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Old 04-30-2017, 01:24 PM   #11
Snapdragon III
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City: Kenmore
Vessel Name: Snapdragon
Vessel Model: Custom 56' Skookum trawler
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 387
My boat has a similar issue. I have mitigated it in two ways. First I removed all 350' of chain to have it regalvanized. when I put it back in I carefully flaked the first 225' in stacked layers on the far side of the box, from where the long plastic tube dumps it. That way the last 125' can go right to the bottom of the box out of the tube. That helps a lot, but is still occasionally hangs up. The other thing the boat came with that is still a pain, but makes it easier than it would be otherwise, is a strap under the mattress that hooks to a hook on the ceiling, so it holds the mattress up out of your way while you access the anchor locker, There is also a 24' stainless steel rod with a hooked end that we just keep below the mattress, for guiding the chain around in the locker as we pull it in. It is still a pain, but better than having to reach down there with your hand, with the mattress on top of you. My biggest complaint is that it makes it hard to take off at dawn and let my wife sleep in, as I need her off the bed, and monitoring the chain. Where we anchor I have never needed more than 120' of chain, but it is nice to know I have it, and I suspect I may need it this summer when we head north into harder anchoring areas.

Another thing I would like to try, but have been too cheap, is to replace the first 100' of chain with Stainless steel, and have it welded to the galvanized chain. I think it would be slipperier, and self flake in the locker better, and it would also pick up less mud.
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