Anchor chain washer - I want one

[tamicatana]

I'm thinking vinegar, being acidic and all, would do a fine job of eating the galvanizing. I suppose if you rinsed with fresh water after that might work.

From the Galvanisers of Australia, the care and feeding of galvanising:

http://www.gaa.com.au/index.php?page...lvanized-steel

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by zeehag

as my chain locker has limber holes into main bilge, i dump a bunch of vinegar into it after i finish stowing the chain. helps a lot, as the dead fishie smell is neutralized before it can grab hold.

I should have added that my chain locker is ventilated, separated from the rest of the boat with a bulkhead, and drains overboard. If it drained to the bilge I would feel differently.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by tamicatana

My anchor washer is named 'Jay' and he does all sorts of other things, too!

HA!

Jay is the handy sort isn't he???

[IdoraKeeper]

Originally Posted by zeehag

as my chain locker has limber holes into main bilge, i dump a bunch of vinegar into it after i finish stowing the chain. helps a lot, as the dead fishie smell is neutralized before it can grab hold.

Z you must not store dead fish in your chain locker....it will attract bugs and besides you should pickle things in a bowl or a jar...pickling fish in the chain locker is just not right.

[Roy M]

When I converted to all-chain, I knew I would have this problem of cleaning the mud off the chain, so I started playing with different ways to achieve this result. All of the fixed methods (sprayers, etc.) left small chunks of mud, so I crossed that off the list of options. I finally settled on a high volume/high pressure pump leading to a faucet inside a deck locker where I store a 3/4" X 50' industrial water hose with a gun-type nozzle. As the chain comes on deck, I stop hauling for a moment and thoroughly wash the chain before it descends into the locker below, then pull up some more and repeat. My anchor locker is open to the cabin, so it is critical for me to have it clean before stowage. The high pressure water hose is handy, as well, for washing off fish blood, bird poop and defending the boat against water-balloonatics who stream past my end tie on hot summer days. I also can connect it to a very high pressure washdown pump that runs off 110volts AC. With a Y-switch, I can also divert freshwater into the hose for a final rinse, should I have plenty of that treasured liquid. Here's a pic of the pump, a double stacked unit with an accumulator tank. Forty PSI is sufficient for most needs, but if the bird poop has turned to concrete, I can plug in the power washer and really clean the decks.

[rw58ph]

The master shower in the bow is in front of the chain locker so I use the shower hose/spray thing. The Eagle had a raw water wash down, but I never used it as why would I want to get salt water on the shine/sealed teak decks. Yuck!

Since I did not use the wash down, had the through hull filled in. The pump and piping are still there in case a wash down is needed. However, I would probable plumb the wash down to the fresh water tank.

[SV Maclas]

A deck wash down pump with an adjustable sprayer and a scrub brush for the thick stuff works great for us.