stainless steel anchor connector

[Rigger]

Worrying photo in this months PBO of a large split in the fork of a ss anchor connector.Anyone had a similar problem? Would a shackle between the ancor and the connector help,or does that not just introduce another weak link?

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[VicS]

A shackle is weaker than chain of the same size but is compensated for by using a heavier shackle but you then have a situation in which the shackle will posibly not run thruogh the stem head fitting. The advantge of these anchor connectors is that they will run smoothly through it and of course the swivel type take out any twists.

However if you are thinking of buying one make sure it will fit the anchor shank. I bought one some years ago, the correct size for my chain, but the jaws on the anchor end are too narrow to fit on to the anchor

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple>Ne te confundant illegitimi.</font color=purple>

 

[Robin]

Alain Hylas who posts as Hylas on the forum warned of these connectors some while back, Alain is a French writer on anchoring subjects. As one who likes to use these swivel connectors I checked my own and certainly the side cheeks were less than substantial on the one I had (bought in France, made I believe in Italy. Perhaps if the anchor has a pivoting shank like a CQR type there is less risk of a side pull causing that kind of fracture than there might be with say a Delta like we use now. In any event I bought a different and much beefier model after Hylas's previous postings, having now seen the picture in PBO I might now get around to fitting it!...... /forums/images/icons/shocked.gif

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[dickh]

I too have been suspicious of these - why can't they publish breaking strains for them? Thi sinformation is impossible to get.

<hr width=100% size=1>dickh
I'd rather be sailing... /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[Robin]

Some of them do have published breaking strains but presumably only for a straight pull not a side force. I think most people assumed that the weak point would be the swivel.

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[mhouse]

I noticed yesterday thay jimmy Green has a recall on some of theirs that have a riveted connection.

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[bob26]

Re: jaws to narrow to fit anchor....I found this too so I bought a bigger one...but the chain pin was too fat to fit the chain!

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[steve_cronin]

I avoid connecting mine directly to the anchor. This is because , should the anchor get stuck in the seabed and a sideways force gets exerted then you are putting an un-natural load on the cheeks of the swivel which could cause it to fail and at the very least bend so that it won't swivel freely anymore.

I connect my Kong swivel to the anchor with a horseshoe shackle so that the swivel only ever gets set in tension along it's axis.

Steve Cronin



<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion

 

[Robin]

That is fine if you only need the connector for it's swivel properties but in our case a shackle tends to jam as it comes over the bow roller, usually on the toggle for the roller reefing gear adjuster. I think there is less likelyhood of a problem with a pivoting shank a la CQR than there is on the Delta we use these days, but now we do have a much beefier connector that I still need to get fitted!

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[hylas]

Sorry if my book is not yet available in English? The German version will be published before the end of this year and we are actively working on the English one. You will find below a short abstract on the part talking about connecting the chain to the anchor.
On my own boat, I use a 10 mm chain and a classical toggle (12 mm) the same kind of toggle that is used at the base of the rigging

___________________________________________________________________

The simplest solution consists of two trusty screw pin shackles. Choose them with a diameter superior to that of the chain (shackle of 12mm for chain of 10mm). If you chose screw pin shackles, make sure to secure the shackle eyes with thin pieces of metal safety wire, which will prevent them from unscrewing on their own. This safety wire must be consistently monitored and replaced, as faulty safety wiring has caused the loss of many anchors.

We use two shackles because it isn’t always possible to introduce one of either “eyes” of the shackle into the attachment hole of the shaft or fit it through a chain link.
However, the flat exterior extremity of the shackle can get stuck on the bow roller, and you double the likelihood of this occurring when you use two. This problem can be solved using a flathead threaded bolt which screws into the jaw of the shackle. Make sure that it cannot unthread with a hit of a hammer and an extra twist of the screwdriver

You will find at the ship chandler shackles designed to link anchor to chain. Use these with caution:

The connector break load MUST be precisely indicated. If it’s not specified, it is probably far inferior to that of the chain.

Even when specified, the break load specification is only valid for rectilinear and NOT for lateral loads. Should the anchor be blocked in its rotation axis (for example, stuck behind a rock while the vessel swings) this connector must withstand the lateral component of the load.

This means that, should the anchor get stuck in a position with the shaft not in alignment with the rode’s pulling force, the load on the connector will have a significant lateral component which it is not designed for, and it may break.

Never use a connecting system comprised of a bolt at one end with a securing flathead screw. (See photo 33). Although this system is excellent for preventing unscrewing, the hole created to insert the second screw weakens the principle bolt, and the strength of this system is considerably inferior to the connected chain.


CAUTION!
  Photo 32: Swivel Connector
Verify the maximum load authorized in rectilinear and lateral direction.

