THE LOADS ON YACHT ANCHOR CABLES

Abstract

The loads exerted on an all-chain anchor cable of a 10m yacht were measured during full scale trials in sheltered waters and steady wind. The peak recorded load was found to decrease significantly with increasing scope ratio, whereas the mean load was only weakly affected by scope ratio. The trials results were used to calculate the depth of water in which the pull at the anchor just remains horizontal for a range of wind speeds and cable lengths. The resulting relationship between maximum water depth and cable length is approximately quadratic. The required scope ratio for a given water depth increases with increasing windspeed. The required scope ratio for a given windspeed decreases with increasing depth.