Anchoring

[remlapmj]

I am just about to take delivery of my new CC19 'The Happy Return' and will need to buy anchor chain etc. Could anyone give me some guidance on how much chain/what size please?

[Moneypenny]

I first saw this question on the old Yahoo forum. For the sake of completeness I repeat my reply here:
"So how long is a piece of string? Difficult to give a simple answer to your
question as it all depends on where/when/how you intend to anchor. As a rule of thumb the books call for about 4 x depth of water, but you need more in strong tides or heavy winds. Also, how heavy is the chain you are intending to use?
Having said that, with an eye to cruising mostly around the Solent where I
usually anchor in not more than 10 metres (often less than 5) with a muddy
bottom, I have a Fortress FX7 anchor on the end of 15 metres of 10mm chain
spliced onto 20 metres of 10mm anchorplait. If I need to kedge in deeper water I can always bend on my kedge warp which is another 20 metres of 8 mm nylon. Seems to work for me. If your cruising ground is going to be the West Coast of Scotland you will need heavier chain and more warp. Chandlers are selling kits that include only 2 metres of chain on about 30 metres of 10mm warp but my view is that this is a bit light on the chain side.
Hope this is of some help."

[remlapmj]

Many thanks, Moneypenny, that is useful - it sounds as though your advice has stood the test of time.

I would normally expect to anchor on the West coast of Scotland beween 5 & 10m as you do in the Solent, but take your point about chandlers' bargains and the weight of chain.

I've just received my Owners Manual from Honnor Marine and I see they reccommend 5mm chain + 10mm nylon warp on their custom 7Kg anchor.

Thanks, once again.