George;
Congratulations to the Admiral on her birthday, and the great birthday present!
I am an advocate of the 1/2" Yale Brait 8 plait, since it hands nicely and takes about 1/2 of the volume of 3 strand. It also works very well with the windlass, when you get one. The 1/4" HT chain is what the windlasses use, so I would get than in anticipation. 3/8 Brait. is strong enough, but the difference in cost is only about 10 cents a foot, and the hand is far better with the 1/2".
I have 300 feet of Brait, but with the occasional anchoring in the West Coast, that is necessary. In the Rivers, probably 150 feet will do the job. Chain--I would want at a min. 10 feet, better with 20 feet, but the Ronca bites in easily, so the chain will be mostly for abrasion protection.
Defender generally has good prices, and quality products. That is where I got my current anchor rode. They have it pre splices with a thimble on "close out" sale currently, and not a bad price.
The rope to chain splice I did is at:
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=21709
It is holding up very well, been in some 50 knot blows.
Now if we can get you down where it is warm...and really use that Tom Cat 24!