Chain too short!

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Resolution

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For many years I have happily worked with 45 metres of chain, spliced onto 40 metres of octoplait.
This year we found that the old splice will no longer run through the windlass, not sure exactly why, but maybe with old age it is less flexible.
Now that we are based in Turkey/ Greece we anyway need more chain, as we will be anchoring in greater depth more frequently.
So the question is, can one add extra length using a connecting link? I have a feeling they are a bit less than reliable.
Or do I have to sell the present chain and buy a whole new one (75 metres?) and put up with the extra weight up front.
Any suggestions?
Any decent suppliers in the Bodrum area?
Peter
 
If you buy a Crosby link be aware that those pins that you have to flatten down are extremely hard metal.

You will need a club hammer, a very good aim and a solid quayside or similar to support the chain on and it will take a lot longer than you are expecting.

I speak from experience!

Richard
 
Make sure any new chain is compatible with the gypsy.

Jonathan

Edit, Vyv has detail on chain sizes, note his warning about ISO and DIN 10mm - but even if its ostensibly the same size I would check before you buy, take your gypsy with you or buy 0.5m and try it.
 
J Neeves said:
Make sure any new chain is compatible with the gypsy.

Jonathan

Edit, Vyv has detail on chain sizes, note his warning about ISO and DIN 10mm - but even if its ostensibly the same size I would check before you buy, take your gypsy with you or buy 0.5m and try it.
Click to expand...

Are there gypsies in Bodrum?
 
RichardS said:
If you buy a Crosby link be aware that those pins that you have to flatten down are extremely hard metal.

You will need a club hammer, a very good aim and a solid quayside or similar to support the chain on and it will take a lot longer than you are expecting.

I speak from experience!

Richard
Click to expand...

Yes, you have hit the nail on the head! Crosby links (there are others as Jonathan will affirm but we don't seem to see them in Uk) are made from an alloy steel, hardened and tempered. The ones in most chandleries are mild steel, same as the chain. A C-link is clearly going to have less strength than a welded chain by nature of its design but the stronger steel can make up the deficit.

When I made up all the ones that were tested I did it by holding the adjacent link in a vice, then using a heavy hammer, probably 3 or 4 lb, with a drift of around 3/4 inch rod to flatten the rivets. It took four or five heavy blows to do it. I am quite accurate with a hammer and chisel, having spent a lot of my youth doing it, so I can hit hard without fear of hitting my hand.
 
If you decide you have to replace the chain (with a longer length) and are worried about the weight in the bow is there any way you can lead some of the chain aft ? Have done this on Storyline with great success - 35m in the top locker for settled weather/shallow areas use, a further 20m in a locker immediately behind the main one and then I enlarged the drain hole and am able to lead more chain aft under our water tank. This is used rarely and is a bit of a faff to get in/out but has been nice to have on a handful of occasions.

Edit: this system needs two people to deploy the chain as one has to be in the fwd cabin to guide the chain and ensure the windlass does not rip the bulkhead off !
 
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RichardS said:
If you buy a Crosby link be aware that those pins that you have to flatten down are extremely hard metal.

You will need a club hammer, a very good aim and a solid quayside or similar to support the chain on and it will take a lot longer than you are expecting.
Click to expand...

Many years since I did one, but I think you need two club hammers - the heavier one used as an anvil.

Rob.
 
Resolution said:
For many years I have happily worked with 45 metres of chain, spliced onto 40 metres of octoplait.
This year we found that the old splice will no longer run through the windlass, not sure exactly why, but maybe with old age it is less flexible.
Now that we are based in Turkey/ Greece we anyway need more chain, as we will be anchoring in greater depth more frequently.
So the question is, can one add extra length using a connecting link? I have a feeling they are a bit less than reliable.
Or do I have to sell the present chain and buy a whole new one (75 metres?) and put up with the extra weight up front.
Any suggestions?
Any decent suppliers in the Bodrum area?
Peter
Click to expand...

Why don't you replace the Octiplait with say 100 Metre length and splice this to the existing chain? 45 metres of chain is plenty long enough to create the catenary/horizontal pull on the anchor and take care of any sea bed abrasion issues. Adding length to the Octiplait will deliver the twin benefit of better shock absorption when its windy and lumpy and keep the weight in the bow lower than an all chain solution.
 
We have very seldom used a mixed rode, one where some is chain and some nylon spliced into the chain.

But I appreciate that it is common - so how big an issue is abrasion on the nylon? It would not be prudent round our coral - but how much of a problem is it on sand (I'm guessing mud is less of an issue in terms of abrasion - just need a good deck wash). And where does the wear occur - at the splice?

Secondly, in this case - deploying 45m of chain, or less, would be quite common, obviously you will need snubbers as well as the nylon spliced into the chain for when rode deployment is less than 45m

Jonathan
 
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