Stainless or Galvanized Anchor

[SpillTheWine]

Nothing wrong with paying a bit more for something so obviously better looking, or if you just prefer it. Life is short. If you want stainless chain or stainless anchor or stainless anything else, or whatever, just do it.

Sure, there are many who see nice things and think waste of money. Not sure why they have to make it a personal insult toward those who don't share their Wal-Mart life philosophy. But that is their pattern in everything is my experience. Why buy the best watermaker when the cheapo on sale will do? Why buy the oil the engine manufacturer recommends when any oil will do?

I see ugly things and think "No pride of ownership". Moreover, the kind of owner who splurges on stainless stuff when galvanized will do is the kind of person I want to buy stuff from and be friends with. He's gonna use better vodka and the rest. If he borrows my pickup I know it's gonna come back full of Chevron not the cheapest stuff he could find.

Still, I appreciate the kind of guy who will take on for the team with the uglies.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by SpillTheWine

Nothing wrong with paying a bit more for something so obviously better looking, or if you just prefer it. Life is short. If you want stainless chain or stainless anchor or stainless anything else, or whatever, just do it.

Sure, there are many who see nice things and think waste of money. Not sure why they have to make it a personal insult toward those who don't share their Wal-Mart life philosophy. But that is their pattern in everything is my experience. Why buy the best watermaker when the cheapo on sale will do? Why buy the oil the engine manufacturer recommends when any oil will do?

I see ugly things and think "No pride of ownership". Moreover, the kind of owner who splurges on stainless stuff when galvanized will do is the kind of person I want to buy stuff from and be friends with. He's gonna use better vodka and the rest. If he borrows my pickup I know it's gonna come back full of Chevron not the cheapest stuff he could find.

Still, I appreciate the kind of guy who will take on for the team with the uglies.

I see ugly things and think.. its not the looks but what it can do that counts..
But hell.. if everyone thought that way Apple etc would go broke..

[Dolphin460]

Originally Posted by mjgill1

What's your preference and why? I'm debating on buying a stainless one but for the price, I could almost get two galvanized.

I have a Dolphin 460. I read all the articles I could find on anchors before buying getting rid of my CQR and Bruce. I decided on the Ultra because of the design. There are about five or six really good anchors out there, but the Ultra out preforms all of them in re-anchoring after a 180 degree turn, which happens all to often. My size boat called for a 27kg, and based on experience, I went one size bigger to a 35kg. No anchor is perfect in all condition, but the Ultra is as good or better than the rest. Hope this helps and no I am not connect to Ultra in any way; just an old cruiser that has been cruising in the Med for the past 11 years.

[Emouchet]

Stainless steel anchor can help you win a contest for the most shinny boat at the dock.
it is its main advantage versus a galvanized one.

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by kas_1611

If you have a bottomless pit of a wallet or a magic money tree then go with S/S but nowt wrong with galvanised.

Better spending the extra cash on an oversize anchor capable of holding you in a storm with uprated chain and a proper snubber than something pretty hanging off the bow.

I have a 33kg Galvanised Vulcan on 8mm Galvanised G70 chain and a "shockles" snubber on 10 m of 14m mooring line. For an 8.5 tonne displacement boat. No buggering about trying to set a second "storm" anchor as my primary bower is more than enough to deal with anything up to a hurricane, which we don't get in the Adriatic.

What's your experience been like with the Vulcan? Pretty new anchor so I haven't been able to find a lot of feedback on it.

[GTom]

Originally Posted by mjgill1

What's your preference and why? I'm debating on buying a stainless one but for the price, I could almost get two galvanized.

Haven't read all the posts... One more vote for galvanized. Stainless is usually the "strong" metal that doesn't corrode but makes all kind of other metals (aluminum, mild steel, even corten or a not-so perfect stainless) corrode.

Question: would you let an easy to replace, easy to re-galvanize, easy to check item corrode or your chainplate/rigging/whatever, which normally need a pro fitter and cost a fortune to fix.

[groundtackle]

There are some very nice vessels out there, stainless looks fantastic, yes it's expensive. We just delivered this EXCEL #13 63 kg /138 lb anchor. It's for a 59' power vessel that's just completing a gorgeous hull paint job, gyro stabilization etc.
We are awaiting from Australia an Excel #17B 119 kg / 262 lb for a 85' Ocean Alexander. Can't wait to see that one.
The flukes are 316 and incredible strong shank of 2205 stainless. They are a little weaker comparatively and we typically size slightly larger to compensate.
These anchors are works of art, just like the vessels they will be used on.
We provide vessels with the galvanized version to make sure it's correct, fits and everyone is happy before manufacturing the Stainless EXCEL. We buy them back for what they paid or they use them for the rigors of an Alaska summer. Swap back to the stainless for the rendezvous. I love it.

The galvanized Excel versions are mild steel flukes with a Bisalloy 80 shank. The turned down toe is Stainless. You can sharpen that toe as the galvanizing wears revealing stainless instead of rust, intelligent feature. Certified SHHP.

We also have an Aluminum Excel that comes apart for stowage. Half the weight of it's steel brother with similar performance. The shank / fluke interlock doesn't load the bolts, they are just there for disassembly. Shank is 7075 aluminum, nearly the tensile/ yield of Bisalloy 80.

SpillTheWine, well said...

