Anchor chain choise, is stainless worth it?

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matnoo

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Im thinking of getting stainless steel chain for a 23ft (7m) yacht. Is stainless worth the extra money? Would 6mm or 8mm be better? And how long? I will also be using up to 50m of 12mm climbing rope (v strong with lots of flex)

Im not particularly bothered about abrasion resistance as almost always be anchoring in the wash (only sand)

What would you get?

Mat

(man! thats a lot of quesions!!!)
 
Galvanised is the chain of choice and it's MUCH cheaper. Should last several years. For your 7m yacht, 30metres of chain + 30 metres of (preferably) multiplait nylon rope, probably 12 or 14mmØ. Multiplait nylon would be much easier to handle than climbing rope.
 
I would get 30-50m of 8mm galvanised. To decide how much, look at your local charts and get three or four times the depth of the deeper anchorages you'll be using. That's because I prefer all chain, to a mixed chain and rope though.

Personally I'd never use stainless for anchor chain, quite apart from the cost it's not a good material for this purpose being brittle and more liable to crack. In reality, of course, none of us is ever likely to strain or work harden an anchor chain to breaking point, be it 6mm galvanised or 10mm stainless, so it boils down to personal prejudice and the depth of your pocket.
Remember, though, that if you use stainless chain you should really get a stainless anchor(s) as well, or the galvanising will go where they are joined.
 
S/S in a wet anchor locker, with little oxygen getting at most of the chain, will not necessarily reduce corrosion at all.

Stainless NEEDS oxygen to stay stainless, so stick with galvanised.
 
10m of 8mm steel chain with a 50-60m line and a 10kg anchor (Bruce brand gardening tools must be avoided...) is a good compromise (weight/efficiency) for a 23ft.
Stainless steel is not worth the money, IMO.
 
I suspect that unless you keep that weight centered down in the cabin, the lenght you suggest cannot decently be stowed near the bows of a 23ft (unless she is a heavy duty barge...). So I advise less chain and more line (and elasticity).
 
[ QUOTE ]


Im thinking of getting stainless steel chain for a 23ft (7m) yacht. Is stainless worth the extra money? Would 6mm or 8mm be better? And how long? I will also be using up to 50m of 12mm climbing rope (v strong with lots of flex)

Im not particularly bothered about abrasion resistance as almost always be anchoring in the wash (only sand)

What would you get?

Mat

(man! thats a lot of quesions!!!)

[/ QUOTE ]

Why mix stainless with a galvnized anchor ? In SW - this will create a cell and corrode .... surely.

Galv chain + Galv anchor.

My galv chain is near age of the boat ... mid 70's and still in good nick. Anchor (Holdfast) is also in good nick..... and probably similar age.

I admit that the SS chain will probably look nicer ... but expense ? advantage ?
 
I would never use stainless chain with galvanised anchor, only stainless with stainless, no point otherwise.
 
When I tested various chains for a magazine article I found that the stainless one tended to break in a more brittle manner. The UTS was still high, so probably never going to be an issue. The problem with brittle materials is that it can be difficult to predict what the UTS will be, so I would not take the risk, and stick to galvanised.
 
Jimmy Green quotes 7 mm up to 26 ft, then 8 mm above. 6 mm is on the light side. I would prefer to be above the guideline rather than below it, so for preference I suggest you use about 20 metres of 8 mm plus Anchorplait, to save having the weight or all-chain in the locker.
 
You are 23ft so 8mm or bigger is only good if you want to degrade your sailing performance or the boats safety while at sea. 8mm is a waste of time.

Gezz, my 32fter has 15mts of 7mm and a pile of 12mm polyester octiplait behind it. A 10kg Rocna (wife is old school and likes big bits of metal /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif ) or 4.5kg alloy Spade off the end of that. Well proven and never let me down. NB: I do know the products very very well and would recommend 8mm and 14mm to any punters as a better option if cruising on a 32.

Stainless is perfectly fine as an anchoring rode, this is well proven. Sure it has downside but no more than galvanised, again well proven.

Downsides - mostly cost. Don't use if permanently immersed i.e a mooring.

Upsides - cleaner, less rust stains on the deck and stows a hell of a lot better than galvanised.

Rope off it should be a bog standard 12mm Nylon or Polyester. 3 strand is fine but the Octiplait would be a bit better. Using ropes over 12mm again is pointless.

Assuming you don't have chinese chain (which often does rust and has lower break loads) you'll have a rode system will a WLL of around 500kg, a load you will be very very very unlikely to ever see. At break load I'd expect your deck to rip off 1st, cleat fixings willing.

Lengths - 15mts of chain and as much rope as you need to get a 7:1 scope anywhere you will anchor. More is better than less on the rope length, stowage willing.

Anchor a 6kg new generation or 8-10kg older design.

30mts of 8mm??? what were you thinking whomever? it's not a barge /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
With smaller yachts you lose a lot of performance by carrying unneeded rode. You need to ask yourself "What conditions am I expecting this anchoring system to good for?". Maybe for most of the time you just want to anchor for a lunch or fishing stop and in those situations you will be on a permanent anchor watch, probably in sheltered light wind condtions, and can afford to go much lower on anchor and rode size. If you want to anchor overnight or while the vessel is unattended during holidays, then why not store the extra rode at home and take it with you when you are going on holiday, rather than carry it all the time, spoiling your sailing experience for no good purpose.
 
<< You are 23ft so 8mm or bigger is only good if you want to degrade your sailing performance or the boats safety while at sea. 8mm is a waste of time. >>

I think he said it was 25 ft. The difference in weight between 20 metres of 7 mm and 20 metres of 8 mm, which I recommended, is 7.6 kg. Hardly going to weigh the boat down by much, even less affect its safety, in exchange for better anchoring performance and peace of mind.
 
I said 6mm so it's 12kg really. Add to that some oversized anchor, which does seem to be the mindset of this board, and it's all bad unless you are specifically hunting hurricanes.

It's 23 feet (I checked /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif ) and any weight in a boat that size must be of good use or it's a bad thing. Very much one of those 12kg of chain here 5kg of anchor there and the cumulative effect is nasty. Remember he also has to carry most things a 50fter would as well.

Using 6mm on the 23 means it will be proportionally far better anchored than a 32fter on 8mm or a 40 on 10mm.

Use 8mm is that is what it takes to make you sleep well but all I'm saying is that to actually anchor the boat safely 6mm is plenty.
 
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