Joining chain...... or not

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dhippey

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Hi Chaps,

I'm wanting to put more chain into my anchor rode and was wondering what you guys think.

Options seem to be either adding an additional length onto my current amount with one of those 'joining link' things or scrapping the current amount and buying a complete new length. Sadly this year I'm on a very limited budget while I am 'between jobs' as it were so things are very price sensitive.

I currently have 20m but would feel happier with 40m aboard.

The questions are:
Is the joining link the best thing to use?
Is there a better way of joining chain? (I don't have a gypsy for the chain to fit around)
Or is a joined length going to compromise my safety too much?

What does the panel think?
 
Decent quality joining links can be obtained, though not as easily as you might think, as there are plenty of poorer ones on the market. There have been threads on this before, and hopefully someone here can point you to a supplier of properly made and tested links.

Just a thought, as you don't have a gypsy it might be possible to use a bigger link, for example by putting a 10mm link into 8mm chain.
 
Hi, the joining link is realy your only option unless you purchase a complete new chain. The other method is to weld it on-NOT recomended ! There was a very good report on this very subject in one of the popular yachting magazines. It might be worth looking at that it was either March or April. I do not have the magazines at hand to say which it was.

Good luck

Peter
 
dhippey said:
Hi Chaps,

I'm wanting to put more chain into my anchor rode and was wondering what you guys think.

Options seem to be either adding an additional length onto my current amount with one of those 'joining link' things or scrapping the current amount and buying a complete new length. Sadly this year I'm on a very limited budget while I am 'between jobs' as it were so things are very price sensitive.

I currently have 20m but would feel happier with 40m aboard.

The questions are:
Is the joining link the best thing to use?
Is there a better way of joining chain? (I don't have a gypsy for the chain to fit around)
Or is a joined length going to compromise my safety too much?

What does the panel think?
Click to expand...

why not splice a length of anchorplait to the existing chain
 
Robih said:
......of this parish is a rich seam of information on the subject. Refer particularly to his website and specifically this page: http://coxengineering.sharepoint.com/Pages/Anchoring.aspx

See the " C link" section on this page

Rob
Click to expand...

Skipper Stu supplies Crosby links from time to time. They are not always a perfect fit, sometimes requiring minor grinding of the inner surface for a good clearance fit. However, they are the only ones available in UK as far as I know that are strong enough. An alternative is the ones West Marine supply but unfortunately shipping makes them uneconomic unless buying in bulk.
 
rivonia said:
Hi, the joining link is realy your only option unless you purchase a complete new chain. The other method is to weld it on-NOT recomended ! <Snip>
Click to expand...
I beg to differ. A properly made weld will be stronger than the base material. I would suggest using GTAW, Straight polarity, Argon Shield, 2% Thoriated Tungsten and ER90S-B3 filler wire, maintain small beads, max interpass 150 deg C, Min 2 pass per side (double bevel prep), temper final pass.

Not a job for your "local man in the shed down the road" or someone in the yard with a welding machine who fancies himself as a welder because he can stick two bits of metal together.
 
cliff said:
maintain small beads, max interpass 150 deg C, Min 2 pass per side (double bevel prep), temper final pass.
Click to expand...

But is it possible to do all that on a 6 or 8 mm link? I wouldn't call myself a welder, but that seems like a hell of a fiddly job.

On a mooring ground chain or something it seems more plausible.

Pete
 
vyv_cox said:
Skipper Stu supplies Crosby links from time to time. They are not always a perfect fit, sometimes requiring minor grinding of the inner surface for a good clearance fit. However, they are the only ones available in UK as far as I know that are strong enough. An alternative is the ones West Marine supply but unfortunately shipping makes them uneconomic unless buying in bulk.
Click to expand...

If you do go the C-link route, just beware, there are 2 types: forged steel and cheap Chinese cast jobs. You can easily tell as the cheap jobs can be bashed (technical term) together in a couple of strokes of a hammer. The real jobs require a lot of bashing.

I bought some from west marine, but unknown to them the supplier had substituted cheap Chinese jobs for the forged steel jobs advertised. Luckily I had read Vyv's article and smelt a rat when bashing them together was rather to easy.
 
