Moderator Bill, I know this post exceeds the length guideline for this list. The content does not lend itself to being broken apart. If you think it inappropriate, I will understand. Until Larry posted, I thought I could clarify my statement. Now, I'm not so sure we're not on a roll. When this thread on kellets first started, I mentioned two books that I particularly value. They are Eric Hinz' book, "The Complete Guide to Anchoring and Mooring," and "The Complete Anchoring Handbook," by Alain Poiraud and Erica and Achim Ginsberg-Klemmt, McGraw Hill (International Marine, Camden, Maine), 2008, ISBN: 978-0-07-147508-2. Poiraud is the inventor of the modern plough anchor. The Poiraud book includes an appendix by Alain Frayasse (complete with sophisticated mathematical analyses of static and dynamic sea states, which you can skip if you're willing to believe his math; that's what I did!). Frayasse also has a website (in English) that is extremely useful. I strongly urge that you read these books - or at least either one of them - because all of this is covered there by people who are truly experts. All I've done is read and try to understand and apply what I learned from those authors. First, scope. Although not part of my original post, Larry is absolutely correct; the angle at which the rode intersects the seafloor is a critical factor that boaters can control. The idea being to keep the vertical force vector on the anchor shank low enough to maintain the rotational attitude of the flukes of the anchor oriented so the anchor digs in vs. un-sets as the horizontal force vector increases. To do that, the ideal seafloor attack angle is less than 6º. For moderate-to-heavy weather, a scope of 7:1 is generally the absolute minimum, and that for all-chain rodes. I have universally seen 10:1 for 3-strand nylon and hybrids. But the fact is, in truly heavy-to-severe weather, more is always better. So that's the short form of the scope conversation. When you're anchoring in 30 kt wind and 15' seas off the Channel Islands of Chile, at 55º S latitude, don't forget to allow for sea state height when calculating rode length... Now, elasticity. I know I'll get some argument here, but I won't entertain it except to say, "read the books." Chain is 100% in-elastic. Said another way, chain is not elastic at all. Chain will stretch, but when it does, it does not come back, and it is structurally damaged - spoiled - at that point. Deck Hardware is 99% in-elastic. Forces transmitted to deck hardware will be absorbed up to the breaking strength of that hardware, and at that point, something will break. Likewise, forces transferred to the anchor will either break something, or unset the anchor from the seabed. The catenary in properly sized chain disappears at around 35 kts (read the books). Some experts argue for less, some argue for more. If you oversize the chain, maybe you can take this to 45 kts. If you add a kellet, maybe you can take it all to 50 kts. But, higher is actually worse, isn't it, because the practical limit is still easily within the range of wind and sea conditions you would see in an Atlantic n'oreaster or serious tropical or extra-tropical storm. Once the catenary is drawn out of the rode, that is the condition I called "bar-tight." At that point, instantaneous surge and heave forces are entirely transferred to deck hardware and/or the anchor/seabed interface. SInce nothing in that entire system of components is elastic, those forces make fiberglass flex and bolts (and other metal parts) stretch and fail. Now, when I said snubbers belong in a different conversation, that's because the "mechanism" by which they introduce elasticity to the anchor system is totally different from that of catenary. Snubbers are 99% elastic, and they do stretch. Chain is entirely inelastic; it it does not stretch without damaging itself. And here, we get into the 15% rule that Rudy Sechez always emphasized. The effectiveness *and safety* that derives from a nylon 3-strand snubber comes from the long length of the snubber line (stretch per foot), not its diameter. And that gets to why "experts" like Hinz and Poiraud and Frayasse all favor hybrid rodes over all-chain rodes for near-coastal and offshore cruising. To understand the interactions of forces and calculate sizing recommendations ***for your particular boat,*** READ THE BOOKS. Sail boats... are different from trawlers... are different from cruisers.... are different from lobster boats. In storm force wind and sea state conditions, actually making scope adjustments is seriously dangerous to your body. Adding to the length of a working snubber is more than a little risky. With an all chain rode, you *DO NOT* want the elasticity of the snubber to overcome all of the chain catenary "droop" between the boat's bow and the snubber attachment point, because if/when that does happen, it transmits seriously high instantaneous forces - sledge hammer blows - through the chain to the deck hardware and/or anchor/seafloor interface. NOT GOOD. SOMETHING WILL BREAK. Bridles - typical on trawlers and cruisers - are to minimize noise at the bow roller for the sleeping comfort of people in the foc's'le (vee berth). They also reduce what Hinz calls "horsing," which is the side-to-side movement that our Sanctuary exhibits at anchor when winds are above about 10 kts. As the boat slides to stbd of the centerline of the anchor rode, the counterbalancing force is also to stbd, so pulling on the boat in a way that tends to correct the unwanted sideways sliding movement. As the boat slides back across the centerline of the anchor system, to port, the pull is transferred by the bridle to the port side, and the pulling force on the boat is, again, self-corrective of the unwanted motion. Finally, the bridle relocates the pulling forces of the rode to heavy duty, structural hard points of the hull - like hawse cleats or a king post - rather than smaller, weaker bow roller bolts and high leverage pulpit attachment points. Bridles are normally made from 3-strand nylon, and so do add some very small amount of elasticity to the system. But in the context of the 15% rule, not nearly enough to be used by themselves in moderate-to-heavy conditions. And now, in the "whole system" discussion, we haven't discussed chafe and shackles and toggles and mousing and side-loading and swivels and wind profiles and a whole plethora of additional factors to consider in dealing with the forces that the boat and rode and anchor must handle, as a system. Nothing written on an Internet blog/listserv will replace the value of actually reading the books. Truly, I do hope all this helps! Thanks, Bill, for your patience. Jim Peg and Jim Healy aboard Sanctuary Currently at Charlotte Harbor, Punta Gorda, FL Monk 36 Hull #132 MMSI #367042570 AGLCA #3767 MTOA #3436