There was a lengthy thread on this some time back about 4-5 months. During that time it became known to me that Don Dobbs of this list had authored a dissertation-quality piece on this issue. He sent it to me, and I did some editing for him (he said it needed some) and sent it back. Naturally I have it still, and if he doesn't offer, I'll gladly send the whole thing to you, but be prepared to wait awhile for it to download. One thing you need to be careful about in SOCAL waters is that most places you anchor will allow you little scope with the length of chain you have, meaning that surges will very quickly give you a bar-taut anchor chain. I saw a trawler without snubber lines directly to the chain from a bow chock/cleat have its bow pulpit ripped off when a swell raised the boat against an anchor hung on rocks. So snub the chain, if you use 100% chain. Even though a snubber of length less than a significant portion of the chain used is of little use in a real blow, it could give a warning as it breaks and allows the slack loop of chain it holds to fall free. Probably the best thing to do is ensure you have enough chain to get the rode clear of an irregular bottom where chaffing is an issue and use nylon rode for the rest. Rich Gano CALYPSO (GB42-295) Homeport Panama City I'd rather be cruisin'