I need to replace my anchor chain and rode.
My recent (no longer current) anchor (Rocna Vulcan with 30’ of chain (5/16" G4HT) and some rode are sitting on the bottom of a bay - the rode (5/8" 8 pailt) appears to have been cleanly cut (except for the center core - this happened as I was weighing anchor on Memorial Day in very strong winds - not sure what happened exactly) - but I digress.
I am having difficulty finding a source that sells quality chain and rode combinations, or will make to order…
I had 30’ of chain - a boat length, and 220’ of rode (more than I have ever needed)… and will probably replace with approximately the same, or possibly 45’ of chain.
My usual go-to suppliers (WM (they do offer a rigging service but I am afraid of what the cost may be), Defender) don’t appear to offer a 30’ chain/rode combo… 10’, 15’, maybe even 20’, but that’s all.
I haven’t yet decided on what size chain/rode combo to get as I am still researching for a windlass to install over the winter, and want to ensure the combo works with the selected windlass, but I do need a good source please!
Thank you,
Peter Grabow
S/V CAKE WALK III
1987 30U 430
Jersey City, NJ
I see you are not fessing up to what bay they are resting in - some of us could be tempted to go grappling or diving . . . .
If you are going with a windlass over the winter, why not plan to go with all chain? Any competent rigger can set you up with a combo chain/rode to see you out the season and then you have it as a spare. My combos (w/ 30’ of chain) came from David James of the old Rigging Locker in Port Washington, who you may recall.
Hi Lloyd!
Thank you for the response.
I know within about 100 feet of where it is so I will be snorkeling to look for it the next time I am in that area (tho certified, I do not have my own scuba gear, but may look to borrow some)…
In the meantime, I ordered a new Rocna Vulcan 15KG as they are currently 20% off at West Marine and was the best price that I have seen (and free shipping).
They have doubled in price since I purchased the first one in 2016… ugh.
Too bad Rigging Locker has closed up shop.
I believe I figured out what happened - embarrassed to say - last summer I put a cutting zinc on the propshaft as we were taking a 5 week sail to Kennebunkport, ME and I was concerned about tangling with a lobsterpot line… luckily we avoid the multitude of lobsterpots. But, perhaps the rode got under the boat for a moment (I didn’t see it go under the hull as I was weighing the anchor, only alongside as the boat swung in the very strong wind) and we must have still been in gear to create less tension on the anchor-line as we hauled it in).
That the cutting zinc cleanly severed the line is the only explanation that seems logical at this time… ‘Hoist (severed?) by my own petard’…
I gave it some thought, but do not want the weight of all chain in the bow. I am leaning toward a horizontal/on deck windlass for ‘ease’ of installation and to avoid the added ridiculous cost of $1000 (it may be more now) to unstep/step the mast around here. I prefer the smaller profile of a vertical windlass but I am not keen on cutting a 6" access port into the foredeck to be able to reach the underside for installation.
Recommendations/suggestions welcome!
Best regards,
Peter
On Monday, June 12, 2023 at 1:37:42 PM UTC-4 Julie & Lloyd on Rendezvous wrote:
I used to live on a floating home in Oregon. (Google Earth screen grab below.) I needed to do some work under the house, but I measured and the wriggle space was 11 inches while I needed 11.5 inches to get my chest through. So I placed an ad in Craigslist: “Skinny, wiry construction guy needed to work under houseboat”. (Realtors call them “floating homes” to distinguish them from the cheesy motorized things, but owners just simplify it to “houseboat”.)
I was inundated by replies. I took the first one and he was really skinny and wiry. It worked out perfectly.
So your suggestion for a skinny yogi might not be so far off.
You might notice that the near end of the house is sitting a little low. I sure do! The guy who bought it moved a baby grand piano into the living room, which is above the boat well, and it doesn’t look like he added flotation. I sure hope he did so before the winter snows came along!
Yes, that is our “attached garage”: a 32 x 14 foot enclosed boat slip called a “boat well”. Pretty handy, though it was a long walk to the truck in the parking lot. Living room, dining room, kitchen, and deck are above the boat well.
I sure do miss it. A house on a concrete foundation is a pathetic, dead thing.
