Will Hacksaw Cut Thru a G4 Chain Link

[Don Souza]

Use a grinder with a thin blade, on it's side, that pulls away from you. That cuts thru most steel. I carry a battery type grinder onboard as it also works great on cutting old logging cables or lines fouling an anchor. A word of caution... it cuts hands and fingers, you need gloves and safety glasses.
Don

 

[Southern Boater]

a right angle (90 degree) drill with a grinder attachment will suffice. I bought a Ryobi (not my favorite brand by a long chalk but for this singular purpose I thought it would suffice) to cut through my SS rigging. That was 2006. And a sailboat. I still have the drill and it proves its worth monthly with getting into small spaces where most drills will not.

I have replaced the battery about 3 years ago. This is an amazing tool, cheap, lasts, battery lasted 10+ years with light usage. Put one on your boat and you will be able to cut through chain, rigging (if a sailboat) and more likely find it extremely useful drilling holes in floors between studs (domestic remodels).
~A

Thanks for the recommendation, I think this tool will be very useful around the boat, especially with small grinding attachments. I need to grind more plinth cracks under deck hatches etc.

 

[Shrew]

My question is if I get the anchor hung up with only a 20' to 30' of chain out and need to cut it loose at that point

Pay out all of the chain, tie a fender or a poly ball to the bitter end, then cut the safety line.

What you're proposing, mid-Emergency, is to save a few dollars on new chain.

 

[High Wire]

If it really is an emergency, just cut or dump and go! Not now but NOW! Worry about retrieving after you are still alive and calmed down. Funny how these topics go.

 

[LenBuchanan]

A fender or bouy tied to the chain to be able to locate the anchor/chain later is a great idea, however, check with the local Coast Guard. This past summer I had to drop a 44lb anchor and 100ft of chain in Lake Betsie (Frankfort Michigan). I tied a fender to it and notified the Coast Guard. Their reply to me was " that it was all well and good, but with the Salmon run and boats trolling and fishing, without a light on the fender to tell boaters it was there after dark, it became a navigational hazard". In some secluded anchorage or someplace out of the way, that is a different story. Lake Betsie is rather narrow and in the fall, lots of boats trolling for salmon.

 

[bill.kimbell]

Let it run!

In an emergency, nothing as fast as letting it go. Tie on a fender if you can, will make retrieval much easier.

 

[rjwilliams11741]

Had a handheld grinder with abrasive cut off wheels. Inverter was adequate to power it. So much easier than a hacksaw or a bolt cutter.

 

[Slider70]

Stuck Anchor

I have had the anchoring misfortune of hooking two sunken wrecks and one abandon freighter anchor & rode. Was able to get half of the one wreck to the surface - 24 to 28' stern half with leg and engine still attached.

With the other wreck the anchor finally broke loose and came up with a broken off ships railing. On that vessel I had an hydraulic double heavy geared winch on the vessel when I hooked the abandoned freighter anchor & rode. Never owned any other vessel that I would have been able to pull this up. By running all my rode off on deck then shackling a shorter piece of my rode to my anchor winch for better purchase I was able to get this hang up to the surface & free my anchor with some fancy work.

Then, as with the other wreck, I tied a line to them and towed them to very deep water to cut them loose.

The one hook up I couldn't free I ran all my rode off, attached a buoy, then when back into a town where I could purchase another rode to finish my fishing season. I had a spare anchor on board. I returned the end of my fishing season that year and was able to retreat my anchor and all the rode.

I have cut anchor chain with a high quality bolt cutter, a hacksaw and with an angle grinder with a zip blade (very narrow cutting disc). All work but the angle grinder is fastest but as stated earlier you need to be careful with your eyes and where hot metal fines will land. An old wet blanket or wet sheet works to protect decks.

 

[CarlF]

I've done 3/8" G4 with a Dremel several times. Takes about 5 minutes and usually one blade swap. I have a grinder aboard but the Dremel is much easier to handle - and safer. Here's a guy cutting a hardened padlock (which I think is harder than G4 and bigger than 5/16").

 

[Phyrcooler]

Actually, a bolt cutter can be very quick and efficient on chain. I would choose that ahead of trying to make two cuts with a power tool while trying to hold it firm enough with vice grips. However, if I were buying a tool primarily for this purpose, I’d get a small hand powered hydraulic rebar cutter. (Not the battery or electric ones.) That’s the cats meow. Short handles. Quick pump up. Less than $100 for a cheap one at place like Harbor Freight.



