Hurricane
Well-known member
Sorry M - it IS a problem.I anchor a lot but have never had this problem when dropping anchor.
Sometimes had to kick the pile of chain when retrieving but it’s never reached the top of my “problems to be fixed” pile.
With galvanised chain anyway.
Try it with lots of 12mm chain - the difference with the bigger chain is significant but the smaller chain sizes pile up as well.
My worry is the pile building up inside the locker - believe me it DOES build up.
My concern is that it could build right up to the windlass so as to block the outflow of the chain from the windlass.
The motors on these windlasses are so powerful that they will "strip the gears" inside the windlass' gear box.
Don't ask me how I know.
We will probably do as we always do - check the locker every 20m to 30m during recovery and kick the pile if it gets too tall.
BTW - I have never had any problems with the chain "tangling" in the locker.
I'm not sure if the chain boy is the answer but it would be worth trying.
I heard somewhere that a plastic traffic cone placed inside the locker works as well.
Now - I wonder where you can get one of those!!
But this will have the same issue as explained by the OP.
i.e. you need to ensure that the chain drops directly on top of the cone.