Locking flush pin shackles

[JimC]

I want to extend the chain component of my anchor rode. I'll be doing it at the boat so there'll be nothing against which to hammer a Crosby C-link, if I had one. I propose to use a shackle or a pair of back to back shackles. The chain is 8mm, the shackle(s) would be 10mm flush-pin to avoid catching on the stemhead fitting. The question arises how to lock the shackle pins. Would red loctite be OK in such a safety-critical application?

 

[RichardS]

I have used two different types of swivel and neither had any form of locking mechanism on the pins not did I use any goo. The pins were all Allen-headed and I just did them up tightly. I've never had any problem but I can't see any reason why to not use Loctite.

Richard

 

[prv]

I used loctite on my flush head anchor shackle. When I needed to remove it temporarily after six or seven years, it was reassuringly tight to undo, but not unreasonably difficult. I reassembled it the same way.

An observation on the C-link, though - if you have an anchor chain then you presumably have an anchor. Most types make reasonable expedient anvils ?

Pete

 

[Neeves]

Where are you going to source flush pin shackles?

You must have a wharf, pier that you can use. Simply buy the Crosby 'C' link go armed with a big lump hammer and nice heavy duty board and a bit of steel plate and hammer the 'C; link on the nearest wharf/pier. 'C' links, and the rivets, are very hard - don't think of competing this on the deck. You can source the Crosby 'C' links mail order from a variety of sources in the UK, I think Vyv will have sources on his website, I get mine from Tecni in the UK.

Or discharge the rode into a series of large paint pails and do it on a beach.

I would not use the anchor as an anvil - you will damage the galvanising, unnecessarily.

Use red loctite and check. It sets under water and is immensely strong and will need heat to release. I have never tested it for longevity of its strength.

If you use a windlass - the shackles will not pass through the gypsy. If you retrieve by hand then normal gall shackles can be lifted over the stem head (unless you have oversized your anchor to the extreme ).

I think you will need 2 shackles as you will need to use the clevis pin of each shackle in the chain as the eye of the shackle will be too big for the link.

And if you do not have a spare rode - consider simply buying a new rode and use the old rode as your spare (with textile to extend).

Jonathan

 

[JimC]

These seem to have strength comparable to galvanised chain.

 

[VicS]

I want to extend the chain component of my anchor rode. I'll be doing it at the boat so there'll be nothing against which to hammer a Crosby C-link, if I had one. I propose to use a shackle or a pair of back to back shackles. The chain is 8mm, the shackle(s) would be 10mm flush-pin to avoid catching on the stemhead fitting. The question arises how to lock the shackle pins. Would red loctite be OK in such a safety-critical application?

Use Locktite.
Blue if you want to be able to undo it with hand tools.
Red if you are prepared to heat it to undo it again

With a punch ( and a suitable anvil) you may be able to stake the ( threaded) end of the shackle pin.

You could fit a Crosby link if you use the anchor, or better a sledge hammer, as an anvil and something to protect the deck. Or work alongside a quay or pontoon

 

[JimC]

You could fit a Crosby link if you use the anchor, or better a sledge hammer, as an anvil and something to protect the deck. Or work alongside a quay or pontoon

Do you have to use a ball peen hammer, as commonly used for riveting?

 

[PTB]

These seem to have strength comparable to galvanised chain.

Maillon rapides in 316 are really useful on board. They are stronger than the chain, and dont work loose as the bearing surfaces are not being 'worked' like a shackle. 8mm break load is over 5 tonnes. If you dont mind handling them around the windlass gypsy they are quick and easy chain connectors .. also for attaching extra rope rode or an extra chain rode that can be stowed elsewhere. They dont snag on the bow roller. Jimmy Green sell them for this use . You may need to very gently file the thread edge on the 8mm to pass through an 8mm chain link. (the smaller ones are great for attaching jackstays and the like).

 

[fisherman]

Have you tried to undo a bolt that has Sikaflex on the threads?
Or, just cripple a couple of threads with a hammer and screwdriver or small cold chisel before tightening.

 

[vyv_cox]

I have used Loctite blue, 242, for many years on anchor shackles and Kong swivel Swivel problems and solutions
At the time I was thinking of doing so there was a thought that the thread sealer might soften underwater, so before using it I tested its strength after immersion. I could detect no degradation and each year when I disassemble the rode for winter all bolts are reassuringly tight.

 

[Plum]

Maillon rapides in 316 are really useful on board. They are stronger than the chain, and dont work loose as the bearing surfaces are not being 'worked' like a shackle. 8mm break load is over 5 tonnes. If you dont mind handling them around the windlass gypsy they are quick and easy chain connectors .. also for attaching extra rope rode or an extra chain rode that can be stowed elsewhere. They dont snag on the bow roller. Jimmy Green sell them for this use . You may need to very gently file the thread edge on the 8mm to pass through an 8mm chain link. (the smaller ones are great for attaching jackstays and the like).

+1 unless you have an anchor winch.

 

[Neeves]

These seem to have strength comparable to galvanised chain.