If you know approx. where it is, think back and remember how your vessel was pointing. If it was pointing North say, drag a grapple at a 90 deg angle to it. I always set a waypoint when I anchor.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
LLoyd - I used to send my son in there when I began to feel that I would get stuck… but he now lives in Philly and has grown quite a bit since those days! But I will take the skinny yogi idea under advisement.
Barry - very cool floating home!! I can see the transition to land being difficult. Only problem with my marina is they must sanction any outside workers, probably charges them a fee to work, and the yard rates are high… Will have to cross the skinny person idea when I get to the installation point.
Joe - thank you for the suggestion. I have the anchor point marked in my GPS (or actually the boat’s position), know I had 100’ of rode out, and know the direction I was pointing when I set the position - so I have a fighting chance (but still rank it at only around 2 or 3%). I do have a grapple as well, snorkel equipment, a new dive light, ultra strong magnets (though not sure if there is any magnetism in the anchor or chain (but may find a lot of other interesting things!) and a dinghy onto which I can hold in between dives…
Will update on the search after I have made the attempt.
But no other recommendations for a good, reasonably cost effective shop to purchase a chain/rode set-up?
Thanks again,
Peter Grabow
S/V CAKE WALK III
1987 30U 430
Jersey City, NJ
I made my own.
When I removed the previous (all chain) rode, I noted the size, took my gypsy with me when I visited, and hit a few local chandleries. I’d have been happy with 40’ (boat length), but they had a length of 65’ from the end of a spool that was half price, so I bought the whole length. I had some appropriately-sized three-strand nylon and have done my own splicing in past, so I just spent some time looking up how to do the chain-to-rope splice and did it one afternoon. I think it took longer to flip the boat around in the slip, load the rode into the locker, and turn the boat back around.
Brian
SV Serenity
Nonsuch Nereus #003
Pax River, MD
A friend splices an eye into both ends of his rode so he can reverse it. Not a bad idea. If double braid best to do in now because I find it almost impossible to splice old rope (maybe I should have said impossible).
I spliced directly to the last link in the chain, similar to the Animated Knots method shown above. (There are several methods, including at least one that attempts to preserve the thickness of the rope by cutting one of the three braids and splicing the other two. I didn’t like that idea, based on nothing more than gut instinct.)
Brian
SV Serenity
Nonsuch Nereus #003
Pax River, MD
Thank you for your input. All of the advice is appreciated!
If I manage to find the anchor and chain when I return to search for it, my thought is to splice it back on to the remaining rode a few feet from where the cut happened to make sure I am using intact line.
Don’t be cheap, Peter. It is an anchor rode and all that may stand between you and you losing Cake Walk III (and the anchor, again). Buy new rope. Of course, if you want to get Cake Walk iV . . . . .
Ha! Thanks for the input Lloyd! The lineage stops at III…
Not a question of the expense but rather conservation and not throwing anything into the waste pile that can still be used - obviously if still sound. If not, then absolutely new rode.
Again, I put my chance at locating the ‘lost’ anchor and chain at about 3%. Not sure how I calculated that but it gives me more hope than saying 1%!
Peter
On Thursday, June 22, 2023 at 7:28:13 PM UTC-4 Julie & Lloyd on Rendezvous wrote:
The lost anchor was not retrieved.
Slowly towed a grappling hook across the bottom in perpendicular rows (to the known set direction of the anchor) behind the dinghy , and though we had one potential ‘hit’ when I attempted to dive to the bottom the conditions were difficult - it was high-tide (so an extra 6-7 feet of water at the time), water was extremely murky/green and by the time I was down only 6’ or so the visibility was close to zero, almost black, and the new dive light wasn’t cutting through the murk… We tried again later at close to low-tide, but couldn’t replicate the ‘hit’ on the grappling hook even tho I had marked the approximate spot of the ‘hit’ on the navigation program.
Oh, well… may try again next time I am in that area if the water conditions are clearer. In the meantime, I have a new replacement Rocna Vulcan that I managed to get on West Marine’s Father’s Day Sale which was 20% off… better than their 4th of July sale which was only a 10% discount. I will probably wait until the Annapolis Boat Show in October to replace the chain and rode as the proper sizing will depend upon which windlass I decide to purchase, which may also be decided upon at the show.
