Anchor Swivel options for 5/16 Chain

[foreverunderway]

Amazed that we and most full time cruisers can manage to anchor 365 days of the year without a swivel and wouldn't use one if they gave them away, yet those that don't actually seem to do much anchoring seem to think they are needed.
Why is this???

When I read the article in Marine how to, I closely inspected the last one we had and found a lot of micro fractures in the stainless. Since it is a worthless lit of gear anyway, I won't be using one again.
By the way, it has never been standard equipment on any commercial vessel I've ever operated. I have only seen swivels on yachts. Another, why is that?

 

[Efrack]

It was definitely a Lewmar swivel. It was attached directly to the anchor. The boat was new to us at that time and I wondered about a durability of a swivel since I had never used one on previous boats. I went on the web and saw a number of good things being said about them so I didn't remove it. What a costly mistake in hindsight!

 

[Shrew]

Could you please elaborate a bit....

Did you have a shackle between the swivel and anchor? What kind?

I know the question wasn't aimed at me, but I will add my .02 here...

We keep a shackle between the chain and swivel and between the swivel and anchor.

 

[psneeld]

I know the question wasn't aimed at me, but I will add my .02 here...

We keep a shackle between the chain and swivel and between the swivel and anchor.

Me too, most side loading failure of jaws is because they were used directly on the shank....I asked about that particular failure to add to my memory bank.

And I see now why ....and why I chose my setup because I think I have eliminated most of swivel weak link issues.

And I do believe swivels are used on all kinds of vessels.....

 

[izikalvo]

Here is more on the topic.

https://www.practical-sailor.com/blog/how-well-do-swivels-reduce-twist-2

 

[psneeld]

Getting rid of twist never was my purpose in using a swivel....... it's just being able to quickly and easily and safely turn my anchor 180 degrees so it could come over the roller correctly.

Otherwise I wouldn't use one.

 

[izikalvo]

Getting rid of twist never was my purpose in using a swivel....... it's just being able to quickly and easily and safely turn my anchor 180 degrees so it could come over the roller correctly.

Otherwise I wouldn't use one.

If there is no twist the anchor comes back in the way it went out, the question raised here is how effitiant swivels are untwisting the chain.

 

[psneeld]

Yes my chain does twist, but I know the swivel doesn't remove it...I believe mine does regularly because of the way it comes back in, not always in the groove and lifting it in strong currents. Maybe someday someone can actually show how to stop mine from doing it.....but so far no one has been able to explain why it does and I'm pretty mechanically inclined trying to figure out a way to stop it.

The thread got off track when people make absolute statements like "swivels dont belong on a boat" or "they are weak links".....without possibilities, etc...that's where the discussion veered.

 

[Rich wilmer]

Sea dog..great cust service i lost the thru bolt called them to see if i could get a new bolt they said positively no cost sent me 4 new ones with a note not to lose them, less than 4 days to receive them!!!!!

 

[syjos]

If there is no twist the anchor comes back in the way it went out, the question raised here is how effitiant swivels are untwisting the chain.

Chain twist is unavoidable. I tried a variety of swivels and no swivel on the anchor years ago and never had luck preventing chain twist.

A precise groove on the roller, matching diameter and depth of link, reduces twist a little. But as psneeld mentioned, the chain will jump out of the groove if the chain is coming in at an angle to the roller.

When the chain starts to jump out of the wildcat, I stop the windlass and manually lift the chain and reorient the chain. As the anchor nears the roller, I time it so the anchor spins to the correct orientation when it engages the roller. Sometimes, I spin the anchor by hand to rotate it to face correctly.

This works if the stronger person is at the bow monitoring the retrieval. Most boaters that we watch anchoring send the wife forward or deploy and retrieve the anchor remotely from the helm. I deploy and retrieve the anchor from the bow when I'm anchoring alone. My windlass remote is on a long cord which allows me to shift in and out of gear through the open PH front window. I'm also washing the chain as it comes up.

 

[backinblue]

What have people been doing in regards to this:



https://www.mantusmarine.com/mantus-...ebase/swivels/

That's an easy one. If you have a stainless anchor, get a stainless swivel and stainless (316L) chain. If you have a galvanized anchor and chain, get a galvanized swivel if you want one. Going all stainless is expensive and not recommended if you have a long chain rode, but for me, with a stainless anchor, swivel, boat length of chain, and the rest nylon, it was worth it for me. Stainless chain is expensive, but if you get the good stuff I am confident it is strong and reliable. It's slippery and doesn't cling to mud and the first time we brought it up through the windlass, my wife said it went through like "butta".

 

[BruceK]

I lost a Rocna last summer in Desolation Sound due to swivel failure and side loading. Happened while we were doing a stern tie. Wasn't apparent until strong onshore wind came up and the boat started drifting closer toward shore. When we pulled in some chain to move away from shore we drifted astern even faster. As I held the boat in place with the engine my wife pulled in the remaining chain without the anchor! I still have ½ of the splayed failed part and never hesitate to show my fellow boaters so they won't make the same mistake. I will never use one again!

Can you post a photo?

 

[Steve1.0]

When talking about working loads in the k# ranges of chain with or without swivels, keep in mind our anchors' holding power is measured in hundreds of pounds, as reported in a Practical Sailor test of some of the "new style" fast set anchors.
I had a swivel (galv. 2 loop) on all 3/8" chain w/75#CQR aboard my 45' Morgan ketch. We rode out plenty of fierce 3 am. anchor drill squalls (40-50kt) in the Bahamas, some resulting dragging. Usually less than 50' which was acceptable due to wind direction vs. neighbors & hard things.


Nothing beats a good anchor watch!


The anchor usually came aboard correctly 95% (estimate)
I'm going to go swivel-less in on my trawler. Stand by for results.

 

[rslifkin]

When talking about working loads in the k# ranges of chain with or without swivels, keep in mind our anchors' holding power is measured in hundreds of pounds, as reported in a Practical Sailor test of some of the "new style" fast set anchors.

It depends a lot on the bottom. In something like firm sand or dense mud, an anchor can develop a few thousand pounds of holding power. But take the same anchor (same size) and put it in soft, gooey mud and it may only hold a few hundred pounds.

 

[kchace]

The maximum amount of holding power varies greatly by anchor size and bottom type. From the tests I’ve seen for my anchor type and size (Rockna 33) I am using 4000lbs as a maximum number.

Ken