Photo 33: - Weak Point: The drilled Bolt Photo 34: - Weak Break Load: Riveted Link

Alain Poiraud’s anchor is attached with a toggle, as seen below (photo 35)

Photo 35: Connection of chain to anchor on S/Y HYLAS


<hr width=100% size=1><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by hylas on 10/11/2004 14:04 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Robin]

Hi Alain

I wondered when you would pop up! /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

I must buy a copy of your book next time we go, currently trying to book a week in Brittany to play golf, but Brittany Ferries prices are way higher than last year! I can probably get by with the French Language version, if a little slowly, it will go well with the Pilotes Cotiers and How to Catch Fish encyclopedia also in French - got to try.....

Best regards

Robin

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[MarkV]

This all seemed to make sence except the bit about not using the Bols and an additional flat head screw, Can you publish the picture?

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[steve_cronin]

Our situation is that the anchor gets used whereever we moor - as we are in the Med. There are lots of harbours with rocky bottoms and there is often a real chance of the shank on our plough, even though it swings, getting fouled on rocks bedded into the bottom.

Steve Cronin



<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion

 

[jfm]

why use any swivel?

Others might correct me but I prefer not to use any swivel at all. In calmish weather, the anchor drops to the bottom (ours is a delta) and the boat hangs on it, then the anchor comes up. No twisting occurs, no swivel needed. Even if there is a twist or two the chain untwists as the anchor is winched back in, once the nachor has left the seabed and is hanging freely on the chain. We find that this method always ensures the delta anchor is the right way up as the winch pulls it onto the bow roller, so the anchor slots into the roller and guides more easily

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[Ships_Cat]

Re: why use any swivel?

We are the same jfm, don't use a swivel and twist is never a problem to us. And while is something I do not go out of my way to look for, I very rarely see them used.

What many do not seem to realise is that if there is twist it is very easily corrected. If the anchor comes up hanging around the wrong way all one has to do is pick up the horizontal run of chain across the deck from the windlass while the anchor is hanging under the bow roller, lift it slightly, rotate it through 90 degrees or so, putting a twist in it, and lower it down while still holding the twist. The anchor will rotate around as your lower the chain.

Because of the mechanical advantage when lifting the horizontal chain run (and it need only be raised a short distance) it is light work even with 60 - 80 lb anchors.

Twist is much more of a problem with mixed chain/rope cables as the gypsy wheel of the windlass will not train the rope the same each time as it does with all chain (where the chain will always train the same way around), but the above obviously still works with the chain on the last part of the cable).

John

<hr width=100% size=1>I am the cat but I am only 6.

 

[steve_cronin]

Re: why use any swivel?

A CQR has a 50/50 chance of inversion as the shackle reaches the bow roller with our self stower/ below deck windlass arrangement. The run to the windlass is far too short and I don't want my wife risking her fingers twiddling around.

Some boats don't need swivels, some do.

Steve Cronin

<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion

 

[jfm]

Re: why use any swivel?

But if you dont use a swivel, and the chain is correctly aligned (twisting wise) on the gypsy, surely there's a near 100% chance the anchor will be the right way up when the shackle arrives at the bow roller?

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[steve_cronin]

Re: why use any swivel?

It just didn't work that way before we had one.

Even WITH a swivel the anchor can try to come over the bow roller wrong way up. This is caused by the swivel sticking due to mud or grit. The problem is so common that now, someone has invented a cranked connector (see YM Nov or Oct 04) which should remove ANY possibility of inversion. Most people do like to stop just when only the anchor is left to come over the roller for fear of topside damage from a flailing anchor. It'll probably swing down once the stock is horizontal but this is perceived to cause damage and running it in until the crown chashes into the self stower isn't an option.

Steve Cronin

<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion

 

[Ships_Cat]

Re: why use any swivel?

Sounds like a design or handling problem - with an all chain cable over a gypsy it should come up right way around, or near enough to it, every time. Would be a real problem with big vessels with big anchors if that were not so.

John

<hr width=100% size=1>I am the cat but I am only 6.

 

[steve_cronin]

Re: why use any swivel?

Big vessels don't often use plough anchors. Their hawespipes will accomodate their usual anchor design (rather like a Britany) either way up and usually stow the anchor vertically unlike a modern yacht which stows horizontally.

Our anchor chain may sometimes be taken off the gipsy when the anchor is out to silence the chain or it might even jump off if it doesn't go down the chainpipe quick enough. So to expect it to rotate when there are only a dozen or so links - under tension - between the gipsy and the anchor shackle, when it's just at the point of self stowing is unrealistic without a swivel.

This is a major problem when mooring stern-to in the Med. and just about everyone I know has a swivel fitted.

Take a look at:- http://www.superyachtdoc.com/html/the_twist.html

Steve Cronin



<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion