Chain! (Patreon)

Thanks for all the hilarious guesses as to the contents of the barrel, I really enjoyed reading through them! 

But of course, as some people did guess, the barrel is actually full of chain... 

This is 328' of 12/36 MM Galvanised Anchor Chain made by Rigamonti in Italy. We may add more length later but this is the longest continuous length available in this size and I want to see how much space it occupies in the chain locker first of all. 

This chain length will allow us to anchor in 100' of water in at 3:1 scope and 60' of water at 5:1 scope.

For those unfamiliar, these numbers describe the length of chain between the boat and the anchor in relation to the depth of water. The worse the conditions (weather, current, holding power of the anchor and seabed), the more chain is needed to keep the boat safe. 3:1 is generally regarded as a minimum.

This chain has a WLL of 4,400 lbs (2000 kg) which is far stronger than necessary to anchor a boat of Tally Ho's displacement. 

Interesting, a major reason that chain is preferred over rode (rope) for anchoring is not that it is stronger, but that it is heavier - the arc or dip of the chain improves the load angle on the anchor and also also absorbs some of the force. So most anchor-chain is rated for much higher loads than it will ever experience. 

It's strange to think that at certain times any one link of this chain will be the only thing between Tally Ho and disaster. Nevertheless, I can't wait to use it!!