Help - is my anchor chain 'big' enough?

[MVDarlin]

There is no "rope" on a vessel. Only rode or line. No maps either. Just charts.

 

[Peter B]

Wish I could go bigger so as to get more weight.
Our maxwell 3500 has the biggest chain wheel now at 13mm (1/2inch) x 300ft of grade L.

Not concerned about strength so much as we have already been through several 50 knot and one 80 knot storms with no anchoring issues.

Apparently if I want bigger chain I need a new windlass even though a windlass that takes bigger chain has the same working load as what we have.
I wonder if a foundry could cast a new chain wheel to suit bigger chain and our windlass?

If so, why bother, just anchor, sit back and enjoy, and don't waste any more money. There will be plenty of other stuff you will consider a must have, I'm sure.

 

[BruceK]

Wish I could go bigger so as to get more weight.
Our maxwell 3500 has the biggest chain wheel now at 13mm (1/2inch) x 300ft of grade L
Not concerned about strength so much as we have already been through several 50 knot and one 80 knot storms with no anchoring issues.

Apparently if I want bigger chain I need a new windlass even though a windlass that takes bigger chain has the same working load as what we have.
I wonder if a foundry could cast a new chain wheel to suit bigger chain and our windlass?

Better to ask a foundry than TF.
I`m in the "why bother" camp with Peter, you say what you have is tried and tested to work, so why change it? "If it ain`t broken...."

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. MVD. "There is no "rope" on a vessel." Sorry, there might be 3 ropes on a vessel. Bell rope, bucket rope and a third that I can't remember but it was located high aloft on a 4 masted sailboat.

 

[Capt.Bill11]

Greetings,
Mr. MVD. "There is no "rope" on a vessel." Sorry, there might be 3 ropes on a vessel. Bell rope, bucket rope and a third that I can't remember but it was located high aloft on a 4 masted sailboat.

And I don't know about you but I've got a couple of road maps laying around on my vessel.

 

[Nomad Willy]

There is n o "rope" on a vessel. Only rode or line. No maps either. Just charts.

No ropes indeed!
But any line you may have aboard not yet used or employed to a task is rope.

And maps can be quite useful on a boat w no charts. I ran from Prince Rupert Canada to Juneau Alaska using a map. It was the blue and green tourist map found on Alaska State ferries. There were no charts available as it was a busy season and all the charts were bought up .. sold. Found none on the way either. And the map was far far better than no map or chart. My other navagation piece was a little quivering needle see through FS glass compass. Lots of fog just south of Juneau too. Was a great trip .. the best.

 

[BandB]

Wifey B: Line is just a euphemism for rope, yachties wanting to sound fancy. You can call a rose anything you want but it's still a rose. Same with rope. Nomad is also right technically I think that it's a rope until used as a line. When you go to the store to buy it, you buy rope. Oh, and port is still left when facing forward, and aft is still the back and bow the front, the bridge is upstairs and the cabins are downstairs. Engine room is also in the basement. We boaters are a bit of a pretentious group, renaming everything.

 

[Giggitoni]

Salon or saloon? Family Room?

 

[BandB]

Salon or saloon? Family Room?

Wifey B: Cabin or Stateroom? Living room? Dining room or Breakfast room and is it illegal to eat lunch in the breakfast room? Kitchen or Galley? Bathroom, Restroom or Head? If there is no tub or shower can it still be a bathroom? Restroom? I don't go to the toilet to rest.

Languages are funny. Restaurant with Home Cooking. It wasn't cooked in anyone's home or I hope not. Mom's apple pie? Not my mom's. Whose mom? Sara Lee's not my mom, she's a conglomerate. I do like the Pillsbury Doughboy. He's cute, but has anyone noticed the resemblance to the Michelin dude? Family?

 

[Simi 60]

Better to ask a foundry than TF.
I`m in the "why bother" camp with Peter, you say what you have is tried and tested to work, so why change it? "If it ain`t broken...."

I have no intention on replacing it yet, but when the chain does need replacing if I can get a chain wheel cast at a reasonable price and up the chain size when replacing, it'd be a worthwhile exercise IMHO.

Overkill maybe, but she's a big chunk of boat and silly size anchoring gear is cheap insurance.

 

[FlyWright]

My flybridge is really my attic. I've also got a bucket o' rope onboard.

Just say "No!" to pretentious yachties!

 

[Moonstruck]

A skinny chain rode will make your boat look fat.

 

[ktdtx]

My Boat is fat and when I put the bridle on no one can see the chain.

So, we're back to horizontal and vertical stripes.

 

[Nightsky]

Hi All,

I am new to owning a trawler, having just purchased a 1982 42' KadeyKrogen. She is a big boat, that does take a lot of windage with a very high bow and lots of area to get blown around. Upon purchasing I noticed that the chain was pretty rusty - up to about 110' (looks very solid after that and it is 5/16" 3B chain). I assume rust up to that point is due to it being pretty old and likely of the 320', this is the part that got the most use. I was trying to decide whether to swap the chain end of end, putting the rusty end where it is unlikely to come out of the chain locker - or was considering getting a chain connector and just cutting off the 110' of rusty chain and replacing. While taking the chain out to get a better look - lots of folks offered opinions. One person said that for a boat that size I needed minimum 3/4"chain, and that 3B was not good enough grade - also that I needed a minimum of 300'.

Thoughts? Opinions? I was always under the thought that 3:1 scope on chain was sufficient and 5:1 in a blow ... this person said that for a boat this size 5:1 is minimum and 7:1 in a blow ... any thoughts on that??

Appreciate opinions

Whoever suggested you need 3/4" chain at a minimum doesn't know what he is talking about. Surface rust on your chain shouldn't diminish its strength to the point of worry, it will however leave a rust streak on your hull from the chain locker drain hole unless yours drains in to your bilge. What would be of more concern to me would be wear at the point where 2 chain links chafe against each other. Noticeable wear there = replace. As far as scope goes, the more the better so long as you have swing room in your anchorage re in relation to other users. I have been on the hook in an anchorage that had gusts swirling in off the top of the hillsides and all the boats were swinging in different directions, sometimes swinging toward each other.

 

[TDunn]

My understanding has always been that the weight of the chain is as if not more important than the working load. Weight is important because it increases catenary which keeps more chain on the bottom. More chain on the bottom is good because it takes energy to lift t so more on the bottom means more energy to lift the chain - i.e., better energy absorption by your chain. In addition if the load on the chain is parallel to the bottom it will tend to dig your anchor in. The steeper the angle between the chain and the bottom the more "up" load you have on the anchor and the more like it is to break the anchor out.

As far as chain working load goes, my mooring, which is rated for a 50' boat in winds up to 60 knots has only 1/2" ACCO long link mooring chain (WLL = 6,900 lbs) for the top chain. The bottom chain is 1-1/4" and is there for two reasons. First its weight (~15 lbs per foot) keeps it on the bottom in all but bad storms and second it is strong enough to lift my mooring stone (10,000 lbs) out of the mud and off the bottom. Actually in normal weather I am moored to my bottom chain (600 lbs) since normal loads aren't enough to pull it out of the mud and put any load on the granite mooring stone. My 36;, 20,000 lb boat has ridden out several 60 knot storms on that mooring. I do use two pennants (1" Yale polydyne) for storms.

Edited to add - While G4 chain is stronger than BBB, the G4 chain is also more brittle and thus more prone to fracturing rather than deforming if overloaded.