Can you trust your anchor chain?

It’s all well and good having a solid anchor, but having ground tackle that’s going to keep you secure is equally important, says Vyv Cox

- Vyv Cox

Equipment used to anchor our boats is constantly under development as new materials and designs appear, and as new gear is adapted from other technologies or existing items are simply improved.

Old ideas are constantly questioned by rigorous testing and field experience. Secure anchoring isn't just about the anchor itself, however.

The whole rode that connects the anchor to the boat, made up of a number of different parts, is arguably at least as important, if not more so, than the specifics of the anchor.

If you get your ground tackle set up correctly, with an understanding of its abilities and limitations, you can be confident that the much-maligned 'weakest link', is not going to let you down in challenging conditions.

First, some clarification, what is meant by a rode?

A rode (more archaically called 'cable') is whatever comprises the connection between the anchor shank and the fixed point at the other end on the boat.

It is customary to refer to an all-chain rode or a mixed rode (mixed meaning a length of chain plus rope) but realistically the term also includes any other components used to join any part of the whole thing together.

Shackle or swivel?

Many people will argue there's no need for a swivel at all. In many cases where there is no problem with the chain twisting, this is true and my own adage is to fit one if you find you need it but not otherwise.

My choice is to fit one because it makes turning the anchor after recovery so much easier, when inevitably it comes up the 'wrong' way around, and this may even be essential for some self-launching and recovering anchor systems.

Some chains twist naturally, perhaps due to uneven wear on adjacent links, and some shapes of anchor rotate quite violently as they are being recovered.

If you find that your chain is regularly twisted on recovery, or becomes twisted in the locker, it may well be that a swivel will help.