Re galvanising anchor chain

[Neeves]

Most chain is mild steel and thus soft and prone to abrasion. Galvanising it harder than the underlying steel. If you are going to regalvanise realise that ungalvnaised chain that you have been using has been corroding and abrading. Really you want to regal as soon as you detect serious corrosion. If you anchor a lot, live aboard, you will not see the corrosions as every time you anchor the rust will be abraded off.

If you are unsure - measure a good few links, of clean polished chain. The usual rule of thumb is discard if you have lost 10% or more of diameter.

But if the financial equation looks suspect - buy new chain.

If you are regalvanising - Geoff is a sailor and will have more sympathy for what you need.

Jonathan

 

[Tzu]

Another commendation for Wedge at Willenhall. They recently did my 60m of very manky 8mm, £120 and a very helpful friendly efficient service.
The first time that living in the Midlands has done me any favours sailing-wise I think!

 

[Aja]

Geoff is being very modest.
http://www.higalv.co.uk/ Did a fine job on mine and a few others

Yes. Too modest. Did mine too. High quality job.
Satisfied customer.

Donald

 

[NorthUp]

Yes. Too modest. Did mine too. High quality job.
Satisfied customer.

Donald

And mine, at the Elgin plant. An equally satisfied customer.

 

[DistantDreamer]

Most chain is mild steel and thus soft and prone to abrasion. Galvanising it harder than the underlying steel. If you are going to regalvanise realise that ungalvnaised chain that you have been using has been corroding and abrading. Really you want to regal as soon as you detect serious corrosion. If you anchor a lot, live aboard, you will not see the corrosions as every time you anchor the rust will be abraded off.

If you are unsure - measure a good few links, of clean polished chain. The usual rule of thumb is discard if you have lost 10% or more of diameter.

But if the financial equation looks suspect - buy new chain.

If you are regalvanising - Geoff is a sailor and will have more sympathy for what you need.

Jonathan

Interesting point. Anchored quite a lot over the summer and no significant corrosion seen. The rust appeared end of season when we were using the boat a lot less which fits with your theory.

 

[DistantDreamer]

And mine, at the Elgin plant. An equally satisfied customer.

These guys are clearly good. Shame that 2 round trips for me would be 2,500 miles !

 

[Neeves]

These guys are clearly good. Shame that 2 round trips for me would be 2,500 miles !

They do have a plant in Falkirk, though the slight shortening of distance will not make much difference

 

[Kurrawong_Kid]

+1 for Wedge but they will refuse to regalvanise an anchor with enclosed weighting because of danger of explosion in the “dip”. Don’t ask how I know!

 

[Kurrawong_Kid]

Yep, if you are not too far from the galvaniser then it makes sense. For a South coast sailor like me , driving to Birmingham and back twice is 700 miles (+ 2 days of my life I cant get back..)and as posted using 3rd party transport works out more expensive than a new chain.

Mystified! Where on the south coast is it 175 miles from Wednesbury? South West or South East perhaps, but surely not South Coast. I have not baulked at driving to and returning from SIBS from West Midlands for many years. Takes about 2 hrs 20 minutes each way.

 

[DistantDreamer]

Mystified! Where on the south coast is it 175 miles from Wednesbury? South West or South East perhaps, but surely not South Coast. I have not baulked at driving to and returning from SIBS from West Midlands for many years. Takes about 2 hrs 20 minutes each way.

Load Google maps and put in a few south coast places like Poole, Lymington, Brighton and you will be mystified no longer

 

[Kurrawong_Kid]

Load Google maps and put in a few south coast places like Poole, Lymington, Brighton and you will be mystified no longer

I stand corrected! I’ve never bothered to check the mileage to Poole, (174), just driven it and thought nothing of it! Now the Clyde or the North East Coast is another matter-that takes for ever!

 

[ghostlymoron]

Obviously they must have told you!

+1 for Wedge but they will refuse to regalvanise an anchor with enclosed weighting because of danger of explosion in the “dip”. Don’t ask how I know!

 

[Neeves]

It is difficult to believe that Wedge found out during galvanising.

Most anchors with weighted toes have steel or iron in the toe, often the whole toe is cast (genuine CQR, Kobra), sometimes the steel is cast into the toe, (Excel). Lead is simply cast into the toe (Spade). It is unusual to have an 'end plate' welded on subsequently, there really is no need (but is done on the Excel), but if there is an end plate then the simplest solution is to drill it with a decent sized drill bit, say 10mm, this will be large enough for air to escape and the gal to fill the 'hidden chamber'. If there is an end plate it will have had an air hole - but it will have been filled with Zinc when galvanising. On drilling - a bit of overdrilling will indicate if there is steel or lead in the toe. If there is lead in the toe it then gets a bit more complex as you need a bigger hole, than 10mm, you need to melt the lead out, blow torch works well, galvanise then add back the same weight of lead (scrap merchants might have old roofing lead).

But none of this is difficult.

Jonathan

 

[vyv_cox]

Wedge showed me the anchor with the lead filled tip that gave them the problem. It was a Manson CQR copy. I am guessing that there was some air in it as well as the lead as it caused quite a severe explosion in the galvanizing bath.

 

[C08]

My recent quote for regalvanising 50m of 8mm short link chain came in at £2.28/kilo +VAT. On 50M @ 1.4kilo/m amounts to £192 without delivery to and from Birmingham. This is around £3.84/M. without carriage of around 70Kg which is not cheap however you do it. A bit cheaper than buying new chain, say £250 delivered but is it worth the bother, also the old chain will have a value to some other more cash strapped boaty than myself!

 

[Flica]

My recent quote for regalvanising 50m of 8mm short link chain came in at £2.28/kilo +VAT. On 50M @ 1.4kilo/m amounts to £192 without delivery to and from Birmingham. This is around £3.84/M. without carriage of around 70Kg which is not cheap however you do it. A bit cheaper than buying new chain, say £250 delivered but is it worth the bother, also the old chain will have a value to some other more cash strapped boaty than myself!

I'm afraid 50m of chain would be a pain in the neck to Wedge, so your prices are highly inflated to persuade you to put in a more sensible volume. Before I left the UK, in 2000, I had my 50m of chain pickled at our cold reducing plant and included in a client's galvanising together with an imitation anchor - that cost me nothing as the slight additional weight, over their normal 12 ton load was irrelevant.
That galvanising lasted perfectly until I gave the last of the chain away in Rethymno in 2016. The anchor - an SWMF imitation CQR, broke its shank during a storm in Majorca and I at last found out how to anchor - with a genuine CQR.
I'm told that it's still possible to get chain regalvanised in Turkey.

 

[MM5AHO]

I agree, £2.28/kg is a high price for any galvanizing. Actually £1/kg is a high price, but as pointed out, to most galvanizers chain is a pain in the neck, and I'm guessing that price was to frighten you off.
Also most galvanizers are chasing volume, so adding your work to that os a steel fabricator customer of your nearest galvanizer, and so sharing their low rates is the best way. In the Uk typical volume pricing for galvanizing ranges down as low as £150/tonne (15 pence/kg) for structural steel (columns and rafters of a building in 20 t loads) to perhaps £300/t (30p/kg) for secondary steelwork and bits and pieces also in volume lots. You could offer to pay a fabricator twice what they pay the galvanizer, and still get a bargain. Some boatyards enjoy good prices too, but a blacksmiths shop of some size would be best bet.