Stainless steel anchor chain

[NormanS]

In most leisure boats the snubber is primarily there to act as a spring, to reduce peak loads on the anchor and boat. With really light boats using using chain in shallow water (no catenary) it is essential equipment. The shock loads can pull the anchor out or spill your beer. It is a useful function in heavy boats too. It also silences the chain noise. I put the snubber on before setting the anchor. It is much nicer to the boat if you stop suddenly.

For the spring to work well the snubber has to be springy and that will mean it will be thin and will fail well below the holding limit of the anchor and chain, so in strong conditions something else is needed to stop the windlass being pulled out of the deck or to prevent the chain back-winding out. That is where a second heavier snubber can help, or a wrap of chain around a cleat or best of all, a nice tidy chain stopper.

The chain stopper is not the thing to hold your anchor to the bow tightly. A claw with tensioner for example would be ideal for that job.

I'm with you, except I would NEVER wrap a chain round a cleat. Repeat NEVER.

 

[MapisM]

As you know we only use the stopper to protect the winch when going astern to set the anchor.

Yup, I was aware of that but I didn't think to mention it.
Agreed, for this specific purpose the stopper is a nice to have thing, that comes in handy also for anchorages in fair conditions, where it's not worth bothering with the snubber. :encouragement:

 

[MapisM]

I would NEVER wrap a chain round a cleat. Repeat NEVER.

+1 as a matter of principle, regardless of the boat.
But in a boat like a P68, that would be bejond a joke.... :ambivalence:

 

[Hurricane]

Yup a stopper and a snubber are 2 different things. As you know we only use the stopper to protect the winch when going astern to set the anchor. We find that the Rocna can set very hard very quickly and 40t of boat going astern at that point can put a large shock load on the winch if there is no stopper. But in order to stop the chain grinding on the bow roller and in our case putting large lateral loads on the bow roller assembly, we use a snubber although in quiet weather we wouldn't use it

I agree that snubber and chain lock are 2 different things but since fitting it, the chain lock has been used all the time.
I won't be getting rid of the snubber - I'm sure it would be quieter in the forward cabin that the chain lock.

Anyway, to encourage Magnum who is spending a lot of time/money over this issue.
If I were in his position, I would definitely fit it.
It is so much easier than fiddling around with a chain hook - just flip it over and you're done.
That said, we always clip on a backup strop with a carabina clipped through one of the chain links but thats so easy.

Our 67 has the anchor fitted through a "kind of" hawser pipe so fitting a snubber involves leaning over the bow and hooking the chain which is just out of reach - can be done but it is a PIA

 

[Zing]

I'm with you, except I would NEVER wrap a chain round a cleat. Repeat NEVER.

I've seen it done, though I wouldn't on my shiny stainless ones except in an emergency. The cleat would have to be the type that wouldn't jam such as a samson post, and hopefully battered already like on an old fishing boat.

Never say never, you might have to do so one day.