Chain Conundrum

Just a quick question for all you sailors of experience.   Much as neither of us want our blog to sink to an armchair sailor forum; we have a conundrum.

We pulled the last thing of any great weight from our cavernous, though now somewhat empty, anchor locker; 320' of 3/8" anchor chain.  Up popped Impetuous' waterline 2'' to about where it ought to be, inviting a quick scrub from the algae that so quickly had started to grow.

We are now in somewhat of a quandary; what to do with 320' of chain in one continuous length? We do have another anchor line comprising of 30 ish feet of chain and line approximately 200ft, still in the locker. As it happens, we intend to use this as our second rode. But 320' do we cut it? Some people have said not, but when pushed, their argument seems to run along the lines of 'What a lovely cake! Seems a shame to cut it!'

I am always proud of my pizza freshly made and pulled from the oven; I just don't think it would win the vote of friends and family if I denied anyone the pleasure of eating it.

Back to the point; is one length really useful? We wonder not... there are several anchoring techniques we would gravitate towards, should the situation arise; none involves a single anchor!

So, for not just the sake of our pretty boot stripe; how much chain should we have up front? We can lead it a further 3' back to a locker under the bed, but in the great scheme of things, this achieves little in weight distribution and can be difficult to stow and retrieve.

The rest of the chain once cut, if that's the way we go; can be stowed on top of the keel.   Here its weight will be little noticed, and can stand as a second anchor option, or could remain as spare chain; ultimately used for shorter lengths or indeed, to replace our chain should it be lost.

So any ideas?.... Lest you were wondering the anchors that these chains and ropes will be attached to are 55lb Bruce type, 45 lb delta, a fortress Fx 55, light but sufficient for most 50' boats (Danforth style) and a very small Danforth. We have also another nylon rode which we would probably attach to the cut chain and the mentioned chain and rode.

On a lighter note we have embarked upon a five/two diet. Inspired by a recent food program podcast. Though certainly no lighter note was evident yesterday, when I was trying to persuade Ruth that the way to a long cruising life was not only in depriving oneself of alcohol for a number of days of the week, but also of any substantial food too...

But that was yesterday...

Our Visa dilemma; we're almost at the end of six months in the USA. This has been resolved, or at least kicked in to the bureaucratic quagmire that 'the empire' managed to export throughout most of the world.   We have applied for an extension; an extension we're most likely to get.   Should we not, this will see us safely from these shores without infringement.

Our chainplates have been returned bent; this was the intention.   No doubt this will make more of an appearance in the next blog.   I'll just say now how fantastic one now looks.   Hopefully they should start going on the boat soon.

Lastly, our swageless ends have arrived, so before long we will be knee deep in the next learning curve; rigging.  The long awaited end result being our mast going up. It's a step we can't wait to embark upon; best get fitting those chainplates...