Rode & Chain is an independent site that sizes ground tackle and works out scope, rode length and swing radius.
It exists because anchoring advice is handed down as rules of thumb — a pound per foot, seven to one — and the rules break at both ends of their range without anyone saying where the ends are.
Where the numbers come from
- manufacturer holding-power tables for Danforth, CQR and Bruce anchors
- the 5:1, 7:1 and 10:1 scope conventions in Chapman and US Sailing guidance
Every page states the source and the assumptions behind its figures, because a number without its assumptions is not much use. Where a scope ratio is seamanship convention rather than a tested figure, the page says so.
Scope starts at the bow roller
Scope is measured from the bow roller, not the waterline — the anchor holds because of the angle the rode makes at the seabed, and that angle starts where the rode leaves the boat. Leaving the bow height out overstates scope on a small boat by a fifth.
What this site does not do
We do not give storm-anchoring advice. Everything here assumes ordinary conditions with someone aboard, and riding out a real blow is a different problem with a different answer.
Who runs it
One person who anchors out often enough to want the arithmetic settled. There is no editorial team. What should earn your trust is that every holding figure names the ground tackle standard or manufacturer table it came from.
The sizing runs as code across every boat length, depth and scope on the site, so a wrong constant would be wrong across the whole set rather than on one page. When a figure is wrong it gets corrected and the correction is noted.
How it is paid for
Rode & Chain is free to read and funded by display advertising. No sponsored placements, no affiliate links; no anchor maker has any influence on what these pages recommend.
Getting in touch
Corrections and questions go to [email protected]. Corrections are the most useful thing you can send — see the editorial policy for how they are handled.