They may have the strength but they have low yield and will bend and deform long before an alloy galvanised shackle.

They will not pass through a windlass gypsy and this the implies you are retreriving by hand - I would use galvanised alloy shackles.

Maillon rapides in 316 are really useful on board. They are stronger than the chain, and dont work loose as the bearing surfaces are not being 'worked' like a shackle. 8mm break load is over 5 tonnes. If you dont mind handling them around the windlass gypsy they are quick and easy chain connectors .. also for attaching extra rope rode or an extra chain rode that can be stowed elsewhere. They dont snag on the bow roller. Jimmy Green sell them for this use . You may need to very gently file the thread edge on the 8mm to pass through an 8mm chain link. (the smaller ones are great for attaching jackstays and the like).

The specification for G30 8mm chain is UTS of 3t and for G40, UTS of 4t. Most common off the shelf galvanised rated shackles will have UTS of 5t - 6t. If you are retrieving by hand then having the shackles passing through the jaws of the bow roller is really not an issue. Jimmy Green have some recessed pin galvanised shackles, from France.


I would find a way to attach a Crosby 'C' link

Jonathan

 

[Arcady]

Where are you going to source flush pin shackles?

I know this thread is a more than a year old, but the question Neeves posted is relevant for me now. I've just invested in 100m of G70 chain and a decent size Spade anchor. I need a flush pin shackle to come through the roller comfortably. It seems ridiculous to trust a grand's worth of gear to a cheap eBay shackle for £1.50. I have an aversion to swivels, having nearly lost a boat to a defective one. Having tried Mr Google I can find no supplier of load-rated, flush pin shackles. Does such a thing exist? If so, please will someone point me in the right direction!

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Maillon rapides in 316 are really useful on board. They are stronger than the chain, and dont work loose as the bearing surfaces are not being 'worked' like a shackle. 8mm break load is over 5 tonnes. If you dont mind handling them around the windlass gypsy they are quick and easy chain connectors .. also for attaching extra rope rode or an extra chain rode that can be stowed elsewhere. They dont snag on the bow roller. Jimmy Green sell them for this use . You may need to very gently file the thread edge on the 8mm to pass through an 8mm chain link. (the smaller ones are great for attaching jackstays and the like).

I never thought those would be trustworthy enough for use on something like an anchor, where you can't check the security of the locking part. Is it possible to tighten them enough that they won't work loose at the wrong time? 6

 

[Martin_J]

After following previous advice on this forum about tested shackles, I bought a handful of Crosby G-209-A shackles from Tecni in the UK and did the same as this poster from the cruiserforum did...



Just go careful because it needed a small drill bit.

 

[doug748]

Good post Martin. I have left the ear on mine and curse it every time it has to be coaxed past the bow roller.

 

[Arcady]

I never thought those would be trustworthy enough for use on something like an anchor, where you can't check the security of the locking part. Is it possible to tighten them enough that they won't work loose at the wrong time? 6

Loctite is the answer!

 

[thinwater]

Maillon rapides in 316 are really useful on board. They are stronger than the chain, and dont work loose as the bearing surfaces are not being 'worked' like a shackle. 8mm break load is over 5 tonnes. If you dont mind handling them around the windlass gypsy they are quick and easy chain connectors .. also for attaching extra rope rode or an extra chain rode that can be stowed elsewhere. They dont snag on the bow roller. Jimmy Green sell them for this use . You may need to very gently file the thread edge on the 8mm to pass through an 8mm chain link. (the smaller ones are great for attaching jackstays and the like).

a 3/8" malilon rapide has WLL of 2100 pounds (less once filed). Grade 30 chain has a WLL of 2650 pounds. Grade 40 has a WLL of 5400 pounds. So close to grade 30 chain. I've never seen one that was lifting rated.

 

[Neeves]

This has been an ongoing problem, because many bow rollers are so narrow a good Crosby shackles fouls the roller and because the only shackles that offer comfort when you use G70 chain will be Crosby, Peerless or Campbell shackles (all of which have the protruding handle on the pin). There 3 manufacturers make a shackles described as Grade B, you need to read the small print, and also sometimes described as a G80 shackle. They all meet the same specification as the Crosby G209a shackle. Peerless make a bigger range and includes smaller sizes - but I have only seen them for sale in the US. So if you have contacts in America - now is the time to lean on them. Campbell's are sometimes called Orange Pin shackles, Peerless Blue pin shackles and Crosby Platinum pin. You can also source them from Yoke in Taiwan (who might have a UK distributor, they have one in California) and there are 2 Chinese shackles makers I have found. Crosby shackles are easily available in the UK.

I understood Jimmy Green were selling a gal shackle with no protuberance on the pin made by a French supplier (whose name I forgot) but who are owned by one of Europe's major lifting companies. Chaineries Limoger - or something similar.

