Question 3558 Deck General

The correct answer is D) equal to the chains they are connecting. The reasoning behind this is that anchor shackles should have a breaking strength that is equal to the chains they are connecting. This ensures that the weakest link in the anchor chain assembly is the chain itself, not the shackle. If the shackle had a higher breaking strength, it could potentially lead to the chain failing before the shackle, which would be undesirable. The other options, such as having the shackle be 25% or 50% more than the chain, or 100% more, are not necessary and could result in an unnecessarily overbuilt system.