When it is time to cut the anchor chain

I suspect that experts have already weighed in on this but I could not find the collective wisdom. Despite your best efforts to free up a fouled anchor you may be faced with the prospect of having to cut it loose. If you are in the boonies and can't call a diver, you have to cut the rode rather than undoing the bitter end and tying it to a float. The idea here is to save enough chain so that you can attach your spare anchor and live with a foreshortened rode. For example, we now have 225' of 5/16" HT with another 100' of braided rope rode. If we lose 75' we are still in decent shape until I can extend the rode.

My question is what tool would you keep on board for cutting the chain? 24" bolt cutters should do the trick, but was wondering if any of you have a battery operated tool--like a Dremel with a metal cutting blade or angle grinder--on board that can do the trick, but also meet other needs as well.

We all start with the assumption that we will eventual free up the anchor (lots of tricks discussed on this site I imagine), but we all know of folks who had to give it up for safety reasons. So what tool(s)?

If you intend to return for the anchor and tie a float so you can find it, why
not leave all the chain behind so you don't have a now shorter main rode?
In the mean time use your spare rode to anchor.

If the above isn't possible for some reason,
to answer your question, most of the name brand tool makers now offer battery
powered 4-5" angle grinders that will zip through chain with an appropriate wheel.

As we get older cutting chain with bolt cutters will be harder. So we carry a battery powered grinder just in case. It fits the batteries that power all of my tools. My wife actually told me to buy it, what a surprise when she tells me to buy a tool. She says that I have never met a tool that I didn’t need…

Greetings,
Mr. H. The ONLY Dremel tools I've seen have been very light duty and more suited to small finer work. Some type of angle grinder, I expect with a 1/16" to 1/8" abrasive wheel. I'm sure battery versions are readily available, as well. If you also have other battery tools, your brand may offer a grinder option thereby making use of your battery packs.

Keep in mind you'll get ferrous filings all over your deck which will rust almost instantly but that may not be a concern if in danger.


Edit: Mr C. beat me to it. Great minds and all that....

Funny, my wife just refers to me as a tool, rather than suggesting I buy a tool. There are a ton of battery powered angle grinders out there, so I think I will go with that. Many of them have a lot of options on the wheels. Good advice on a tool I hope to never use for its original intention.

My plan is to reach over the bow if I have to cut the chain and try to keep the debris off the boat. I went with Ridgid tools a few years ago since they come with a lifetime service contract that includes the batteries, if you register them online within 90 days. So far they have fixed a DA sander that was about 3.5 years old.

I'd rather dump the rode, buoy it and use the spare then try to cut the rode under duress. And hopefully I'd be able to recover it later.

I carry 200 feet of chain, then rope. Usually 100-150 is in the water. IF, big IF I ever have to abandon my anchor and 150 of chain, then all of it can stay put until I come back for it. My spare anchor has 50 of chain ready to go. I will never bother to cut chain.

Actually, I may float tie the main and drop the spare over it, hook it and see if I can get it loose. Weather dependent of course.

I carry a 4.5” battery cutter. Also good to have a 8” ring [ open loop , with shackle ]made of 1/2” stainless steel. You can drop it down and pull from opposite direction.

In my experience…never.

As a diver who has recovered a few anchors as well as their chains I’d caution anyone ever considering cutting their chain. Much easier to find 400’ of chain than 35’.

When you think it’s time to go, it’s probably past time to go.

If you cant cut your chain with one hand, hanging upside down, in the dark, in 5 seconds or less, (learned this metric from an old salt named Irving Johnson) then drop then whole rode and return later for recovery. Because of the problems rejoining the two ends of cut chain you are way better off dropping and recovering an intact rode. No tools required and easier especially now with a gps and mobs.

Had a Fleming next to us last summer who lost their stainless anchor due to a swivel failure. No chain to trace and a fluffy silt bottom. Grapnel drag found it a few hours after diving didn’t. A nice long chain would have really helped. Consider adding 100’ of polypropylene which is easy to cut.

Actually a Dremel tool with their fiber cut off blade would work well. I cut a full size rusted pad lock off in under a minute. Mine is corded and with a 50' extension cord and can be used anywhere on the boat.

Ted

Maybe a hydraulic cutter? I have had very good luck with Vevor for various specialty tools.

https://www.vevor.com/hydraulic-hos...wae31PldcInACYUBOQEEAOjdRsPEENmxoC8yYQAvD_BwE

Another is battery power. This Ryobi would be handy especially if you have (as I do) Ryobi batteries and tools. However the max capacity seems to be 3/8 inch. Would like to see some testing at max capacity since I have 3/8" chain.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-O...OFmsw9DNq42FEQ22_RRoCoK4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Rob

I'd abandon the whole chain, use remaining rope and spare anchor for immediate temporary... and then mount the spare rode too, if recovering the primary chain/anchor might take more than a few days.

