Stop my anchor chain hawse pipe from leaking

[jr_spyder]

I think I have a pretty usual setup of an electric Lewmar windlass on deck with the chain going down into the chain locker on the bow through a hawse pipe. The pipe opening faces aft on the port side and is integrated into the windlass. This is essentially a hole on my bow that lets in loads of water when I'm taking waves over the bow.



To make matters worse my chain locker is not self draining. The incoming water washes through the chain into a channel along the bottom center of the boat and into a deep bilge aft. Then the bilge pump runs, and runs, etc.

Before I leave on a multi-day passage I tape up where the chain enters the hawse pipe to stop the water brigade. This works fine but I have to undo it all before I drop anchor - so this could be a problem in an emergency. On short passages I've tried stuffing a rag in/around the problem and have knocked down some of the inflow.

I really would like to find a better solution that could be engaged/disengaged quickly and safely (usually by my wife on the bow) when needed. As everyone knows waves crashing over the bow can be quite violent as they try to remove anything on the deck in their path. This has to be considered.

I'm stumped for a good idea. Has anyone solved this? Help!

Thanks

[Orion Jim]

Unless you want to disconnect the chain and fit a bung (it sounds like you don’t) you might just stuff a rag in the hole and have a fitted canvas cover Made for the windlass. Your wife should have no problem removing the cover and one rag. Happy wife...happy life.

[Benz]

a ziploc bag full of silly putty has been suggested by others for this, but I think whatever else you do, Jim's idea of a snugly-fitting cover should be part of it.
I can't think of a time though, if there's green water coming over the bows, that you'd want to drop the anchor. OK, I can, I guess, but hopefully being that close to a lee shore in a midnight gale will never happen to you. Plan carefully.

[Vasco]

Silly putty or plasticene. Jam it in.

[osprey877]

I have the same issue on my boat. We often anchor in muddy ground so there is a fine silty clay tracked into the bilge. I plan to remedy the problem this spring by drilling a hull drain hole from the bottom of the chain locker through the topsides and then plugging up the drain to the bilge. I think this drain system is common on a lot of boats. The drain will be about 24” above the waterline, but only 1/2” diameter so I’m not worried about it being underwater in waves. My topsides are cored so I will rout out the coring around the hole and fill with epoxy so that water ingress won’t be a problem. I would not be keen to seal up my chain locker with rags etc as I think some ventilation is a good thing in such a wet environment.

[Vasco]

And that's not a hawse pipe it's a spurling pipe.

[Mike OReilly]

I have a similar problem. I stuff a sponge into the hole, around the chain. It helps, but still lets in some water. The plasticene idea sounds like a good one, but then you'd end up with the guck on your chain, and probably around the hawse hole. And you'd loose some each time you use it. Isn't that a problem?

[Vasco]

Plumbers putty also does it.

[Vasco]

Walk the chain out and remove putty

[Breaking Waves]

Wrap the windless in 2 or 3 wraps of kitchen cling film. Done right it will keep it perfectly dry, and is quite fast to cut off.

It’s not the most environmentally conscious solution, but works really well.

For passages we had a teak plug, but for shorter work this was our go-to, after trying most of the other solutions.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Breaking Waves

Wrap the windless in 2 or 3 wraps of kitchen cling film. Done right it will keep it perfectly dry, and is quite fast to cut off.

It’s not the most environmentally conscious solution, but works really well.

For passages we had a teak plug, but for shorter work this was our go-to, after trying most of the other solutions.

We wrap a short length of dive suit neoprene around the chain, cut to size to fit snug and placed such that the chain is taught just as the neoprene plug jams into the hawse pipe (OK spurling pipe, really?).

Water still comes in but it does not pour.

The neoprene is easily unwrapped just as you begin to let out chain when anchoring.

WATCH YOUR FINGERS WHEN PLACING THE NEOPRENE!

[Benz]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I have a similar problem. I stuff a sponge into the hole, around the chain. It helps, but still lets in some water. The plasticene idea sounds like a good one, but then you'd end up with the guck on your chain, and probably around the hawse hole. And you'd loose some each time you use it. Isn't that a problem?

You keep it in a ziploc, and mush it in ziploc and all. The bag contains the guck.

[jr_spyder]

Some very good ideas here, thanks. I've considered making a canvas cover which I will do eventually, but until then just improve my stuffing technique.

Also glad to have learned a new nautical term in spurling pipe.

[yachtgemini]

a variation on a theme... soft plastic bag with a squirt of spray expanding foam in it. Makes a perfect water tight plug.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Benz

You keep it in a ziploc, and mush it in ziploc and all. The bag contains the guck.

Thanks Benz, but I don't think that would work for me. The hole, with the chain still hanging in, is way too tight. And the chain and spurling pipe(?) are abrasive. Any standard plastic bag would quickly be destroyed. I suppose I could use a new bag each time.

The sponge works fairly well in that it is more tenacious. It keeps out most water, but still allows some water to get through in big seas.