On 2007-09-08 14:00:14 -0400, jeff said:

For instance, invoking the very concept the "catenary" is pedantic and
not relevant to practical anchoring. The problem is that once a chain
has completely assumed the catenary shape, it is virtually fully
extended and about to be broken out. The purpose of an all chain rode
or a kellet is to minimize the catenary and keep as much of the rode as
possible sitting on the bottom.

Oops! You got catenary backwards: Catenary: "a curve formed by a wire,
rope, or chain hanging freely from two points that are on the same
horizontal level." (okay, the two points on an anchor aren't on the
same horizontal level, but you get the idea.)

When the chain *loses* it's catenary, it's fully extended and the
stress on the anchor is substantial.

Also, I find it most useful to have an anchor of a different type than
the primary for short-distance cruising.

--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's new pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI pages: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/