Marking anchor chain

Read all about it...
http://www.yandina.com/AnchChain.htm

Traditional colour code


Go Green
Rub Red
Your Yellow
Balls Blue
With White
Grease Green

On ships the chain is usually marked at every shackle which is 90 ft or 15 fathoms.

That's funny, I wonder how many First mates ended up with a broken nose after giving that order to the uninitiated.

Tried to paint my chain when it was new, but the paint flaked off and faded after 20 or 30 dunkings.

Ended up with little nylon lines knotted on the links every 75 feet or so.

Some guys use colored cable ties.

If ya are going to paint, White color every 50 feet may work with red every 200.

We have nylon webbing sewn onto a couple of links at the mark, as well as re-painting every 6 months or so. However it is galvanised chain so the paint sticks a little better than on stainless,

I've also seen plastic zip ties (zip strips) used if painting isn't your preferred method or choice.

Simply tie them off *through* each link at the appropriate location, rather than around the entire chain.

Mine are painted with a two-digit trinary color code with red being the lowest digit, white next and blue the highest digit.

For my 200' chain my marks are every 20'.

As shown in the link, the 2nd digit is on both sides of the 1st digit. Unlike the link I don't use a no-color fourth digit.

On mine, I painted two links for each color.

This has worked fine to set the proper scope.

My Painted Chain
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m52/wingless-pics/Boat/PaintedChain1024.jpg

I've used a system based on roman numerals - and marked the chain based on the depth sounder reading, rather than just length. Here's how it works:

Using a 4:1 scope, and including freeboard at the bow and the depth of the transducer, I have calulcated the length of chain necessary for a 4:1 scope. I then painted splotches on the chain at the correct points. The number of splotches and colour are roman numeral based. For the number 3, I have three white splotches. For the number 5, I have one red splotch (red symbolises the roman numberal 'V'.) For the number 4, it is a white before red. For number 6, it is red followed by white and so on. 10 is 2 reds.

This way I don't have to do any mental arithmetic. Just glance down at the depthsounder and call out the number to the deck mate and all she has to do is reel it out to the right number of splotches. Of course, that's for 4:1 scope - I can then make a judgment call if more is required.

The chain is galvanised and the paint tends to last a couple of years - though I tend to repaint it each year when the boat comes out for it's annual bottom work.

I've always painted the chain with distances of a shot (10 meters) with red, white, then blue. then white/red, white/white, white/blue, then blue/red, blue/white, blue blue.

Colored tie wraps are good but hard to see in some conditions.

Whatever you do, make sure there is a guide somewhere at the helm that says what color means what and what distances.

Nothing wrong with painting at 10 meters, but 10 meters isn't a shot. A shot is 15 fathoms/90 ft/27.4 meters.

Yeah, have my terminology messed up.......or distance.......

I don't mark them at all except 25' before I catch solid on the bitter end. I just go by the angle with it pulled up tight.

I'll go along with that but it is handy to give the decky an idea of what I want to start with.