🔍 Key Concepts

• Anchor chain marking system used on U.S. merchant vessels • Meaning of the next-to-last inboard shot of chain when paying out the anchor • Standard color pattern for red, white, and blue shots and their adjacent links

💭 Think About

• Visualize the whole sequence of shot markings from the bitter end outboard—what colors mark each full shot and what marks the shots near the ends? • Think about how the last inboard shot is marked, then work one shot farther from the bitter end; how does that pattern change? • Recall which parts are painted solid and which use wire wraps or multiple colors to distinguish specific shots.

✅ Before You Answer

• Confirm how many links around the detachable link are painted for each shot marking pattern • Verify the specific color assigned to the next-to-last shot in the standard system, not the last shot • Double‑check that you are thinking of the links adjacent to the detachable link in that shot, not the detachable link itself