Hey Bill

If you have a windlass won't it be a problem splicing 3/4" line to 5/16"chain? I think it's always better to have matching elements to your rode.

But because of that you could use the new line on the 33lb Bruce and since it would be 3/4" chain you would get, it could be a little shorter.

I have 100' of chain and 250' of line for my 33lb Bruce and I cruise right by you at the Channel Islands. My anteprevious boat was a 27' motor boat and I had 250' of chain on that. The winds get up here as you know and you can find yourself with a cliff in your lee or a tiny shelf to hang on to with strong offshores. I imagine you'll get the same thing in the Gulf of California and I don't think you are being paranoid at all :)

I'll be at Blue Banks for New Year's if you are out there :)

I could be wrong here, but in rough terms your 5/16 G3 chain has a breaking strain of about 7500lbs. that's around the same as 1/2 inch nylon. 3/4" sounds like overkill to me - your chain will be the 'weak link' so to speak :)

For our Rocna 20 (44#) we went up to 5/8" Brait to allow for chafe and splicing, and the brait falls nicely into the anchor well.

As we cruise a lot of rocky places we use 150 feet of chain, and 150 feet of line but we hardly ever go beyond the chain. We have a really strong bow roller with a strong stopper and a nylon snubber for the chain.

All the best

Bill:
Here is some commentary from when I was in Los Frailes in a strong Northerner...
It was a good day to take stock of our anchor planning. We had added 125 feet of 3/8 short link G4 HT chain to the primary 40lb CQR anchor and backed this up with another 220' of 5/8 rode. I had also re-spliced a thimble into the rode and used a shackle to attach this to the chain. Hilbre also carries a spare 80' of 3/8 HT chain deep in the aft locker as well as two shorter 3/8 chains of 30 and 25 feet. In addition we carry 220 feet of 5/8 rode, 100' of spare 5/8 rode and another 150' of half inch rode. Some of this is used for the spare Danforth anchor as well as the smaller "lunch hook" anchor.

When it comes to anchoring, nothing is too much. During the day, we watched three other boats having to re-anchor because they were dragging. One boat did so at least five times during the day and we could see that she clearly moved downwind with each passing hour. This reminded me of the walks I have taken along various docks noting the size of boat verses the size of the anchor. It has always amazed me that people skimp on anchors, often using the smallest they can get away with; not a good policy and not one that will save them in a blow.

Extra Notes:
I keep a number of spare shackels and thimbles for splicing. Most of the anchorages are clean sand bottoms with good holding in anywhere from 30-40' depth. Usually for starters, I put out the 120' of chain followed by 90' of rode which also acts as a spring and I still have another 130' of rode available if I want to add scope. Turtle Bay and Bahia Santa Maria have good sand bottoms with good holding. The extra line I carry is sometimes used as an anchor bridle to hold the boat in a more comfortable position.

John Meyer
Cruising Sea of Cortez - Currently in La Paz

Bill, good choice on the Manson Supreme. We thought our 45 lb Delta was a good anchor, the Manson is much better. Manson has never had the shank bending issues that the Rocna had, the rock slot gives an added attachment option and it was 40% cheaper than a Rocna to boot. It is a great anchor in all respects. We have 100' 5/16 G43HT chain and 200 ft 5/8" double braid. I tend to look at working loads for chain and rope, not breaking loads.