Joining anchor chain

This is what you need
These are genuine Crosby joining links - 8mm and 10mm (equivalent sizes) shown in the photo.
I have these in stock, but they are not cheap!

As you do not have a gypsy problem, an alternative would be to use a screw pin chain shackle of equivalent size/strength to the chain, although it is not always possible to insert the 'eye' of the shackle through a chain link - if this is the case you can use two shackles back to back. Shackle pins should be wired with good quality seizing wire such as monel.

Michael.
 
Last edited:
emandvee44 said:
This is what you need
These are genuine Crosby joining links - 8mm and 10mm (equivalent sizes) shown in the photo.
I have these in stock, but they are not cheap!
.
Click to expand...

What do you call not cheap? In USA not long ago an 8 mm Crosby was $5. So in UK this probably translates to £5, which was about what I paid when I carried out the destructive tests reported in 1986. Soon after that Selby Lifting, the only supplier I could find, increased their price to nearly £30 when they began to receive orders from yachtsmen. Then they instituted a minimum order of £100.

Skipper Stu obtains his from another source, buys twenty or so at a time and sells them at minimum profit, I think about £12 including delivery. That seems reasonable to me.
 
emandvee44 said:
This is what you need
.......As you do not have a gypsy problem, an alternative would be to use a screw pin chain shackle of equivalent size/strength to the chain, although it is not always possible to insert the 'eye' of the shackle through a chain link - if this is the case you can use two shackles back to back. Shackle pins should be wired with good quality seizing wire such as monel.

Michael.
Click to expand...
which is what I have done. You need to use tested shackles and you will need two. Use the largest shackles that will still allow the pin to go through the chain link. Make sure the end of the seizing wire is tucked well out of the way or it will hurt and you will get red stains on the deck.

Still not a cheap solution as you will still need 20 m of chain (plus shackles) as opposed to 40 m of chain, so you still have over half the cost of buying a single 40 m length. In my case I rarely put out much more than 20 m but that's 'cos I have a shallow draft boat that takes ground, and I tend to anchor in shallow places (eg Poole) with a small tidal range.

Do you have chain on the kedge anchor, or do you need a handy 20 m of chain for it? ...
 
dhippey said:
Hi Chaps,

I'm wanting to put more chain into my anchor rode and was wondering what you guys think.

Options seem to be either adding an additional length onto my current amount with one of those 'joining link' things or scrapping the current amount and buying a complete new length. Sadly this year I'm on a very limited budget while I am 'between jobs' as it were so things are very price sensitive.

I currently have 20m but would feel happier with 40m aboard.

The questions are:
Is the joining link the best thing to use?
Is there a better way of joining chain? (I don't have a gypsy for the chain to fit around)
Or is a joined length going to compromise my safety too much?

What does the panel think?
Click to expand...
Plain galvanised joining link then metal glue(weld)it
 
I wanted to add more chain as well. Tried the back to back shackles first but the ruddy things wouldn't go down the chain pipe. So got a decent C link from a forumite and fitted that - yep, the pins needed some bashing.
 
Joining Links

In reply to Vyv.
When others were looking for these links, and Stu was sourcing them, I placed an order with our local Crosby agent and they were duly received. I have not offered them for sale until now, as I felt they were a bit expensive (about the same as Stu's)
Today I have had two enquiries and have offered them at my cost (£12)plus postage for a 10mm link.

Michael.
 
I am really puzzled by this discussion. OP does not have an issue with a windlass.

I have always simply used two back-to-back shackles, one size larger than the chain. They are not special 'tested' shackles, but being one size larger should be at least as strong as the (ordinary 8mm) chain.

Are we really suggesting that everyday shackles are now so poor that this is unsafe? (I know the 'galvanising' is now a joke, but that is a different issue).
 
dhippey said:
What does the panel think?
Click to expand...

If you dont use a windlass then I see no problems injh using a decent load tested shackle or joining link. If you do use a windless then the tested joining links I tried for 8mm chain dont fit properly ( they are too fat) and prevent proper articulation of the chain.

Without doubt the best answer is a new 40m length of chain.
 
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