The Strange Case of the "Floating CQR"

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Kurrawong_Kid

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My "CQR" anchor and chain are at Wedges for regalvanishing. I was telephoned this morning to ask if I knew what was encapsulated in the tip because the anchor was "floating" in the dip. Since I did not know, and if filled with lead I thought it should have sunk, the operative regrettably said he could not risk completing the job because of the danger of explosion. Apparently they have had a CQR type anchor which had a welded box in the tip burst open under the heat and the resultant eruption of molten galvanising endangered the workers. Although the anchor is substantial and CQR like I have always wondered if it was genuine or a superior copy designed to explode on impact with pirates on the boats wandering overseas under the previous owner
 
Hi Kid
your anchor in sadly not a genuine drop forged CQR.
Gen models have "Made in Scotland" forged in the shank along with the weight in full Lbs
S-L made cast copi3es as did Sowester these are marked in Lbs & fraction of :LBS IE 19 3/4 Lb
 
sailorman said:
Hi Kid
your anchor in sadly not a genuine drop forged CQR.
Gen models have "Made in Scotland" forged in the shank along with the weight in full Lbs
S-L made cast copi3es as did Sowester these are marked in Lbs & fraction of :LBS IE 19 3/4 Lb
Click to expand...
I'll have to look for a " genuine" Rocna then, or live with a rusty forgery.
 
sailorman said:
Hi Kid
your anchor in sadly not a genuine drop forged CQR.
Gen models have "Made in Scotland" forged in the shank along with the weight in full Lbs
S-L made cast copi3es as did Sowester these are marked in Lbs & fraction of :LBS IE 19 3/4 Lb
Click to expand...
I'll have to look for a " genuine" Rocna then, or live with a rusty forgery.
 
Kurrawong_Kid said:
My "CQR" anchor and chain are at Wedges for regalvanishing. I was telephoned this morning to ask if I knew what was encapsulated in the tip because the anchor was "floating" in the dip. Since I did not know, and if filled with lead I thought it should have sunk, the operative regrettably said he could not risk completing the job because of the danger of explosion. Apparently they have had a CQR type anchor which had a welded box in the tip burst open under the heat and the resultant eruption of molten galvanising endangered the workers. Although the anchor is substantial and CQR like I have always wondered if it was genuine or a superior copy designed to explode on impact with pirates on the boats wandering overseas under the previous owner
Click to expand...

I wonder how it was galvanised when new?

Is it possible to drill some holes in the tip so that it wont pressurise and be galvanised inside the tip ... or perhaps ypu could fill it with lead!
 
The (genuine) CQR uses steel not lead for the tip weight. It can normally be regalvanised without problems.
 
30boat said:
They will explode.That's why Spades have open triangular tips for the lead and Ultras ,which don't, are stainless.
Click to expand...

The Steel Spade cannot be regalvanised (at least not easily). The lead melts. It would be possible to have the lead removed, the anchor regalvanised and then the lead added. It may also be possible to "flame galvanise" the anchor, but I have never met someone that has managed to have either of these options done.

To compensate, Spade sell a "refinishing kit", but this is an expoxy paint system rather than regalvanising process.
 
noelex said:
The Steel Spade cannot be regalvanised (at least not easily). The lead melts. It would be possible to have the lead removed, the anchor regalvanised and then the lead added. It may also be possible to "flame galvanise" the anchor, but I have never met someone that has managed to have either of these options done.

To compensate, Spade sell a "refinishing kit", but this is an expoxy paint system rather than regalvanising process.
Click to expand...
I have had several anchors spray galvanized with rather good results.Even if the finish doesn't last for more than a few years it's easy and cheap enoug to have it done again and again.
 
30boat said:
I have had several anchors spray galvanized with rather good results.Even if the finish doesn't last for more than a few years it's easy and cheap enoug to have it done again and again.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the first hand report. My understanding is this should be possible with the steel Spade without melting the lead, but there are many on this forum that know much more about galvanising that will be able to answer definitively.

If this is possible will most galvanisers also do spray galvanising?
 
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sailorman said:
Hi Kid
your anchor in sadly not a genuine drop forged CQR.
Gen models have "Made in Scotland" forged in the shank along with the weight in full Lbs
S-L made cast copi3es as did Sowester these are marked in Lbs & fraction of :LBS IE 19 3/4 Lb
Click to expand...

I thnk only Simpson Lawrence cast CQR 'copies' are marked as you mention. Really cheapo ones like wot Sowester used to sell and Westerly used to fit to their new boats in the '70s are not so marked. The Westerly one we inherited did actually work quite well mind but was upgraded to the genuine article when one came up secondhand at an affordable price.
 
There's no such thing as "flame galvanizing" or "spray galvanizing".

There is zinc metal spraying. Completely different to galvanizing other than its zinc metal. The metal is melted in an arc and blow with high velocity gas in the direction of the steel to be coated. It sticks in a similar way to throwing mud. It does not alloy with the steel as galvanizing does.

Lead is about twice as heavy as zinc, so sinks easily. It melts at a lower temp. lead dissolves in zinc up to a limit of just over 1%. Most galvanizers have some lead dissolved in their zinc. Any surplus just sinks to the bottom of the galvanizing kettle.

Sealed cavities in steel (such as a welded tip on an anchor) can be liable to explosion when submerged in molten zinc, and if any moisture inside, the bigger the explosion. This is not designed to be a pressure vessel, so when heated to the galvanizing temp of 450C something "gives". And it does this when submerged. So an eruption of molten zinc happens, and depending on the circumstances can cover a person. Mostly at that immersion stage the person is well away and protected. I've seen 15 tonnes of zinc erupt from the tank from a cavity as small as a cup full. It cost a day's production to clean up the mess, and no -one was hurt.
There's a lot of effort at most galvanizers to check this out before starting the process - to check for holes etc.
The up-side is that cavities get galvanized inside too.

Steel has a density of about 7. (kg per litre) Molten zinc has a density of about 6.9. It doesn't take much air to make a 7kg/l become less than 6.9, in other words buoyancy! So it floats like an iceberg until the explosion!
 
Robin said:
I thnk only Simpson Lawrence cast CQR 'copies' are marked as you mention. Really cheapo ones like wot Sowester used to sell and Westerly used to fit to their new boats in the '70s are not so marked. The Westerly one we inherited did actually work quite well mind but was upgraded to the genuine article when one came up secondhand at an affordable price.
Click to expand...
Sowester were marked 1/4 ;lb less as well, they only did cast iron ones, well in fact S-L were the only Co to Drop Forge ( i used to have a/c with both until their demise)
 
sailorman said:
Sowester were marked 1/4 ;lb less as well, they only did cast iron ones, well in fact S-L were the only Co to Drop Forge ( i used to have a/c with both until their demise)
Click to expand...

I cannot prove one way or another, maybe the one I inherited in 1987 on a W33 was not even a Sowester made copy, it did work however for the short time we kept it and I don't recall any weight at all stamped on it.
 
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