Function or decoration?
2012 September 8
While sitting on a mooring ball at Sandy Island earlier this week, I took notice of the monohull that was tied to the ball astern of us. Like ZTC, that boat was sporting a nice Rocna anchor on its bow. The boat’s owners had gone one step better though, they had painted the ring of their anchor a nice, bright yellow. As the Rocna anchor frequently buries itself such that the only part that remains visible is the ring, I think this would be a big help when we dive on the anchor to check its set. The only question remaining is, which color would best stand out?
I did not get a pic of the boat behind us so this is a photoshop of our own Rocna.
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Florescent orange. That’s why road construction workers wear it.
Might clash with the boat.
None after 12 or so feet..
More reason to anchor in shallow water.
It was kinda tongue in cheek! Actually greens are absorbed last, so I would say florescent green or yellow tape. 3M makes 33+ in green. That would last a good long while and make it easy to fix or replace.
Tape is not a bad idea. What do you mean by 33+?
Scotch Super 33+ Electrical Tape is a premium grade,
0.178mm thick, all-weather vinyl insulating tape. It is
designed to perform continuously in a temperature
ambient of up to 105°C (220°F). The tape is conformable
for cold weather application down to –18° (0°F). It has
excellent resistance to abrasion, moisture, alkalies, acids,
corrosion and varying weather conditions (including
ultraviolet exposure). The combination of elastic backing
and aggressive adhesive provides moisture-tight electrical
and mechanical protection with minimum bulk.
Thanks for the clarification.
fluorescent pink
It would be pretty if nothing else.
You’ll have to get some colors samples and dive down and plant them and see how they look from a distance… let us know which one works out best…
I’ll get right on that.
If you don’t want to go with a solid florescent, you might consider stripes of two contrasting colors (either horizontal or candy cane). Lighthouses did this for higher visibility, as symmetrical patterns tend stand out against natural settings, especially in low-light situations. This is why the old prisoner suits were black and white stripes. If they escaped, they were easy to spot!
Good idea.
Good idea.
I like that. I wanna paint ours too. Let us know what color you go with. I kinda like the yellow.
You go first and tell me.
OOOOH! Glow in the Dark paint????
But what color?
Chartreuse. It’s the new black.
Ummm, I don’t think so.
Hey Mike,
Stick with yellow, it shows up the best under water, most dive tanks were yellow for great visibility. Tanya and I are 21 months from full time live aboard.
Still follow you two when ever I can.
Take care,
Casper
Hey Casper. I’m going to mark that in my calendar!
If you dont want to look at a color when stored on the bow, take a piece of colored hose and attach only when deploying the anchor……..It is a great idea, but do you really need it? Just dive on your rode……..
I would prefer to not add any more steps to the anchor sequence. As for diving on the rode, that is what we do. It does not change the fact that the anchor is hard to find in some situations.
Yellow sounds like it would be a good contrast in most situations. Reds might show up if the sand is particularly white and shallow. Making sure your paint is highly uv resistant is probably as important as the initial color. An extra shiny chrome might be an effective color at any depth.
A clear polyurethane filled with copper flake might just be awesome.
And resist growth too perhaps.
Chrome.
From our diving lessons a while back I remember that red wavelengths of light don’t penetrate water very far with the blues/greens going the farthest. May want to consider a simple black and white (or anything that would reflect blues) pattern of some sort that would stand out from nature…stripes perhaps?
Of course…the gold in that pic gives it bling.
The power of Photoshop.
I was thinking white but stripes may be better.
FWIW, the top of the Spade anchor is painted for high visibility, and they chose yellow.
Interesting. I have yet to see that.
Yellow. Thats why school buses are yellow and Ministry of Transportation will tell you yellow is the most visible but thats according to the road and cars, maybe not in water. I always thought a yellow car was a lemon but apparently they are the safest colour to drive.
Yes, underwater might be different, but other commenters seem to agree on yellow.
Since red is absorbed first underwater, don’t use it. Blue is absorbed last, but isn’t necessarily highly visible because there’s just sooo much blue underwater. Personally, I’d opt for an alternating “candy cane” pattern using blue and yellow. This way, both the pattern and the colors will help with visibility. Or you could use a float attached to the anchor so you know exactly where it is when you dive to check it.
Floats are just not convenient. Nor are they appreciated by other cruisers in crowded anchorages. In certain places (ex. Georgetown, Exuma) they are prohibited. We have only deployed an anchor float (trip line) once and that was because we were in an area notorious for snagging anchors on sunken logs.
The stripes is a good idea though.
What about that paint they use on road signs, thats really really reflective? Could you use that stuff and when you shine a torch around it should brightly attract your attention?
You’re right but sourcing that might be tough, especially here in Grenada. I am into simple solutions!
Mike, I’ve skimmed through the replies, so may have missed it, but what about yellow reflective tape? Means that at night, a flash light’s beam should be reflected back at you.
That was definitely recommended. Good idea.