Anchor chain piles up and then snags

[gunnarsilins]

I have this problem with my chain piling up in a neat pyramide which of course later collapses and falls over itself in the chain locker.
Resulting in tangles and troubles.
The chain locker is entirely bare inside, just the topsides forming a deep "V" and a bulkhead at the aft end.

I an earlier posting there was a suggestion of a "traffic cone" for preventing this, sounds a bit complicated to me.
And will the chain really spread evenly around the cone, I doubt it....Would not the chain simply pile up on one side of the cone?
Would not a cylindrical, high and narrow barrel instead solve this problem.
Anybody having any views on this?

 

[david_bagshaw]

The only method we have found that works is.......


to knock the pile over every 30 Mtrs recovered.

(a good job for one of the younger crew members.



David ps Take a look at my site www.yachtman.co.uk

 

[Guest]

Having tried various ploys to prevent this happening - traffic cone, fore&aft partition, sloping bottom to locker- in the end I employ one daughter to push/pull the chain over so it doesn't pile up. This works very well - we recover chain using electric windlass and it is natural to stop every so often to allow the chain to go slack and that is an ideal time to level it off. Communication via hawse pipe is fine and it gives them a job to do.
In the absence of a really deep low chain locker this is definitely the best option. When single handed I just stop weighing every 10m and go below to push it over and do the last 10-15 m when underway. Good luck.

 

[Guest]

Have you seen the cost of daughters lately?? NM

)

 

[pugwash]

The one thing that costs more than a boat NM

Try three of them!

 

[gunnarsilins]

No problem, I´ve.....

...got TWO daughters! And a wife. But I doubt her bum will pass through the hatch... (I hope she doesn´t read this...)

But I still wonder if a high and narrow barrel/bucket wouldn´t do the job.
Anybody ever tried?

 

[Guest]

partitions

I've got a deep chain locker in the front of my 65 year old motorsailor which is horizontally partitioned inside with a couple of inch planks with a central 2 1/2 in hole. When one part fills up the chain starts to form up again on the next partition and always runs out reasonably smoothly