Bent Anchor last night! Fixable?

Tim Good

Tim Good

Well-Known Member
Joined
26 Feb 2010
Messages
2,888
Location
Bristol
Visit site
Ok so anchors in the Bristol Channel last night in a lee shore. Yes I know. Anyway in true Bristol Channel fashion the wind was strong and unpredicatable. As such I slung a good 60m of chain out. My anchor is really good at holding anyhow.

Anyway there were rollers and I assume as the chain got vertical when we were taking it in then it stanched and bent it! This is a big anchor on a 43ft 18t boat so the loads must have been horrendous.

So is my faithful anchor dead now? Is the strength seriously compromised and can they be bent back professionally?

Photo here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/089arm9fweypusb/Photo%2025-05-2016%2C%2009%2014%2028.jpg?dl=0
 
a good steel fabrication shop ought to be able to bend that back nearly straight. It will need heat treatment and quenching (probably slow to avoid surface hardening)

Try

http://www.pfgfab.co.uk/

if you haven't got someone nearer. They are a clever bunch of agricultural steel people.
 
Being an ex blacksmith I know a bit about bending metal. If you can't do this yourself, then specify this and if possible stand and watch.
Don't try to bend it cold. You'll work harden it and it'll become brittle. If you heat it up until it's cherry red (orange cherry not red cherry) and check with a magnet that it's not magnetic any more ( the chemical structure of the metal has changed) then straighten it, reheat it back to cherry red and allow it to cool very slowly. Do not quench it, do not blow it cold, do not leave it in a draft, do not pass go, do not collect £200! Then it will be as good as new. Protect with zinc rich paint (ie galvafroid) and a good top coat.
Mike
 
northcave said:
Yes that's right. Always been great up to now. Would you think a Rocna or something more modern might be slightly better in terms of performance and/or strength?
Click to expand...

I asked WASI some time ago to send me the spec of the steel used in their production. They said they would but then did not. Looking at your pic suggests the shank is a mild steel, UTS around 350 MPa. Rocna shank UTS is around 750 MPa, Manson and Mantus may be slightly higher at 800 MPa. There is very little chance that you would bend one of them.

A problem with the Bugel is that you never know who made them as the design is freely available.

So far as performance goes the WASI Bugel came out somewhat lower in holding than the Spade/Manson/Rocna in the YM trials of 2006 but still quite respectable. In setting and re-setting they seem to do well. Lots of them in the Med and owners speak well of them.
 
Thanks Vyv. Always very useful replies from yourself.

I always said if get a rochna but this puppy seems to have served me well so never bothered. Force 6 on a Lee shore on the Gower in the Bristol Channel is did a cracking job. Other than bending that is.

Until I get a fix or a new one, do you think it will set like that? Only one way to tell I suppose.
 
northcave said:
Until I get a fix or a new one, do you think it will set like that? Only one way to tell I suppose.
Click to expand...

Highly unlikely. During the almost endless discussion over the Rocna scandal it emerged that they selected perfect anchors for testing by magazines and organisations after finding that a few degrees of construction misalignment between shank and fluke severely compromised setting and holding. A bend of 45 degrees exceeds any likely manufacturing error by some margin!
 
vyv_cox said:
Highly unlikely. During the almost endless discussion over the Rocna scandal it emerged that they selected perfect anchors for testing by magazines and organisations after finding that a few degrees of construction misalignment between shank and fluke severely compromised setting and holding. A bend of 45 degrees exceeds any likely manufacturing error by some margin!
Click to expand...

Ok confirmed. We're trying to anchor off Ramsey Sound and it won't hold at all. No surprise there.

I have a big aluminium Fortress as a kedge. Has anyone used one as a primary anchor? Would it be advisable on an 18t boat you think or are they primary designed as a kedge or a secondary?
 
FX23 or 37 ?

No problem as main anchor, but best in sand/mud/gravel, less so in cobbles (2.5 to 10 inches) or boulders (>10 inches).
 
FX23... Ok thanks. It's in now and holding. I think it's cobbles. Motored astern with all 80 horses and seemed to hold. Should be ok overnight. Now need to decided on a replaced main anchor. May well ordered ahead to collect a rocna 33 from somewhere near the Anglesey.

The Bugel I just took off.... Holy crap it's heavy!!!
 
northcave said:
FX23... Ok thanks. It's in now and holding. I think it's cobbles. Motored astern with all 80 horses and seemed to hold. Should be ok overnight. Now need to decided on a replaced main anchor. May well ordered ahead to collect a rocna 33 from somewhere near the Anglesey.

The Bugel I just took off.... Holy crap it's heavy!!!
Click to expand...
I'm very pleased with my Manson Supreme, comes out very well in tests, cheaper than a Rocna and sets MUCH better than the CQR look alike which I inherited with my boat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top