Neeves
Well-known member
Rob,Jonathan,
Thanks for that, looks like sage advice.
Yes we have a genuine 30kg Stainless Steel Bruce; OEM on a Malo 43 yacht. We carry a Fortress FX23 (I think its a 23) which is from our previous boat (Nauticat 39) so might be a little under spec'd for the Malo - it'll have to do!
You might remember from about ten years ago that I did the swap out of 10mm grade 30 for 8mm grade 70 to extend chain length but reduce weight. I plan to do the same on the Malo. We occasionally anchor in 20m of water so need 80m in the chain locker as a minimum. Just researching which is the best lump to go on the end of the chain now....
We are sailing out west this winter but not far west - close to a bolt hole at all times!
Rob
Send me your email address, neevesip@gmail.com and I'll send you some pdfs on our experiences with chain downsizing, I don't have everything with links. I had our own lightweight chain custom made and have, overseen the production of 3 more rodes since and I also document our developments of snubbers. I would not be able to send till the end of the week. 80m with a good snubber should suit you.
I believe Fortress come up on eBay in the UK fairly regularly - I might suggest the FX 16 and the FX 37 (but think the FX 23 will be fine). The FX 16 is more manageable and we use it in sand and the FX 37, set at 45 degrees, we use exclusively in slurpy mud as our primary. I have this idea that Fortress oversize their anchors because if you go smaller they set so deeply they can be difficult to retrieve. So the smaller anchor has the hold - you just need be careful (one of those compromises). We have slow moving navigable rivers with brown Windsor soup on their beds, hence the FX 37. Our windage is that of a Bav 45.
Jonathan