Shackle for an odd anchor

[jonahmulski]

I have a ~45lbs CQR anchor with a ~1in. wide shank and a just smaller than 3/4in. eye. I am having a hard time finding a forged hot dipped galvanized shackle that will wit these dimensions. Both Chicago and Crosby shackles don't fit, their 1/2" shackle is not wide enough (shackle mouth opening is 0.81") to go around the shank and the pin of their 5/8" shackle (a 3/4" pin) is too big to go through the eye. Frustrating. I would like to use a forged hot dipped galvanized shackle. Any suggestions on who might make a shackle that will fit?
One solution would be to enlarge the eye of the anchor to fit a 3/4" pin but I'm thinking this might compromise the shank. Thoughts?

[cfarrar]

I guess it's not helpful to point out that a CQR comes with its own shackle forged in place (permanently), and you attach your shackle to this shackle. Obviously yours is missing?

[jonahmulski]

I didn't know that about CQR anchors. The two I have came with the boat and never had shackles as the boat came without any rode. That might explain the odd dimensions. The Crosby 1/2" shackle fits the smaller of the two anchors, the larger one is the issue.

[Cotemar]

Use a Crosby 209A 7/16" shackle
Working Load Limit (WLL) 2.6 ton or 5,200 lbs
A) Throat Opening .75 inch
B) Pin Diameter .5 inch

Do not widen the anchor slot just make it longer, so as not to effect its strength.

7/16" shackle will fit on 5/16 G4 chain as shown in these pictures.

[jonahmulski]

Interesting, did you lengthen the anchor slot on the anchor in the picture?

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by jonahmulski

I have a ~45lbs CQR anchor with a ~1in. wide shank and a just smaller than 3/4in. eye...........
One solution would be to enlarge the eye of the anchor to fit a 3/4" pin but I'm thinking this might compromise the shank. Thoughts?

Just how much smaller is the key question here?

If it is say only 10 or 15 thou (or 1/64") too small, then by all means open it up to 3/4" but maybe not if 100 thou or even 1/8".
Also measure the shank, does ~1 in mean > 1 in or < 1 in .

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by jonahmulski

Interesting, did you lengthen the anchor slot on the anchor in the picture?

No, most anchor slots are elongated by design. CQR's had the shackle welded on from the factory, so if you have no shackle than you have to make a modification to add one.

[charliehows]

i use industrial lifting shackles - they seem to be more corrosion resistant, cheaper and stronger. But i only know suppliers here in oz, must be plenty in CA. And you might have to use 2 - 1 with pin thru anchor, 1 with pin thru chain. The other thing i use on anchor shackles is engine safety wire - i got a big reel of it years ago for working on my old shovelhead but it works brilliantly on anchor shackles - never corrodes.

[jonahmulski]

I did some more precise measuring (as precise as one can get with a tape measure) and here are the numbers.
Shank 7/8" wide, eye 3/4" (appears to be just shy of 3/4")
I also measured the size pin that can go through my 3/8" G4 chain = 1/2" seems to be the max. So likely I'll end up with two shackles one to fit the anchor and one to fit the chain.
Looking at the shape of the shank (see pics) it seems like elongating it would weaken it as it gets narrow pretty quick. It doesn't appear to be to far off from 3/4" so I'm thinking enlarging it the little it needs to fit the 3/4"pin is the way to go. However, the best solution would be to find a high quality shackle that has an opening larger than 7/8" wide and a pin smaller than 3/4". Anyone have any suggestions as to where to look? or on any of the rest of this?
Thank you for all the input!

[Wotname]

If it was mine, I would open it up to 25/64" or 19.5 mm; whichever bit you can get hold of.
There is plenty of meat there to play with

[Wotname]

Opps, that was meant to read 49/64" and not 25/64".....

[jonahmulski]

Thank you all for your input. I decided to get a 3/4" bit and ream the hole out. It didn't take much material off at all (it might have just been corrosion).
It was helpful having input fro you all as it's hard to sleep at night when I'm questioning the strength of my ground tackle.
Thanks again!

[GMac]

Just get the biggest shackles you can fit. It's very common to have to fit 2 shackles in a chain to anchor connection so don't stress about that. The most important thing would be to get good shackles.

[jonahmulski]

Thanks for the advice. I'm using Crosby 209A shackles. I will have to use two shackles as my chain will only take a 1/2" pin. Unfortunately, the working load limit on Crosby shackles with 1/2" pins (7/16" shackle) is just under the working load limit of my chain, but not by much. These were the best shackles I could find without going stainless. I feel pretty comfortable the set up.

[charliehows]

Originally Posted by jonahmulski

Thanks for the advice. I'm using Crosby 209A shackles. I will have to use two shackles as my chain will only take a 1/2" pin. Unfortunately, the working load limit on Crosby shackles with 1/2" pins (7/16" shackle) is just under the working load limit of my chain, but not by much. These were the best shackles I could find without going stainless. I feel pretty comfortable the set up.

I'd be interested to know if anyone has ever had a shackle fail in this context - apart from coming undone, which must also be pretty rare. I had to hacksaw a very worn anchor shackle a few years ago and even though it was at least half the width worn away, it was still incredibly tough to cut off. Since then i havent worried much about shackle strength...