Chain upgrade

[Simi 60]

I'm about to do the same, have a rusty but still meets spec 70m of 13mm on now and will be getting another 50 or more when on the hard next month.
When back in we'll head north and stop at Bundaberg and get the old stuff regalved.

I was going to join in a similar method to what the op proposed simply because I have not found an easy source for the Crosby link in Australia.

I believe I would prefer a tested joiner over a weld as it allows for 4 x end for end to address wear and logistics of getting chain taken so where to get welded and then rust issues make that option unviable.

[Jim Cate]

FWIW, we've carried 80-85 m of chain when cruising all over the Pacific, and found it adequate. On our previous boat we also had a bunch of nylon spliced to the end, but in the 17 years we cruised in that boat we only used a bit of it once... anchored in the lagoon at Tahaa. Probably didn't really need it there, either! Depth was around 28 m.

As someone mentioned upthread, in deep anchorages less scope is needed. We're happy with 3:1 in those sorts of places.

Jim

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

It is not clear where the OP wants to cruise, but in some of the anchorages in the South Pacific and even in Australia itself, more than 60m of rode is desirable. Especially in coral locations, chain is much better than rope.

However, I agree that rusty chain makes a mess and even if you are prepared to tolerate this, the links need careful inspection to check there is not significant wastage.

My point is that with 197 feet of chain, he should be able to keep the rope off the bottom. With a little rope out, that gives him 5:1 scope in 50 feet of water with zero wind, which is quite a lot of scope in that depth. If not, and if he is cruising far, I'd still not want to use old rusty chain. Just my view, and I understood your point. It is well known.


(You need a lot of scope in shallow water, but once you've got 300 pounds of chain in the water, it tends to stay down.)

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by thinwater

My point is that with 197 feet of chain, he should be able to keep the rope off the bottom. With a little rope out, that gives him 5:1 scope in 50 feet of water with zero wind, which is quite a lot of scope in that depth.

I am currently anchored in 3.3m (10 feet) of water, so I can sympathise that 15m (50 feet) of water sounds like a lot, but in some parts of the world there are much deeper anchorages.

You can reduce the scope in deep anchorages but if you want to enjoy some of the best deep coral anchorages 60m of chain is not enough to be comfortable, but I do agree that rusty chain is not worth keeping.

[RaymondR]

There must be miles of functionally good anchor chain thrown away every year because it looks rusty.

I have been cutting off the rusty sections of chain and replacing it with new rather than re-galvanizing it for about ten years now. About a month ago I decided to clean upa section I had cut off to see how it looked under the rust. I cleaned it off using cheap swimming pool acid and was surprised to find that about 85% had no pitting or measurable metal loss, about 10% was lightly pitted and about 5% was worn and pitted and should be removed.

Since I was getting ready for my winter cruise I oiled the removed and inspected section and placed it into storage. When I return I will be cutting off the bad section and getting the chain re-galvanized and put it back into service.

One of the things I discovered was that in using boiled linseed oil on the anchor chain to make it more readily clear the gipsy and prevent it from dropping rust stain on the deck I was making the chain very difficult to acid clean. I have switched over to vegetable cooking oil as a more environmentally friendly and easily removable alternative.

[arsenelupiga]

thanks everyone for feedback.

After thinking thru, have decided to keep best part of chain, around 30 m. This will total to 90 m and use dyneema & 2 shackles to join when join will be after bridle attachment. Chain link is not simple to come by in my part of the world for some reason, although this would be preferred.

More than 90m, chain interferes with anchor winch, less apparently is not recommended for south pacific.

Old chain will sit on bottom of locker which is sprayed with sea water, so rusting will unfortunately continue.

Will spray old chain with lanolin to slow down rusting and fusing together.

Have already introduced washing down the chain every time when lifting anchor, which should help a bit with longevity.

[Dave_S]

Deleted

Moved my question to here - http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...06#post2674006

[Steve Bedford]

Another option is to take a piece of 3 strand nylon rode and use a chain splice to connect both pieces of chain together. It is strong and will go through a windlass.

Steve