GW 265EX anchor line capacity

[Boat Hound]

I currently have about 200' of rode on my 265. I'm typically in 200-300 ft of water,so would like to buy a longer rode. The question is how much line can be held before the windlass starts binding up?

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

I don't know what is the depth of your locker, but you can add rode up until you reach 12" between the the top of the coil to the bottom of the windlass. For anchoring at 300 feet you need at least 1000 feet in a perfect condition which is impossible to fit in your locker. I would get a 35 gallon barrel, cut the top off, fill it with rope,chain and an extra anchor and you are set to go( to give you an idea, a milk crate holds 300 feet of 1/2" soft line). You can use an anchor ball to pick up the anchor.

 

[lgusto]

We frequently anchor in 200-300' with 600' of 3/8" Brait spliced to 20' of 1/2" chain shackled to a 13 pound danforth. We sometimes overnight in 200' of water with winds up to 20 knots. We also carry a 7 pound Fortress with 200' of 1/2" three strand and 10' of chain as an emergency backup.

We use an anchor ball for retrieval, so I'm not sure how Brait will function with a Windlass but the manufacturer claims it does fine. I do know that 600' of 3/8 Brait (roughly as strong as 1/2 three strand) piles up pretty small, easily fitting into a five gallon bucket.

see for more details:
http://www.yalecordage.com/pleasure-marine-ropes/anchoring-mooring-specialty/nylon-brait.html