-Chris

If fouled, in no hurry and intend a diver to retrieve, I’d jettison the whole rode with a float on the end. Not necessarily at the surface but, a few feet above bottom making it easier for the diver to locate.

If a once in a million emergency, cheap bolt cutters big enough to do the job, sprayed with WD40 or protectant of your choice, put in a plastic bag, stow it and likely never need it.

If you like excuses to buy power tools or you’ll actually use them for some purpose, take your pick. But a Dremel or hacksaw can work.

On ocean going sail it’s pretty standard to carry some way to cut away the rig if you lose the mast. Goal is to do it fast before the mast puts a hole in your boat or the resistance of the rig upsets the stability of the boat.
In the past we carried hydraulic cutters. Simple and no electricity. But now there are battery powered angle cutters and sawsalls (with the right blade) that will go through just about anything and are useful for other jobs as well. So we added them.
One thing that surprised me is sometimes you can free your anchor using your dinghy. Often you can’t get the main boat easily aligned opposite to the way the anchor is dug in but you can get the dinghy in that position. Attach a line as deep as you can without tanks. Person at the helm puts slack in the chain. Use the dinghy to pull/release, pull/release. The fouled anchor can then wiggle out. Was taught this trick by a very experienced cruiser when he was stuck (probably under cable) in Newport harbor and got nowhere with up/down.

I suppose it depends on the size of the chain. If you have an emergency situation I would just dump the whole length. Some boaters do not use any chain, just rope. Not a good idea but it might work for a couple times.

My spare anchor has its own chain and rode.

pete

cafesport said:

Had a Fleming next to us last summer who lost their stainless anchor due to a swivel failure.

Click to expand...

But it's oh so shiney and expensive, it must be good

I've chopped our 13mm chain a few times as it gets worn, twisty and rusty.

240v 4 inch grinder with cutoff wheel over the front, slow and steady, takes a few minutes

Datenight said:

Another is battery power. This Ryobi would be handy especially if you have (as I do) Ryobi batteries and tools. However the max capacity seems to be 3/8 inch. Would like to see some testing at max capacity since I have 3/8" chain.

Click to expand...

Portable angle grinder will cut through any chain used on recreational boat.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-O...4-0-Ah-Battery-and-Charger-PCL445K1/320526004

I carried a bolt cutter aboard. Easy-peasy to cut chain and does it quickly.
I never had to use it thankfully.
So, I guess one could say it was simply ballast.

Thanks all for your input. This is what makes this forum invaluable. And to remind, I would prefer to loosen the shackle holding the rode and let it all go, tied to a float, and then hopefully round up a diver to retrieve it. But in my head I am contingency planning for a trip to southeast Alaska where a lot of things might make it damned difficult to find a diver in a timely fashion. And I am most certainly going to need to anchor again before the diver gets there.



Ordered the Ryobi grinder. Good call since I already have Ryobi tools on board.

O C Diver said:

Actually a Dremel tool with their fiber cut off blade would work well. I cut a full size rusted pad lock off in under a minute. Mine is corded and with a 50' extension cord and can be used anywhere on the boat.

Ted

Click to expand...

I have cut 5/16” HT chain several times with a Dremel, not a problem. Might take more than one cutoff wheel though.

Ridgid

Hydraulicjump said:

Thanks all for your input. This is what makes this forum invaluable. And to remind, I would prefer to loosen the shackle holding the rode and let it all go, tied to a float, and then hopefully round up a diver to retrieve it. But in my head I am contingency planning for a trip to southeast Alaska where a lot of things might make it damned difficult to find a diver in a timely fashion. And I am most certainly going to need to anchor again before the diver gets there.



Ordered the Ryobi grinder. Good call since I already have Ryobi tools on board.

Click to expand...

I have a cordless Ridgid reciprocating saw onboard that is designed for single hand use. The blades are fairly flexible so you can even use it in awkward positions like hanging upside down cutting badly positioned bolts on a swim ladder! On one occasion, I noticed I was getting splashed and saw that I was running the saw with the motor in the water. Yanked it out and continued running it for a bit to hopefully dry it out and then finished the job. That was two years ago and it still runs great.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-Thru-Cool-6-Amp-1-Handed-Orbital-Reciprocating-Saw-Kit-R3031/100646504

Tak

@Hydraulicjump
Perhaps you should tie a line to the end of the anchor attached to a float so when it does not come up let loose main rode and pull on the buoy line.

I picked up one of those razor sharp serrated knives that you find on the counter at fishing/outdoors/tool stores; and duct taped it under the lid of my anchor locker. Under $20 and the swiss stainless steel and plastic handle with plastic sheath; still like new four years later. In a real emergency I'd slice the rode in seconds. If I only had all chain, I would still tie it to the locker tie point with rope so I could cut it away if necessary.

