Anchors , Chain and Warp

Thanks for the feedback , Blackbeard , yes the chain/anchor locker is quite small.
I am going to try chain first (20m) without changing the anchor first.
The chain I have at present is , I think 0.25 diameter , with a 0.75 inch internal link size.
You may be right abou the CQR copy , it has several labels on it , too degraded to tell the make , but is of fabricated construction , ie no cast or forged sub components.
 
Anchor Dragging

Had similar problems in lots of places including the Dandy hole using a 25lb CQR in tide reversal situations. The CQR drags some distance before hopefully digging in again after the boat has swung to the new tide. I swapped to a 15Kilo gen Bruce 10 years ago and not had a problem since apart from it sometimes digs in so well it is an absolute pig to raise without a windlass.
 
Calibrated chain is more accurately sized, so that it will fit the gypsy on your windlass. If you don't have a windlass there's no need to bother with paying extra for calibrated chain.
 
parsifal said:
Griff Chains Ltd, Dudley, West Midlands still manufacture chain. Also they will fit enlarged end links, so enabling a decent sized anchor shackle to be used.

http://www.griffchains.co.uk/chain.html
Click to expand...

The wording in the site seems designed to hide the truth! Do they make chain in all sizes on site? I can see that they make chain up into a range of applications, adding loops, etc., but most other UK chain makers have farmed out smaller sizes to China.
 
One way to find out.

vyv_cox said:
The wording in the site seems designed to hide the truth! Do they make chain in all sizes on site? I can see that they make chain up into a range of applications, adding loops, etc., but most other UK chain makers have farmed out smaller sizes to China.
Click to expand...

I have sent an email to Griff Chains Ltd that reads:

'Are you still manufacturing 8mm calibrated galvanised chain in the UK or do you now import it? If it is imported, where does it come from?'
 
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parsifal said:
I have sent an email to Griff that reads:

'Are you still manufacturing 8mm calibrated galvanised chain in the UK or do you now import it? If it is imported, where does it come from?'
Click to expand...

And the answer from Griff Chains Ltd is:

'We still manufacture our own 8mm dia chain'
 
Sorry for another really basic question but on a boat with a small anchor locker (Hunter Medina) is there an easy way to work out the potential capacity of anchor/chain/rode? Obviously the size of the anchor itself is fairly obvious but I have absolutely no idea whether I could fit 20m of 8mm chain and 40m of rope in the locker? :confused:
I need to buy chain but I'd rather buy it all in one hit to save on duplicate shipping costs.
 
That looks like it ought to be really impressive but what does it mean by 'the size of the anchor chain - in decimal form'? If 8mm chain is just '8' in decimal form, I need an anchor locker of 544 cubic feet or 15,000 litres! I'm obviously doing something wrong! :eek:
 
being a stateside site, perhaps they mean in decimal inches.

8mm = 0.31inches


So 0.8 ft cu. That can't be right.

Hang on.


EDIT My Nicholson's Boat Data book gives the following for 66ft of chain of 8mm link size. 0.35 cu ft.

Mysteriouser and mysteriouser !

The two figures may be for a solid mass of chain, without any allowance for piling up. Nicholson says "Ample reserve space should always be allowed."
 
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update. I have just measured a container in which I have 60 metres of 10mm chain. It is 1.4 cu ft. That is flattened out with no 'working' space.


So 60ft of 8mm chain should fit in less than a cu ft with room to spare.
 
Highndry said:
Sorry for another really basic question but on a boat with a small anchor locker (Hunter Medina) is there an easy way to work out the potential capacity of anchor/chain/rode? Obviously the size of the anchor itself is fairly obvious but I have absolutely no idea whether I could fit 20m of 8mm chain and 40m of rope in the locker? :confused:
Click to expand...

8 plait rope takes up less space than 3 strand because it flakes down more compactly in the locker, it is also much less prone to tangling. You can buy it in 10 mm diameter which would be ample for a Hunter Medina. Weight is as much a problem as bulk in a small light boat, the locker design puts the weight right in the extreme bows. 7 mm chain would be ample and no more than 10 metres. My personal opinion is that, in a situation where your choice of ground tackle is severely weight-constrained, you are better just having a boat's length of chain and using any spare pounds on a heavier anchor. The Kobra 1 anchor has a folding mechanism which may help further with space.
 
Update

Ok , I've bought 20m of 8mm chain and attached this to the anchor.
Then I have the original 6m of quarter inch chain and a short length of the original warp to secure the lot to the locker lid.
It all goes in provided you leave a hole for the fluke width of the anchor.

This will have increased the weight in the bow by about 26kg which has trimmed the bow down a bit.

Remains to be seen how this performs in practice.

Looked at anchors but my limitation in the locker is height. I can not fit the right sized Kobra by 10mm and most of the others are similarly too wide , unless I go to a Fortress etc. which could perhaps lie flat.

Hope fully the weight should not be too much of an issues sailing. The boat sails better with the water tank full. If the bow is too light it tends to get pushed off by wave action a little easier.
 
Highndry said:
Sorry for another really basic question but on a boat with a small anchor locker (Hunter Medina) is there an easy way to work out the potential capacity of anchor/chain/rode? Obviously the size of the anchor itself is fairly obvious but I have absolutely no idea whether I could fit 20m of 8mm chain and 40m of rope in the locker? :confused:
I need to buy chain but I'd rather buy it all in one hit to save on duplicate shipping costs.
Click to expand...

Agree, buy all the chain in one hit, otherwise you will have the problem of joining links.

Hunter Medina is quite a small boat and 8 mm chain is a bit larger than needed, suggest 6 mm would be plenty. Also the weight of 8 mm in a small boat would make it bows heavy, will be nearly twice as much as the same length of 6 mm. As for length; depends where you wish to anchor and on whether you would normally expect to take ground. 20 m chain is possibly about right even though you might get away with less. You could have less than 40 m warp especially if you have a cunning plan to add a mooring warp or two if needed, after all 20 m chain + 40 m warp suggests depth (to stem head) around 15 m at HW which is unlikely for such a small boat.

Biggest problem is likely to be the anchor; you can get basic dimensions from maker's or chandler's web site, or just go to chandlery with a tape measure, but it's best to borrow a likely-looking anchor (maybe a chandler would be helpful?) and try it for fit (also would it go through the pulpit?).

Similarly you might see what 20 m of chain looks like in a heap on the chandlery floor? a bit simplistic but you would get a feel for what's possible
 
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