Achor chain - taking the strain

Piers

Piers

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www.playdeau.com
Advice needed!

When anchoring I take the strain off the chain with a rope bridle from the fwd cleats to a hook to on the chain. But in calm conditions the hook sometime slides off the chain. How do you stop this?

Piers
 
cable tie ? Or for a more environmentally friendly solution drill a transverse hole across the jaws of the stopper, and pop in a drop-nose pin.
 
Email sent of Senhouse slip off HMS Belfast.

http://www.absoluteindustrial.co.uk...slip-hooks-and-links-senhouse-galvanized-p351

The advantage of a Senhouse slip is that by hammering the retaining ring off you can release the anchor under load if required. To be frank to do that on a ship the size of HMS Belfast I would need a big hammer and a change of underpants.

Do you have a pukka chain hook that matched your chain?
 
You don't say which chain hook you are using but we have been using the Osculati hook http://osculati.com/en/cat/Scheda.aspx?id=249 successfully for a few seasons. It is designed to slip off when under no load ie when retrieving the chain and as such you do need to keep tension on the bridle ropes when lowering the chain in order to put the strain on the hook. But once there is a small amount of tension in the bridle ropes, the hook always seems to stay in place and even on calm nights it seems that just the weight of chain between the hook and the seabed is sufficient to keep the hook in place.
 
Bandit said:
Email sent of Senhouse slip off HMS Belfast.

http://www.absoluteindustrial.co.uk...slip-hooks-and-links-senhouse-galvanized-p351

The advantage of a Senhouse slip is that by hammering the retaining ring off you can release the anchor under load if required. To be frank to do that on a ship the size of HMS Belfast I would need a big hammer and a change of underpants.

Do you have a pukka chain hook that matched your chain?
Click to expand...


I think they were called Blake Slips, as part of the anchor restraining chain fastened to a deck clench. The other part of the system was a screw slip. So the Blake was put on to the chain first, then a screw slip (sort of big turnbuckle) was used to make the chain tight on the foredeck so that you didn't have cwts of anchor chain flogging around causing much displeasure from the foredeck CPO.
 
Thanks for all the advice. Far more than I expected.

Give up the strop? No, but mainly becasue I've already made one....and it just needs the hook.

Following your comments, I found a hook by Mantus which cannot come off (http://www.mantusanchors.com/mantus-chain-hook/), but that raises the question of what if trying to recover the anchor in anythign but good conditions and you have to lean over the bow roller and unfasten the hook. Not pleasant and not really full of safety. (OK, jfm, I hear you repeat 'give up the strop!')

So I'll start with the one from Oscaluti (http://osculati.com/en/cat/Scheda.aspx?id=249) provided it will work with our 3/8" chain.

Thanks everyone.
 
Yup, give up the strop. You need to be able to haul in the anchor asap when trouble strikes - eg you're dragging or someone is dragging onto you. Last thing you need at that moment is an extra foredeck task or an extra thing to tangle or go wrong

Last time this happened to me was anchored off Ibiza last summer. I got up at 3am because the wind was >30 knots and rising to 40. Moonless night; busy anchorage; just me awake. I flicked a few switches so engines were ready to start, and intended to sit it out because my anchor was fine. Then 100m upwind a Valdetarro (34m steel cutter) dragged her anchor big time and it seemed that despite her size all her crew were asleep. It's at times like this that you are glad to have just a stopper that lets you wind in the chain, and not a strop that adds a minute or two to proceedings. I realise I'm a broken record however! :D
 
jfm said:
Yup, give up the strop. You need to be able to haul in the anchor asap when trouble strikes - eg you're dragging or someone is dragging onto you. Last thing you need at that moment is an extra foredeck task or an extra thing to tangle or go wrong

Last time this happened to me was anchored off Ibiza last summer. I got up at 3am because the wind was >30 knots and rising to 40. Moonless night; busy anchorage; just me awake. I flicked a few switches so engines were ready to start, and intended to sit it out because my anchor was fine. Then 100m upwind a Valdetarro (34m steel cutter) dragged her anchor big time and it seemed that despite her size all her crew were asleep. It's at times like this that you are glad to have just a stopper that lets you wind in the chain, and not a strop that adds a minute or two to proceedings. I realise I'm a broken record however! :D
Click to expand...

Sounds really sensible. Did you try the Kahlenbergs to wake them?
 
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