Carver Owners Forum

I have a 1989 Carver Montego 2557 express cruiser. Bought a couple of years ago and have been refurbishing. Question regarding the electric windlass. It came with 100 feet of 5/16 galvanized chain attached. It works. Have pulled it all out by hand and wound it back it by windlass with anchor attached. What I am concerned about is the weight up front when coiled in the bow. A 100 feet of 5/16 chain is a lot of weight and not sure if this boat can handle it when on plane. May force bow down creating poor performance. Only has a 260 hp Merc for motivation. I have given thought to changing to 100 feet of 1/2 inch three coil nylon line with a couple feet of chain for rode. I have not had this boat in water yet but hopefully this summer. Anybody have thoughts on this subject re weight etc?

I haven't experienced that much weight in the chain locker of that model so I can't be sure but for the size of boat and power package, it would seem to me that it is a lot of weight up there. The type of rode you need though really depends on your type of boating, environmental conditions, and the areas you typically boat and anchor out in. If you anchor shallow, six feet of chain does the trick pretty good. The amount of line you need to let out will depend on depth and conditions. The chain's weight keeps the angle of the anchor's shank at a low angle/hugging the bottom which is what gives it its best holding power. The longer that chain, the more weight, which will help handle worse conditions and allow for letting out less rode compared to no chain at all. All chain is best of course but it comes with a price, which is weight.

Your chain probably weighs in at around 110 #'s. Imo, for your boat you will be more than covered with 1/2" three strand anchor line with maybe 10 ft or so of chain......if you do, get the chain to rope joint done properly so it doesn't stick in the windlass gypsy.

One thing with chain, it doesn't get heavier when wet, like us.......