How much do you have out?

There are many ways to know how much anchor rode you have veered out. In this post copied from Sail Delmarva, Drew shows us a simple way he used to mark his chain, on his own deck, without making a mess!

Knowing how much rode you have out is essential to proper anchoring. When I had an all-fiber rode I would measure it as deployed, counting the fathoms by arm span. I could time the windlass (about 6 feet per second) but I always loose count. My windlass doesn't like anything attached to the chain, so paint was the most obvious choice. But how to mark 100 feet of chain on-deck without making a mess?

• Flake out the chain in even loops. In this case, 10-foot lengths fit across the tramp.
• Pick marking points and temporarily mark with tape. I chose 25, 50, 75, and 100 feet.
• Collect a box from the dumpster, notch it as needed, and paint away. Plain-old Rustoleum or anything similar will hold-up for years; it chips going through the windlass but remains visible.
• Just leave the box on-deck until your next visit, to make sure it's dry. No rush.

Easy and fast. Neat too--I painted the chain on the deck in a light breeze with no real risk of over-spray mess.

My 100-foot mark is long because I like to keep the splice off the windlass. It passes fine, but the windlass doesn't grip rope well, so hand tensioning is required.

PS. Not my original idea. I saw it posted somewhere, tried it this past weekend, and deemed it worth sharing. Good boat keeping common sense tip.