twisted anchor chain

S

Salvatore356

Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2012
RO Number
32937
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238
I went to anchor let the chain out for about 20 feet and windlass would not let any more chain out. Went to my anchor locker and notice alot of the chain is twisted. Any idea how to untwist the chain in my anchor locker at the dock. There is about 150 foot of chain.
 
I suppose that pulling the chain out of the locker by taking the bitter end out through the anchor locker hatch and stretching it out straight ( while untwisting ) would not work?

I have no other ideas.

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How did it get twisted while in the locker?
 
The guy who owned it before me drop anchor all the time. I guess when he took up the anchor the chain link twisted, he drop anchor all the time so evently it twisted
 
You should be able to take the gypsy off the windlass and get the chain out that way too. Then you might want to add an anchor swivel if you don't have one already.

http://www.boatfix.com/shop5/store/listitems.asp?idCategory=36838

21609.jpg
 
go to deep water and let it all out and untwist.
 
I have 150 ft. of chain as well. I pulled my boat bow forward into my slip, removed the bitter end from the u-bolt in the anchor locker, pulled the chain from the anchor end through the windless, layed it out back and forth on the dock and straitened out the links a section at a time till I reached the bitter end. Last year was the first year I untwisted it in 5 years, I have always had a swivel on mine and was amazed at how twisted the chain actually was. This also gave me a chance to re-mark the chain in 20ft. increments again (I use colored electrical tape).
 
I ve never had the issue with all chain ride and no swivel. And I anchor a lot, year round, well over 100 times a year

If you think about it, a swivel does nothing to prevent the chain from twisting, all it does is keep the anchor in the right position to get on the roller. The only way the chain can twist is if it was all dumped in locker instead of being fed in

Are you sure it s the twisting which is preventing the chain from coming out? Sometimes if a pile of chain falls over, it can get tangled up, although very rare

You can't do much in the locker and digging the end from under the pile is not easy. Best solution is to drop the hook in your slip and help the chain out Once the anchor is on bottom and the chain is slack, pull it off the gypsy and pay it out manually thru the hawse pipe. You may need to pull the cover off depending on the windlass. once it s all out and you use the windlass to bring it back in, it will naturally untwist. Remember the gypsy will force it thru evenly, and the 15 or 20' you have out is enough distance to untwist it

Pulling the gypsy isn't necessary to get the chain out, if the windlass is install correctly all you have to do is pull the chain off the gypsy
 
As stated, If you lay it out on the dock you can also use the time to paint depth markers on the chain
 
if the chain was fed into the anchor locker with the windlass it is not twisted. the issue is that the pile of chain has gotten knocked over/around from the boat's motion.

there are two solutions, one is to pull it out of the anchor locker and put it on deck, then place it back into the locker. the other is to run it out thru the windlass. you can do # 2 at the dock and its a two man operation. one of you needs to untangle the mess in the locker as the other operates the windlass. it will take a while but you'll get it sorted out. this is the prefered method as you dont drag chain on your decks.

a swivel at the anchor end of the chain is helpfull if you swing completely around while at anchor but not really necc to retrive the anchor as it will straighten up as you pull it back in.
 
I thank you guys for your information I am going to try letting the anchor out at my dock into the water and try to staighten the chain in the locker area. I hope this will fix the problem I like to have at least 50 ft of chain if I go out for safty reason for now. I will let you know if this works.
 
When retrieving my anchor, I always allowed it to unwind with the anchor just above the water. After it stopped unwinding, I would complete the positioning of the anchor with the windlass. I had a swivel which helped out a lot too.

+1 for Bruce's idea......
 
In all the years with all chain rodes, I have never seen the anchor "unwind".

Again paying out and retrieving chain can not create any twist. First on one end the chain is kept set in one direction by the gypsy and cannot twist. Then if you visualize what happens when the chain is stretched by the weight or set of the anchor, each link is pulled and guided in place by the next one. It simply. Annoy twist.

As to "cut it weld it", yeah... Sure. Real practical in an anchor locker... Maybe he should just cut a big hole in the hull instead and dump the chain over board. Or hire a big chopper to lift the chain out... Or...
As to
 
Chain alone won't twist, however a 3-strand nylon rode WILL, and as you shorten up the rode that twist can get transferred to the chain. As the chain is brought in the windlass tries to straighten it and forces the twist down to the anchor. If you anchor in deep water it will "unwind" when the anchor comes off the bottom. However if you anchor in shallow water like I do, eventually you'll get to the point where the chain is so twisted that it starts to jump links on the wildcat. A swivel certainly helps.

This generally only happens with rope-chain rodes like most smaller boat have (and then only with 3-strand, not 8-plait).

It's not likely with an all-chain rode unless you're anchored for days and swinging in circles with the tide.

I wouldn't cut the chain either. I'd unshackle it from the anchor, get the twists out by whatever method works, and then reattach the anchor, maybe with a swivel.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Salvatore356

I thank you guys for your information I am going to try letting the anchor out at my dock into the water and try to staighten the chain in the locker area. I hope this will fix the problem I like to have at least 50 ft of chain if I go out for safty reason for now. I will let you know if this works.

Click to expand...


yes, if you are running a combination of 3 line and chain, then yes as others have noted the chain can be made to twist and in that application a swivel is really neccesary. in this case i suggest runnign the chain out at the dock, then pull the line out completely by hand on the dock and try and get any twists you see at rest out of the line. as the line stretches under load it will untwist and theoretically retwist when relaxed but it never seems to go back exactly where it started.

going with all chain or a much shorter chain will solve your challenges.
 
I went out this weekend and untwisted my anchor chain. I untwisted the chain when letting it out when I got to the end there was a swivel there and untwisted all of it. That was an easy fix.
 
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