Twists in Anchor Rode

[TheOtherLine]

I have always had some twisting in the chain as it comes up and goes through the windlass. Nothing serious, but it bugs me. Type A.

I have one of those swivel things connected to the anchor. The Lewmar Profish 700 requires 1/4' G4 chain, which I have, and, of course, 8 plait line.

I have dumped all the line out several times and bring up the anchor slowly but it appears that the last 10 -15 ft of chain will inevitably begin twisting and the chain starts thrashing around (embellished a little) .

So, I'm trying to figure out why it's doing that. Questions;

1) Is all G4 chain the same? Is it possible I purchased some inferior brand of chain whose links are NOT within Lewmar specs?

2) Is it possible that the Gypsy needs adjustment?

3) Should I consider ditching the fancy swivel thing and just connect the anchor to the chain with a shackle?

4) If so, how do I select a shackle whose "work load" is sufficient for my purposes? Any old shackle with a pin that will fit through 1/4' chain sufficient?

 

[jeffnick]

You might be surprised at the performance and results by just eliminating the chain altogether.

 

[Brent]

just a question and not an answer
It is the gypsy matched to the chain size?

 

[Brent]

I am checking the fuel pump relay and wiring.

 

[TheOtherLine]

just a question and not an answer
It is the gypsy matched to the chain size?

It is matched to the extent that the manual calls for 1/4" G4 chain and that's what I thought I had on there. Upon closer look, the stamping on the chain says HT4. Not sure if that's the same as G4 or not but I would think that if it were G$ it would be stamped G4.

May have solved my problem.

Regarding Nick's suggestion that no chain might mean better performance....I guess it depends on what kind of performance is important to you.

Mine is that the anchor digs in and stays were I put it. I think chain helps that happen.

 

[Micheal J]

You might be surprised at the performance and results by just eliminating the chain altogether.

No offence here,but eliminating the chain is almost taking away the purpose of having an anchor.

Ya gotta have that chain for weight so your hook will set right,and hold.

Of course I'm setting my hook in a lot of reefy areas so if I took off the chain my rode wouldn't last very long,not to mention where I operate the wind comes up quick and changes direction quite a bit through the course of the day,so I use A LOT of heavy chain,and I let my Capstan do the work when pulling it up. :wink:

But the question remains from the OP.
I thought having the swivel would eliminate the twisting of the rode?

I dont use a swivel.....didnt like the holding power they were rated for,so I also have a slight twisting in the last 10 or so feet of rode...not the chain, so when I'm pulling mine I just let it untwist itself in the last 25 ' or so when I'm pulling it up......unless it's caught up in the kelp,which is a lot.

I've heard of "coil proof" chain,maybe that what I have,not sure.I do know that it's Galv,and HEAVY....all 25' of it. :lol:

So I guess my suggestion would be to just bring up the last 25'or so slowly and let it untwist on the way up..that seems to work for me when I can.
MJ.

 

[ceblizzard]

As a suggestion, you may want to move your swivel between the rode and chain. That is where mine is and I have no problems.

C. Blizzard
Eden, Md.

 

[Megabyte]

As a suggestion, you may want to move your swivel between the rode and chain. That is where mine is and I have no problems.

There is a thought.
Why not two swivels? One at the chain and rode, and another at the chain and anchor.

 

[jeffnick]

You might be surprised at the performance and results by just eliminating the chain altogether.

No offence here,but eliminating the chain is almost taking away the purpose of having an anchor.

Ya gotta have that chain for weight so your hook will set right,and hold.

Regarding Nick's suggestion that no chain might mean better performance....I guess it depends on what kind of performance is important to you.

Mine is that the anchor digs in and stays were I put it. I think chain helps that happen.

I lived aboard for 3 years and have spent over 1,000 nights on the hook from the Caribbean to the San Juans, new England to San Diego...just offering a little insight from my experience.

 

[TheOtherLine]

As a suggestion, you may want to move your swivel between the rode and chain. That is where mine is and I have no problems.

