Best place to buy calibrated 3/8" anchor chain?

[Shuggy]

Best place to buy calibrated 3/8\" anchor chain?

Has anyone bought calibrated 3/8" chain recently? Any tips as to who's got the best deals?

Thanks.

 

[Channel Ribs]

Re: Best place to buy calibrated 3/8\" anchor chain?

Hi Shuggy,

Which make of windy lass is it for?

 

[Shuggy]

Re: Best place to buy calibrated 3/8\" anchor chain?

Hi Malthouse - a fine question! I'm going to buy an electric Lofrans next year when I can afford it... but at the moment I have an old (non-working thanks to chewed up gypsy [sp?]) manual Simpson Lawrence one.

 

[Poignard]

Re: Best place to buy calibrated 3/8\" anchor chain?

I bought 60 metres of 5/16" calibrated chain from griff Chains Ltd of Dudley, West Midlands earlier this year.
Price was less of a consideration than quality because I only wanted British made chain and Griff are the only ones still making it here [as far as I could find out]. But I was quite happy with the price, quality, service and delivery time.

The carriage charges are high [ £50 in my case] so if you are near enough to collect it you can save a bit.

 

[twisterkai]

Re: Best place to buy calibrated 3/8\" anchor chain?

Assuming you already have a quantity of servicable 3/8" chain I'd be inclined to fit the new windlass first and check it - you may find that it runs fine. We replaced our chain 5-6 years ago and have subsequently fitted a Lofrans electric windlass - thankfully the chain runs over the gypsy without any jumps or snarl-ups. Considering the chain was 'tested' but not 'calibrated' (hence relatively cheap) the savings are obvious.

It was either earlier this year or the tail end of last year that there were a series of threads on the relative merits and definitions of 'calibrated' chain. IIRC, if you buy chain calibrated for your particular gypsy then fine. However, you may be pleasantly surprised when you try your original chain on the new gypsy.

Good luck!

Note: In recent years there have been several reports in the yachting press about some cheap imported (mainly Chinese) chains which should be avoided - a definate case of buyer beware. Apparenty they may not be quite as strong as initially thought! We all like a bargain but perhaps some aren't quite as good as others.

No personal experience, just passing on useful info.

 

[GMac]

Re: Best place to buy calibrated 3/8\" anchor chain?

I'd think 10mm more than 3/8". The world is going metric now and it will be a lot easier to get and replace, if you ever have to.

Try a crowd called Eye Co Ltd in Ipswitch. I don't know them but do know they use very good Italian made chains. The same chains as Lofrans, Maxwell and some others use lots of. Actually made a kilometre or 2 from the Lofrans factory I understand. We use the same chain here and have sold over 500,000 metres without a drama, probably a lot more.

What Twisterkai says about chinese made is very right, it's spooky some of the c**p we've seen. Can't believe Test Certs, soft and stretches with very low loads. It should also cost around 40-50% less than what we see most selling it at.

One thing to keep in mind is your next winch choice. Make sure the chain you buy will fit your next winch. If you are in the 3/8" area go with a 10mm DIN766/A standard chain. All fully tested and calibrated (assuming you go with the Italian stuff or most other non-chinese made) and all winch manufacturers have gypsies to suit it.

 

[Shuggy]

Re: Best place to buy calibrated 3/8\" anchor chain?

Thanks all - some good leads. The problem with my chain is that it's in poor condition and I don't have enough! So I'll buy some 10mm to cheer me up while I save the pennies for a decent windlass.

Shuggy