Anchor swivels - needed or not?

[julians]

So, I've just had a fairly expensive stainless steel anchor drop into the sea (never to be seen again) because the swivel that attached it to the chain failed. From reading various internet sites, this would appear to be a common'ish occurance, with a lot of people claiming they're not actually needed and that they add a needless point of failure.

So - for a boat equipped with a windlass and purely chain (ie no rope), do I need a swivel? or will a simple shackle be fine? I dont want to keep having to go up on the bow and reset the anchor every time I raise it.

If I do need a swivel are there any that inherently are bad and should be avoided, or any that are good and fail "safe"?

 

[longjohnsilver]

I'm a shackle man, I prefer to be able to see if there are any problems brewing, you can't see inside a swivel.

 

[julians]

, I prefer to be able to see if there are any problems brewing, you can't see inside a swivel.

Yep, and it was the bit inside the swivel that failed on me this weekend.

How often do you have to go and 'reset' your anchor on the bow roller though?

 

[vas]

can't you use these bendy rods that help relocate the anchor properly (no idea what's the right name for them)?

shackle here as well

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

can't you use these bendy rods that help relocate the anchor properly (no idea what's the right name for them)?

shackle here as well

I don't know the proper name for them either, but in my mind they are the 'osculati banana', because they are made by osculati, and they are shaped like, yes you guessed it, a banana!

I've got a swivel, because my delta anchor invariably comes up the wrong way and so I have to hang over the bow and swivel it round to get it to stow properly. Funnily enough I was just looking at the swivel yesterday when I was doing this thinking 'that's a bit knackered, I should get a new one'. And maybe now I will.

Incidentally, I would have an osculati banana, except that there's not enough space in my bow roller arrangement to accommodate one.

 

[Nick_H]

It's called a Twist, and I reccommend one if the anchor regularly comes up the wrong way round, and you have enough space between bow roller and windlass.

http://www.osculati.com/en/cat/Scheda.aspx?id=245

The swivel bit of the twist looks more robust than most standard anchor swivels.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

It's called a Twist, and I reccommend one if the anchor regularly comes up the wrong way round, and you have enough space between bow roller and windlass.

I had the same Twist device for about 7 years and I never saw any sign of deterioration. It worked very well although you have to be a bit careful how you pull the anchor into the bow roller as it will whip round if it is facing the wrong way. Before that I had a Kong swivel which did show signs of deterioration when the cheeks started to splay out. I don't think that a good swivel is any more risky than a good shackle in terms of failing. They're both just bits of steel which eventually will fail due to stress and you need to check them regularly

 

[pan]

+1 for osculati banana…. never had a problem with them!

 

[julians]

They're both just bits of steel which eventually will fail due to stress and you need to check them regularly

Mine failed in the swivel mechanism itself, so no way of checking, ie it looked perfect, until it failed suddenly.

Just like the one in this picture (but with no rust )

 

[pan]

Think I would be a bit concerned if I saw that amount of corrosion on the external parts, what sort of corrosion did you find on your internals when it failed or was there none & it just sheared?

 

[Hurricane]

Yep - the banana shaped one is called "The Twist"

Have a look at this thread
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?225549

Posts number 15 and 26 have some photos of the device
Post 26 has a video clip showing how it works

It is one of the best things that we have bought for the boat
The anchor comes up the correct way round every time

 

[MapisM]

I dont want to keep having to go up on the bow and reset the anchor every time I raise it.

You aswered your own question, sort of.
If you don't want to go to the bow when you raise the hook, I don't think you really have a choice, other than the Osculati twist.
Fwiw, I never used one, never felt the need for it, and I'm quite happy with my shackle(s).
But I ALWAYS go to the bow to pull the anchor, and I'd do that even if I had some sort of self/adjusting mechanism.
Each to their own on that!

 

[jfm]

Julians, how old was the swivel that failed?

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Julians, how old was the swivel that failed?

and what sort of swivel was it? It doesn't look like a Twist or a Kong although I may be wrong

 

[julians]

The picture on the previous page is not my swivel, but mine failed in exactly the same way, but without any telltale rust on the outside.

Im not sure what make swivel it was,but the boat is a windy so I presume its whatever make windy normally use on their boats, and hence im presuming it wasnt a cheap one.

The boat is 7 years old, and im presuming its the same swivel thats been on from new, but im not the original owner so cant be sure, but I would guess that it is also 7 years old.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I doubt whether any boat manufacturer would fit an anchor swivel from new so it's likely to be a retrofit by a previous owner

 

[julians]

No, I think windy do fit them from new, that or berthon do it.

I think this because we also have a windy 37 owned from new (same year as the boat with the failed swivel) and this has a swivel fitted from day 1, from my recollection its the same type as the one that failed on this boat ,I just cant go and look what type it is because the 37 is 1500 miles away.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

OK. Its difficult to say whether the swivel has failed prematurely or not as I guess it's wear life depends on the amount of anchoring the boat has done and whether it's been abused. For sure the component connecting the anchor to the chain is the weakest link in the system, whether it be a swivel or a shackle. I suppose the lesson is to check these components often and replace them regularly and this thread serves as a reminder to all of us

 

[julians]

OK. Its difficult to say whether the swivel has failed prematurely or not as I guess it's wear life depends on the amount of anchoring the boat has done and whether it's been abused. For sure the component connecting the anchor to the chain is the weakest link in the system, whether it be a swivel or a shackle. I suppose the lesson is to check these components often and replace them regularly and this thread serves as a reminder to all of us

Definitely, I think well be replacing the swivel on the other windy asap.

To reduce the impact of this type of failure in future I was thinking aboug using a small length of rope rrom the anchor to the first link in the chain, ie bypassing the swivel. So that if the swivel fails the rope might stand a chance of taking the strain and allowing the anchor to be recovered, but not sure if this small length of rope would interfere with the operation of the windlass/bow roller.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

To reduce the impact of this type of failure in future I was thinking aboug using a small length of rope rrom the anchor to the first link in the chain, ie bypassing the swivel. So that if the swivel fails the rope might stand a chance of taking the strain and allowing the anchor to be recovered, but not sure if this small length of rope would interfere with the operation of the windlass/bow roller.

Not a bad idea. Yes that would work with a shackle but maybe not so well with a swivel as the rotation of the anchor could just wind the rope tight if the anchor swivelled in the same direction every time you raised it. I suppose you could try to ensure that the swivel worked in opposite directions every time. I might be tempted to use a length of steel cable rather than rope