Anchor Swivel Really Needed?

[Cheechako]

You dont need a swivel at all. In my experience they dont work anyway.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by zeehag

friend used a swivel between mooring pennant and tag line. i watched his boat drift away one morning with incoming tide. coulda been worse.. incoming tide only meant could ground or hit bridge...
no swivels. guaranteed way to lose. weakest link and all that mumbo jumbo which is a reality.
another friend had swivel on anchor connecting to chain rode.. we saved his drifting butt before he hit us. anchor line in water, slack, and anchor still stuck in the mud nicely. only missing thing was.... half a swivel.
nope. wont and dont.
as for twist... have raised anchor many times and yes it twists, but never unset my anchor i use bruce happily

a/ There's different quality swivels.

b/ There's a bad way to attach a jaw type swivel and the right way.

c/ It's in correct to label all swivels the weakest link (refer to a)

[bradfordharley]

I have been debating an anchor swivel for my ground tackle as I'm on the hook almost 100% of the time. There are places (La Paz Mexico) where spinning is common and I often get twisted chain.
Last week, I recovered a 50KG bruce in 15' of water. This picture is of the failure point, and I think it speaks for itself. I'm going to untwist my chain when necessary and avoid swivels.

[Mike OReilly]

My experience with swivels goes like this:

Never had one for years. Sometimes my chain would get a twist.

Installed a swivel. Used it for years. Result: Chain would sometimes get a twist.

Removed the swivel. Have used the new (old) setup for years. Result: Chain sometimes gets a twist.

Made zero difference in my experience. Just added another failure point.

[steamgoat]

As far as I understand it,the pic of the broken swivel show a incorrectly installed swivel.It is prone to side loads when attached directl to the anchor shank. I don’t have a swivel.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by steamgoat

As far as I understand it,the pic of the broken swivel show a incorrectly installed swivel.It is prone to side loads when attached directl to the anchor shank. I don’t have a swivel.

But.. but..!!! Its so trendy.. all the best 'sailors' have them..

[sailcrazy]

We bought and installed a Ronca anchor, and decided a swivel would help keep the twist out of the chain. Our bow roller keeps the chain going into the windlass straight, so the swivel will allow the anchor+chain to "untwist" as it comes aboard. Unfortunately, every time we brought the anchor up, the Rocna came up in a different orientation, would not come over the bow roller, and I needed to hook a line on it, try and twist it right-way around and then hold it, and then retrieve the last bit of chain.....a real PITA! After the 5th straight time of that happening-ya, I know, I'm a little slow!-I pulled the swivel off and went chain-clevis-anchor. Works perfectly now, every time. Want to buy a good, almost new swivel??

[Dennis.G]

Originally Posted by Anders

My Kong swivel is much stronger than my chain. For threads I use blue Loctite.

If attached direct to anchor the swivel needs to be many times stronger than the chain. Chain does not apply lateral forces link-to-link, but pulling sideways on anchor mounted bullet swivel can result in very high lateral forces. This is a prime reason for failure of these bullet shaped swivels.

See Swivels (Rocna Knowledge Base)

[PatrickBooth]

Don’t forget to place the swivel 3-4 links away from the anchor. If you don’t then the swivel can get caught up in the shackle and pull the anchor. I had this on my last boat and had problems with it.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

But there's one more good use for a swivel - to allow you to get a poorly balanced anchor right side up when you're bringing it into the roller. I needed a swivel on my previous anchor, a 121 pound Rocna. Not needed with the Spade, with the caveat that I sometimes get a tangle like that described by Noelex, when anchored for several days in a spot where you spin around with every tide change.

Conversely, a swivel can make an anchor a PITA to get into the roller. The anchor spins around randomly. Without a a swivel, it will self align if it's not hockled.

My boat came with a swivel and I left it on for awhile after inspecting it, out of curiosity. Yes I never had a twisted rode, but getting the anchor back in the roller required a boathook and leaning over the bow of the boat. Up anchoring single-handed can be a enough of an ordeal. Last thing needed is futzing with a twirling anchor as you're blowing along through the anchorage.

[Just Cause]

Originally Posted by WSMFP

I recently refreshed our anchoring system with 160ft of 5/16 chain, 100ft of 5/8th rode and a 35 pound Mantus on our 31ft sailboat. I ordered a Lewmar anchor swivel but I'm kinda disapointed to see there's no apparent way to seize it with wire.....unlike the shackle I'm using now to connect chain to anchor. The swivel instructions call for anti-seize to be used on the threads.

Am I being overly worried and is a swivel even needed?

Do not use Anti Seize. Use Locktite thread lock. Available at Walmart or any Automotive supply store. Blue or Red.

[rosatte]

It a mantis swivel and go with the larger size never heard of one of these breaking and the problem with Lamar swivels made in china

[Anders]

Originally Posted by Dennis.G

If attached direct to anchor the swivel needs to be many times stronger than the chain. Chain does not apply lateral forces link-to-link, but pulling sideways on anchor mounted bullet swivel can result in very high lateral forces. This is a prime reason for failure of these bullet shaped swivels.

See Swivels (Rocna Knowledge Base)

It's not connected directly to the anchor. My 8mm chain is connected to the Kong Swivel, from the swivel there are 3 links of either 10 or 12 chain, then a big shackle to connect to the anchor. Neither the swivel or the shackle will break, the 8mm chain is the weakest point.

[LoudMusic]

I don't know if swivels are a good idea or not, but this aircraft carrier uses one You can see it in white near the beginning of the video. It stops at the top of the hole that the chain is exiting through.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u7pFUklV1k

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by Suijin

Conversely, a swivel can make an anchor a PITA to get into the roller. The anchor spins around randomly. Without a a swivel, it will self align if it's not hockled.

My boat came with a swivel and I left it on for awhile after inspecting it, out of curiosity. Yes I never had a twisted rode, but getting the anchor back in the roller required a boathook and leaning over the bow of the boat. Up anchoring single-handed can be a enough of an ordeal. Last thing needed is futzing with a twirling anchor as you're blowing along through the anchorage.

I've sometimes just had to leave the anchor swinging and run back to helm, until I could get in the clear to go back forward to secure the anchor. There is no shame in that.