And a couple quick tips for those who already have access to bolt cutters. It isn’t as hard as you would picture, because we have the advantage of the chain being at deck level. It’s easy to grab a link in the jaws, set one handle on the deck, and use your weight to push down on the other handle. If under a different scenario you can’t put one handle on the deck, put one handle against your upper thigh/hip area and use two hands to pull the other handle towards yourself. Both are fairly easy, and can be done squatting on a pitching deck. Seldom should you need to try to pull the two handles with both arms outstretched if you learn other techniques. Both sides of a link can be cut in about 20 seconds. (35 years in the fire service cutting chain and locks, and between that and side jobs, hundreds of cuts in rebar.)

 

[psneeld]

Actually, a bolt cutter can be very quick and efficient on chain. I would choose that ahead of trying to make two cuts with a power tool while trying to hold it firm enough with vice grips. However, if I were buying a tool primarily for this purpose, I’d get a small hand powered hydraulic rebar cutter. (Not the battery or electric ones.) That’s the cats meow. Short handles. Quick pump up. Less than $100 for a cheap one at place like Harbor Freight.

View attachment 124204

And a couple quick tips for those who already have access to bolt cutters. It isn’t as hard as you would picture, because we have the advantage of the chain being at deck level. It’s easy to grab a link in the jaws, set one handle on the deck, and use your weight to push down on the other handle. If under a different scenario you can’t put one handle on the deck, put one handle against your upper thigh/hip area and use two hands to pull the other handle towards yourself. Both are fairly easy, and can be done squatting on a pitching deck. Seldom should you need to try to pull the two handles with both arms outstretched if you learn other techniques. Both sides of a link can be cut in about 20 seconds. (35 years in the fire service cutting chain and locks, and between that and side jobs, hundreds of cuts in rebar.)

My point too....uo to 3/4 chain, big bolt cutters are actually pretty easy.

 

[rgano]

Lots of good ideas here. My most recent need to cut chain allowed only one-handed grip on whatever tool was at hand while leaning way outover the side hanging on to the boat with the other hand. The electric grinder was the only viable option because my Dremel would have been a nightmare with all the movement etc going on. Doesn't mean I would not like to carry some of the non-electric tools....

 

[grahamdouglass]

4 or 5" grinder with a cut off blade

I second the opinion of a 4 or 5" grinder with a cut off blade. But why not attach the bitter end with some synthetic rope that you can cut with a knife in case of emergency.

 

[rgano]

I second the opinion of a 4 or 5" grinder with a cut off blade. But why not attach the bitter end with some synthetic rope that you can cut with a knife in case of emergency.

Normally, yes. The situation I had was twisted mass of different chains which we could barely lift clear of the water post-Hurricane Michael.

 

[Capt Ray]

Lots of good responses... The only thing that I would add to the mix is that the steel "sawdust" that falls to your deck from whichever tool you choose will leave a nasty trail of rust marks on your f/g all the way back to the stern scupper. So, waste no time in hosing the iron "sawdust" down thoroughly from stem to stern after the cut job.

Galvanizing (molten zinc coating) is the best known surface protection for steel in the salt water environment. But once you cut into that chain it is all mild steel fragments that will rust in a heartbeat staining the F/G after one or two nights in the dew!

How might I know???!!!

((A small, battery powered sawzall type saw comes in handy for a BUNCH of things on our boat... with a good selection of blades. Not a lot of money, and does not take much more space than a hand-hacksaw when stowed in it's bag.))

 

[jclays]

bolt cutters work for me really well.

 

[Ken E.]

A portaband (portable bandsaw) is another option. I just cut some rebar and it was like a hot knife. Takes two hands, though.

 

[Shrew]

I have an all chain anchor rode, 5/16" of G4 chain. ...... My question is if I get the anchor hung up with only a 20' to 30' of chain out and need to cut it loose at that point, will a common hacksaw be able to cut thru a link of 5/16" G4 chain? Do not want to carry a big bolt cutter if I don't have to. be back to the boat until May so planning ahead. Thanks and Happy Holidays!

There is a lot of theoretical discussion here. From a practical standpoint, we're talking about 20 -30' of 5/16" chain. I suspect the anchor weighs about 35lbs.

Short Answer:

If the windlass is dead.....Pull it in by hand.

Are we contending that the anchor is fouled AND the windlass won't pay out?? (Unlikely combination of variables, but...ok) Then release the gypsy tension and let the chain freefall until you reach the safety snubber, then put a polyball or fender on the chain, then cut the snubber.


A number of Philosophers were sitting around theorizing about the number of teeth in a horses mouth. A young student piped in and innocently asked "Wouldn't it be easier to simply count them?", to which the elder philosophers burst into laughter. When the laughter finally subsided, one philosopher turned to the, now somewhat confused student, and said; "Son, you clearly do not understand Philosophy".