Counting the Rode

[Davealso]

Has anyone got some good simple ideas of a system to indicate how much chain has been laid out when anchoring?
I have seen colored plastic chain infills. cable ties and paint used.
Who has some other thoughts on this as a simple alternative to another electronic readout on the yacht!
Cheers
Davealso

[sapient sue]

Davealso

We use webbing ties about 3in long sewn to the chain every 5 meters. ( 5m, 10m, 15m etc). The webbing is easily marked with a permanent marker pen. The webbing ties easily slip around the gypsy and the numbers are easily brightened up with marker pen when the ink fades.

What ever you do - DO NOT use paint to mark the chain, especially if you want to regalvanize the chain. We have had the chain rejected because the paint spoils the zinc bath. It was a very long and tedious job with the dremel tool to remove all the paint before we could get the chain refurbished.

We have a 100 metres of chain and it usually takes about an hour to sew the webbing - but we have never had one fall off in 18 years. We have end for ended the chain many times until new chain is required.

Cheers Sapient Sue

[model 10]

Originally Posted by sapient sue

Davealso

We use webbing ties about 3in long sewn to the chain every 5 meters. ( 5m, 10m, 15m etc). The webbing is easily marked with a permanent marker pen. The webbing ties easily slip around the gypsy and the numbers are easily brightened up with marker pen when the ink fades.

What ever you do - DO NOT use paint to mark the chain, especially if you want to regalvanize the chain. We have had the chain rejected because the paint spoils the zinc bath. It was a very long and tedious job with the dremel tool to remove all the paint before we could get the chain refurbished.

We have a 100 metres of chain and it usually takes about an hour to sew the webbing - but we have never had one fall off in 18 years. We have end for ended the chain many times until new chain is required.

Cheers Sapient Sue

Boy, I would have used spray on paint stripper rather than a dremel.

[SailRedemption]

Those three things are often used because they work. I would use in addition to paint, some nylon webbing around a link. You could make the chain every 25 ft by painting 3-5 links with a strip Of webbing on the center. On the next length of 25 paint 3-5 links, skip 3-5 then paint the second set of 3-5 links both sets marked with the a piece of webbing each. Follow accordingly to the next sequence of 25ft lengths. This gives you an easy visual on how many "shots"* of chain are out by counting the number of sets of painted chain there are. Ex: you have let out chain and you come up to 4 sets of painted chain and/or 4 separate pieces of webbing, you then know there are 4 lengths of 25 ft which tells you that you have 100ft of chain out.

This is similar to how it's done on ships, they use different colors and sequences and of course a *shot is actually 90ft of chain.

[darylat8750]

What kind of webbing? Source? Hobby Lobby or something like that?

[Davealso]

Good Ideas!
Does anyone know what the little colored pastic inserts are called and where they can be sourced from?

[nmuir]

Maybe old school, but I go paint every 20' and cable ties on 60, 120, 180 for when I lose count and/or get distracted .
I have repainted every few years. It is not hard or time consuming - the worst part is getting all the rode out.
I paint a few feet's worth - makes it easy with my old eyes when anchoring at night.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Davealso

Good Ideas!
Does anyone know what the little colored pastic inserts are called and where they can be sourced from?

All the chandleries in Europe seem to have them. Fox's Marina chandlery in Ipswich, UK is where I purchased ours. They have an online store.

[Dod42]

Originally Posted by Davealso

Good Ideas!
Does anyone know what the little colored pastic inserts are called and where they can be sourced from?

Bias Marine have them here in OZ

[Coops]

Originally Posted by Davealso

Good Ideas!
Does anyone know what the little colored pastic inserts are called and where they can be sourced from?

You can get them from Whitworth's in Australia so you can always get them through their mail order section.

Coops.

[SailRedemption]

Originally Posted by darylat8750

What kind of webbing? Source? Hobby Lobby or something like that?

You probably get some from there, I was thinking about using some old Rachel strap binder webbing. Anything less than 1" really.

[carstenb]

If you go the paint route - use reflective white so you can see it at night.

[D&D]

Originally Posted by Coops

You can get them from Whitworth's in Australia so you can always get them through their mail order section.

Coops.

OK...we give up! We can't find'em in either the Whitworths or the Bias Boating catalogues. We're obviously looking under the wrong category code(s).

Anyone able to provide a product specific description...please?

We rate the little plastic (or rubber?) inserts highly, but we didn't have enough when we first bought them (as a trial...which they passed!) to make the markings really obvious...and we'd now love to buy a bunch more if we could find them.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by D&D

Anyone able to provide a product specific description...please?

We rate the little plastic (or rubber?) inserts highly, but we didn't have enough when we first bought them (as a trial...which they passed!) to make the markings really obvious...and we'd now love to buy a bunch more if we could find them.

I don't endorse or use them, but most Whitworths stores carry Rainbow Chain Markers (these ones for 8 mm chain)

I prefer a less expensive measure: some cheap (inexpensive and cheap) three strand polypropylene rope. Cut into 500 mm lengths. Then unlay into the three separate strands. Take a strand and weave it through the chain at whatever interval turns you on. Available in colours.

Al

[wingless]

The "in"-famous wingless two-digit trinary chain marking color code works for me.

On my 200' chain, there are two inner links that increment red - white - blue every 20', then the outer two links increment red - white - blue.

This is available for others to use, but the technique needs to be attributed as the "wingless trinary color code" and $20 needs to be deposited to my Paypal account.