Take the high rode
THERE is no perfect anchor, they are all a compromise. Equally, there is no perfect rode: they are also a series of compromises.
The compromises we had made in developing its ground tackle will not suit every yacht, especially as our yacht is a 38’ catamaran.
We have a simple philosophy: a rode should be sold as a matching package. None of this buying the chain here, the anchor there, the shackles somewhere else, then need to mark the rode itself spread out over the marina pontoon and not a single piece of certification for anything.
The belief is you should be able to buy a rode matching the yacht and the windlass should be sized to match the yacht. Basically, professionals should do the matching, not you. They should know what is needed and you should have confidence in the kit you are using.
This is, currently, a pipe dream and a disgrace it does not happen.
Today you need to rely on your decisions. But how would you know the best chain, shackles and windlass? Maybe sometime in the future you will be able to buy, at a sensible price, a certified and complete rode ready to go in a wooden crate.
That is my ambitious hope. It is not rocket science: the knowledge is there, the technology is there, the products are there.
CASTING BACK
Just over four years ago we culminated years of investigation of anchor chain, in terms of tensile