If you cut the lug off the shackle pin remember you will at some time need to remove the shackle - so either leave enough to get a mole wrench on the end or slot the pin for a big flat screw driver (which is what I have done). You can cut them off, big bolt cropper, angle grinder - but this is best done on land - not on your deck. Loctite is a good method of securement as drilling very fine holes in a high tensile steel pin is not easy (have plenty of drill bits). If you use red Loctite you will need a blow torch to release (every one has a blow torch for the creme brûlée).

G70 chain presents different problems. The chain is commonly smaller than the original chain and the shackle that fits the anchor does not fit the, smaller, chain - you are after all using the same size anchor. To illustrate the problem - our Excel No 4 accepts a 3/8th" shackle for the steel version but the 1/2" shackle for the aluminium version. There is no way we can actually fit a 3/8th" and certainly not a 1/2" shackle in a 6mm chain. The chain is stronger than the G30 8mm chain it replaced.

We use omega links available from the lifting industry to connect everything up. That's a Cambell 3/8th" shackle in the anchor shank matched to a 6mm G100 Omega link. I have my Omega links and other items galvanised - but you might find it easier to simply buy them 4 at a time, use one till it looks grotty, cut off, discard and add another new one. Gunnebo are selling a G80 chain for aquaculture and they may have galvanised Omega links (along with the galvanised chain). Gunnebo are now owned by Crosby but are European and should have stockists in the UK. If you have a local sympathetic galvaniser - start a thread here - and it might be possible to put a group package together, Omega links (they come in all shapes), hooks etc.


When I am involved in TDG coating aka Armorgalv HT chain I ensure the connectors, omega links, hooks, boomerangs etc are galvanised at the same time and the new owner gets a complete rode, with spares, as a package and I advise on a matching snubber.

I have this belief a rode should be sold as a package with everything matched so that it both fits and that the 'weakest' component is the chain - I fail to understand why chandlers cannot do the same - or at least have an idiot sheet with a list of matching components with their specifications - it would be so easy for them and the customer base.

Jonathan

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

This has been an ongoing problem, because many bow rollers are so narrow a good Crosby shackles fouls the roller and because the only shackles that offer comfort when you use G70 chain will be Crosby, Peerless or Campbell shackles (all of which have the protruding handle on the pin). There 3 manufacturers make a shackles described as Grade B, you need to read the small print, and also sometimes described as a G80 shackle. They all meet the same specification as the Crosby G209a shackle. Peerless make a bigger range and includes smaller sizes - but I have only seen them for sale in the US. So if you have contacts in America - now is the time to lean on them. Campbell's are sometimes called Orange Pin shackles, Peerless Blue pin shackles and Crosby Platinum pin. You can also source them from Yoke in Taiwan (who might have a UK distributor, they have one in California) and there are 2 Chinese shackles makers I have found. Crosby shackles are easily available in the UK.

I understood Jimmy Green were selling a gal shackle with no protuberance on the pin made by a French supplier (whose name I forgot) but who are owned by one of Europe's major lifting companies. Chaineries Limoger - or something similar.

If you cut the lug off the shackle pin remember you will at some time need to remove the shackle - so either leave enough to get a mole wrench on the end or slot the pin for a big flat screw driver (which is what I have done). You can cut them off, big bolt cropper, angle grinder - but this is best done on land - not on your deck. Loctite is a good method of securement as drilling very fine holes in a high tensile steel pin is not easy (have plenty of drill bits). If you use red Loctite you will need a blow torch to release (every one has a blow torch for the creme brûlée).

G70 chain presents different problems. The chain is commonly smaller than the original chain and the shackle that fits the anchor does not fit the, smaller, chain - you are after all using the same size anchor. To illustrate the problem - our Excel No 4 accepts a 3/8th" shackle for the steel version but the 1/2" shackle for the aluminium version. There is no way we can actually fit a 3/8th" and certainly not a 1/2" shackle in a 6mm chain. The chain is stronger than the G30 8mm chain it replaced.

We use omega links available from the lifting industry to connect everything up. That's a Cambell 3/8th" shackle in the anchor shank matched to a 6mm G100 Omega link. I have my Omega links and other items galvanised - but you might find it easier to simply buy them 4 at a time, use one till it looks grotty, cut off, discard and add another new one. Gunnebo are selling a G80 chain for aquaculture and they may have galvanised Omega links (along with the galvanised chain). Gunnebo are now owned by Crosby but are European and should have stockists in the UK. If you have a local sympathetic galvaniser - start a thread here - and it might be possible to put a group package together, Omega links (they come in all shapes), hooks etc.
View attachment 143822

When I am involved in TDG coating aka Armorgalv HT chain I ensure the connectors, omega links, hooks, boomerangs etc are galvanised at the same time and the new owner gets a complete rode, with spares, as a package and I advise on a matching snubber.

I have this belief a rode should be sold as a package with everything matched so that it both fits and that the 'weakest' component is the chain - I fail to understand why chandlers cannot do the same - or at least have an idiot sheet with a list of matching components with their specifications - it would be so easy for them and the customer base.

Jonathan

Since January 2021 being European and being in business in Britain do not necessarily go hand in hand?