My Milwaukee Hackzall battery powered hacksaw + with a good selection of blades comes in handy for fiberglass projects, plywood projects, cutting chain, etc. Small, comes with nice storage bag and charger... get some extra blades for a variety of purposes. You never know what'll come up. The narrow blade for tight turns came in handy for my windlass replacement project. Very versatile tool. Perfect for a boat.

FYI, the steel "sawdust" from cutting a link of chain up forward will stain your gelcoat all the way back to the aft scuppers! How do I know that?

SO, cut chain over the gunwales when you can.

We carried a bolt cutter on Sweetwater on our circumnav, primarily to cut the rig away before it damaged the hull if we lost the mast. Never used it.


At the CCA's Safety at Sea Hands On Training, we teach the use of a 4.5" rechargeable disc grinder for cutting rigging and for other cutting -- particularly things like shower pans when you need to get at a hole in the hull. I have used one to cut and buoy an anchor chain on Fintry.


It may be obvious, but perhaps forgotten in the height of an emergency -- you can't just cut the chain and tie a buoy on as the chain will probably sink most buoys. Make sure there's enough line to reach bottom at high water.


As for ending up with two pieces of chain -- most larger chain comes in shots -- Fintry's are 15 fathoms -- with a joining link between them. Joining links are perfectly satisfactory and if I have 1/3 of my chain out, unretrievable, I'd far rather keep 2/3 of it aboard and have to come back for the rest.


Jim

Hippocampus said:

On ocean going sail it’s pretty standard to carry some way to cut away the rig if you lose the mast. Goal is to do it fast before the mast puts a hole in your boat or the resistance of the rig upsets the stability of the boat.
In the past we carried hydraulic cutters. Simple and no electricity. But now there are battery powered angle cutters and sawsalls (with the right blade) that will go through just about anything and are useful for other jobs as well. So we added them.
One thing that surprised me is sometimes you can free your anchor using your dinghy. Often you can’t get the main boat easily aligned opposite to the way the anchor is dug in but you can get the dinghy in that position. Attach a line as deep as you can without tanks. Person at the helm puts slack in the chain. Use the dinghy to pull/release, pull/release. The fouled anchor can then wiggle out. Was taught this trick by a very experienced cruiser when he was stuck (probably under cable) in Newport harbor and got nowhere with up/down.

Click to expand...

I watched a guy pull that cable (Newport to Fort Adams) all the way to the surface with his CQR. Maybe 30 years ago.

Don't Cut

I think it is prudent to have a plan to ditch the anchor. My plan is to have the bitter end of the anchor chain tied to an eye bolt inside the anchor locker using a floating line. The floating line is longer than the depth of water that I have ever anchored in. In the very unlikely event I need to leave the anchor behind I will pay out all the chain rode and after the chain is on the bottom cut the floating line while standing on the deck.

I coil the polypropylene line neatly in the bottom of the anchor locker and then pile the chain on top.

I have a battery powered DeWalt angle grinder in my toolkit.


Last summer we snagged something with our anchor and when we tried to haul up our anchor, it felt like we were trying to pull up a car! It was so heavy that the only way we could haul up the anchor was to time the haul with the bobbing of the boat. In this way, we could pull up about 6" at a time with each bob of the waves.

To our surprise, it tuns out that we had snagged a very long and heavy piece of shipwreck with our anchor. The anchor was interlocked within the wreckage and once we got it to the surface, there was no way to get the anchor free. There was no way to lift the anchor out from the wreck. This wreckage must have weighed several hundred pounds and extended into the depths, making it impossible to try to get to shallow water.

Fortunately, the angle-grinder was on board and I got to work cutting the wreckage from the anchor. It was kind of awkward leaning off the pulpit to cut it free, but after some perseverance, I got it off.

That experience has taught me a lesson to always keep these tools on hand. If I did not have the angle-grinder, I suppose a hacksaw would have worked, only it would have taken a lot longer with more effort. I dont think a dremel, or bolt cutters would have been any good.

Having read this thread, I am doubly convinced that these power tools are a must when there is a crisis to be dealt with. Especially in bad weather when time is of the essence.

Max1 said:

To our surprise, it tuns out that we had snagged a very long and heavy piece of shipwreck with our anchor. The anchor was interlocked within the wreckage and once we got it to the surface, there was no way to get the anchor free. There was no way to lift the anchor out from the wreck. This wreckage must have weighed several hundred pounds and extended into the depths, making it impossible to try to get to shallow water.

Click to expand...

Not to second guess you, I wasn't there, but another option that typically works for me in that sort of situation and I find easier is slipping a line under the obstruction with a boat hook / dinghy / swimming then lowering the anchor while the obstruction is held by the line. I find it a bit more controlled most of the time.