...but as I see it, the longer the chain, the more significant is the same weight in terms of "sag" factor. For example, if you are trying to pull to level a rope with a weight on it, every foot of rope (scope, in our case) you add to the span significantly adds to the perceived weight you are fighting. A quick comparison on the ordering chart in the Defender catalog says G3 5/16 chain is a pound a foot and G4 1/4 chain is 0.77 lbs per foot. So it would take 65 feet of G4 to equal the weight of 50 feet of G3. But I don't think you need add that much because every foot of scope you add vastly increases the downward pull, the force that resists the leveling of the chain and the breaking out of the anchor. I might put out 60 of 1/4" instead of 50 of 5/16" and feel fine. I am, after all, changing the scope from, say, 5:1 to 6:1. On the right coast I can't picture having to anchor in 60 feet, but if such a thing is an eventuality, then the simple choice is to go out and buy a - what do they call it, an anchor sentry? - like a 10 lb vinyl-coated mushroom anchor to clip on midway through your rode ("rode" meaning your total chain or nylon or combination). Assuming 5:1 scope, that added 10 lbs in the middle of 100 ft is proably (I'm guessing) the same in effect as adding 20 feet of rode. At 150 feet of rode at 5:1 scope it's probably more like adding 40. Of course, I can get into trouble simply eyeballing these things. Maybe a sentry is not all that much more effective because nothing beats adding scope, but that's how it looks to me.

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