance. Originally I had the same pattern but red was the main colour and white was for the 5m, so I had no idea what lenght of chain I was diving on.

[Sardean]

I used to have a marking system , but over time it wears and I forget whats what, so now I just have an orange section at 20m and always count the seconds to 20m mark then continue counting for the length I need out, works for me every time , dont really need the orange mark now but still use it to keep check on my counting.

Sent from my SM-T315T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[robert sailor]

I've given up on the paint thingy. I use the little plastic fittings that mount inside the link. I use 3 colors..red/white/blue in that order. I bought a bunch of zip ties also in that color as the plastic fittings are hard to see and I mount them thru the chain leaving the end wild. Really easy to see as they are coming out. I mark my chain at 50-100 and 150 with the colored fittings but I also mark it with zip ties at 75 feet,125 feet and 200 feet with black zip ties. Really easy to remember and I mark the last 20 feet of chain with lots of zip ties. Every now and then the odd zip tie breaks and I replace it. Best system I have used, especially if your chain is dirty as those wild ends of the zip ties really show up. There is never a need to pull all your chain and do the traditional paint job on the dock, it's easy to do this anywhere.

[Cheechako]

Easy to me to remember Red/white/blue so I went as follows on 200 ft of chain:
R =5 fathoms
W=10 fathoms
B =15
RR =20
WW =25
BB=30

[Tayana42]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

By the way, one variant I considered had more colors (3), but would save a lot of stripes and would be very easy to read.

The idea is to give each Shots 2 and 3 different colors.

Call them Red, Green and Blue

10 R
20 RR
30 RRR
40 G
50 GG
60 GGG
70 B
80 BB
90 BBB


18 stripes instead of 21 and easy orientation to which shot you're in, by color.

That is exactly the system I use on 330 ft of chain. It is easy to use. Two considerations though. One is the colors. Be sure they are easy to see in low light and/or with mud on the chain. Second is that the paint only stays on the chain for a very limited amount of use. Be sure you can clean the chain and re-paint as needed.

I've tried zip ties, yarns, small ropes and paint. I've had the best experience with paint (Rust-Oleum). But due to its short life I'm now trying the plastic inserts as chain markers along with the paint. I haven't had enough time with them to comment on their longevity.
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?...6135&id=535858


S/V B'Shert

[robert sailor]

My plastic inserts have been in for over 3 years, haven't lost one yet.

[Tayana42]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

My plastic inserts have been in for over 3 years, haven't lost one yet.

Just curious, how often do you anchor?


S/V B'Shert

[robert sailor]

Pretty much every day

[Tayana42]

Robert, thanks.


S/V B'Shert

[dralyagmas]

Do the little little plastic inserts work in a windlass or do they pop out

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

My plastic inserts have been in for over 3 years, haven't lost one yet.

I had the plastic inserts and I was constantly loosing them.

They are now

[savoir]

The simplest and cheapest way to mark chain is with spinnaker cloth. Cut your preferred bright color into ribbons about 9" long and tie them to the chain at whatever interval you think is fair. I use red cloth at 15ft intervals.

Count the ribbons as they pass over the bow roller and the job is done.