C. Blizzard
Eden, Md.

Is a good idea....if you don't have a windlass. Can't run the swivel through the gypsy. Remember, I have 30' of chain.

Lesson Learned:

After talking to a guy that rigs out :shock: sailboats, he said that G4 is the same thing as HT, HOWEVER, not all G4 or HT4 is the same.

Apparently US made G4 is 6mm and has different link and spacing specs than NON USA G4. The US G4must meet ISO standards, whereas the (usually) Chinese G4 does not.

He said most chain stamped HT4 is Chinese. All chain stamped G4 is (or should be) American made. He suggested I replace chain with G4, not HT.

Therefore, If I you are going to buy chain made in China, it must be 7mm , if you want it to work correctly in a Lewmar windlass.

I'm wondering then, if it's even possible to buy Chinese HT4 that isn't 7mm?

 

[TheOtherLine]

You might be surprised at the performance and results by just eliminating the chain altogether.

No offence here,but eliminating the chain is almost taking away the purpose of having an anchor.

Ya gotta have that chain for weight so your hook will set right,and hold.

Regarding Nick's suggestion that no chain might mean better performance....I guess it depends on what kind of performance is important to you.

Mine is that the anchor digs in and stays were I put it. I think chain helps that happen.

I lived aboard for 3 years and have spent over 1,000 nights on the hook from the Caribbean to the San Juans, new England to San Diego...just offering a little insight from my experience.

Kinda hard to argue with the result of those experiences !

 

[Micheal J]

You might be surprised at the performance and results by just eliminating the chain altogether.

No offence here,but eliminating the chain is almost taking away the purpose of having an anchor.

Ya gotta have that chain for weight so your hook will set right,and hold.

Regarding Nick's suggestion that no chain might mean better performance....I guess it depends on what kind of performance is important to you.

Mine is that the anchor digs in and stays were I put it. I think chain helps that happen.

I lived aboard for 3 years and have spent over 1,000 nights on the hook from the Caribbean to the San Juans, new England to San Diego...just offering a little insight from my experience.

Kinda hard to argue with the result of those experiences !

True dat! Over a 1000 nights on the hook sure spanks me for my overnighters.Like said "No offence". In my world where I'm at we just always use a lot of chain,and rode.We dive off the boat a lot and we want it be there when we get back thats all.Thats whats great about this place folks can share info,learn from it ,and not get all butt hurt.
Cheers!
MJ.

 

[jeffnick]

It was 1976. We'd lived in the Bronco for 6 months, touring 49 states, then each riding 175cc Hondas coast to coast, then we'd crewed for 3 months on a 38' ketch. Now we were picking up our brand new Bristol 27 from the factory in Bristol RI to continue our explorations, this time by water.

We'd read Chapman and taken the Coast Guard Aux courses. We were ready, with our genuine 25# CQR and 200' of chain, to conquer the East Coast and beyond.

It wasn't long before we traded to 20' of chain and 3 strand nylon on the plow, all that chain was just too much hassle to drag aboard and it always came up dirty. We didn't have a washdown.

Our 10HP single cylinder diesel aux could be started by the single battery, but was also hand start. No GPS or running water (showers via an 1 gal garden sprayer with water heated on the single burner ancohol stove). We did have a gizmo that bypassed the voltage regulator and would give us 90 VDC for the electric drill and hair dryer...

Anyway, it wasn't long before we began experimenting with ground tackle because we used it so often. I put a 2 speed sheet winch on the bow to facilitate bringing up the anchor, similar to the one I use on my current boat:

But it wasn't until we later bought the trawler that I found giving up the chain altogether was a workable solution.

I'd had trouble getting the anchor to set at Bath NC and after several tries, bringing up such absolutely nasty chain, that I decided to take the chain off alltogether. The anchor set the first try without the chain.

A little research disclosed that in certain conditions, chain can float on the mud - not allowing the anchor to settle in and dig. After this I decided to try anchoring without any chain until I found a reason to put it back on. I have never found that reason...but we seldom anchor in more than 25' or so of water.

I'm not saying that no chain is best for y'all, but it's worth a try if you've got an inclination.