Chris

[Dolphin460]

Not totally correct. I have a very short chain box and my galvanized chain would stack and foul the windless. My wife would complain all the time. For me, switching to SS stopped the problem. When it comes to making my wife happy so that I can keep cruising, money is not considered nor what other people think.

[Dolphin460]

Originally Posted by Emouchet

Stainless steel anchor can help you win a contest for the most shinny boat at the dock.
it is its main advantage versus a galvanized one.

Not totally correct. I have a very short chain box and my galvanized chain would stack and foul the windless. My wife would complain all the time. For me, switching to SS stopped the problem. When it comes to making my wife happy so that I can keep cruising, money is not considered nor what other people think.

[Compass790]

I'd use 2205 if I could get it at the same price as i got the 316L at $$ 0.00. Havent ever welded 2205 tho so cant comment on the weldability.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by SpillTheWine

I see ugly things and think "No pride of ownership". Moreover, the kind of owner who splurges on stainless stuff when galvanized will do is the kind of person I want to buy stuff from and be friends with. He's gonna use better vodka and the rest. If he borrows my pickup I know it's gonna come back full of Chevron not the cheapest stuff he could find.

I guess the term " Form follows function" is not for you but a " Fool and his money are soon parted" is.
I bet you are an apple fanboy as well.

Originally Posted by SpillTheWine

Still, I appreciate the kind of guy who will take on for the team with the uglies.

I gather you are refering to woman with that comment?
How incredibly shallow and tacky.

[Erik de Jong]

Originally Posted by SpillTheWine

Sure, there are many who see nice things and think waste of money. Not sure why they have to make it a personal insult toward those who don't share their Wal-Mart life philosophy. But that is their pattern in everything is my experience. Why buy the best watermaker when the cheapo on sale will do? Why buy the oil the engine manufacturer recommends when any oil will do?

Do I understand you correctly that where you come from, the people with galvanized anchors maintain their boat poorly? Interesting conclusion I might say!

[groundtackle]

Originally Posted by Compass790

I'd use 2205 if I could get it at the same price as i got the 316L at $$ 0.00. Havent ever welded 2205 tho so cant comment on the weldability.

Compass, I don't notice a big difference when welding duplexes. The arc color gets yellowish/red and the puddle can sometimes have a surface tension feel. Filler rods / wire are virtually the same as parent, the rule was always a little more nickel. This link explains things much better than I can.

https://www.rolledalloys.com/technic...tainless-steel

The EXCEL's shank to fluke union is well executed. The shank isn't just sitting on top then welded. The fluke is slotted and shank slides thru, then welded both sides. The stainless or galv steel versions both use the same method. While this additional fabrication step adds cost, the procedure gives the welder all the tools required to control heat levels. Heat effected zones in this highly loaded area is the demise of many an anchor design.
Stainless steel and alloys with higher chromium / nickel / molybdenum content (like the duplexes) have developed over the years to make them a little more user friendly. However.. improper weld procedures or cheating can lead to host of corrosion or fatigue issues.

Erik, you can interpret spill's comments any way you like, I did't get that.
Chris

[SpillTheWine]

Is that really the way you read that? Let me try again.

Clearly, the owner willing to spend a bit more for the best stuff is more likely to pay more to do everything the right way. My point is a sailor who poo poos another sailor simply for buying something nicer is suspect IMO and experience.

Look at IN-N-OUT burger. All their stuff is extra nice. Polished wheels on their trucks, stainless everywhere at their restaurants, grass fed beef, paying their staff 20 to 50% more than the competition to get the best people, and so forth. Is it any surprise that their burgers win highest quality recognition near universally? No. It's not a surprise.

It's a simple equation. If I go to someone's house to buy a motorcycle I'm looking around at everything else. What sort of toolbox does he have, rusty Husky or clean Craftsman or better? What sort of tools and are they clean and organized? Does he have cases of synthetic oil on nice racks or does he have old gallon jugs of Rotella thrown in a pile with old air filters? Is his enclosed trailer covered or stored inside? Are his bikes all clean? Is the garage floor clean or does it look like a Pollock painting? Who in their right mind is gonna assume the guy who has everything clean, organized, and spends a bit more to do everything the right way is gonna be more suspect than the guy who chooses everything based on function and price?

We have a few jet skis and an old race boat and a very nice Schiada ski boat. We used galvanized for years on everything. Didn't really think about it. But then we had stains everywhere from that. First, we upgraded to galvanized jacketed cable. That didn't last much longer. So we upgraded to stainless. Sure it's a bit more money. But we keep our stuff for a long time and we take the best care of it. Stainless chain is simply the smartest and highest quality option for us. Moreover, if we decided to sell anything we already have people in line to buy it because they know we do everything a certain way and my friends are smart enough to know you make your money when you buy something not when you sell it.

Same for our dually. When a pressure hose goes out sure I could simply get another reinforced rubber hose at Autozone. But I don't ever want to replace that hose again so I pay more for a custom stainless braided hose. Looks bitchin and will outlast me most likely.

Part of this is also how we grew up. My parents were aerospace people here in So Cal so I grew up with a certain threshold for doing things that we didn't go below. Our boat trailer in the 60s had every fastener on it shared with the Saturn 5 rocket. Our raceboat had stainless braided Teflon coated unobtainable hose in it. I'm not calling my dad a thief. I'm just saying that is how the So Cal hot rodding tradition started. All the racing we did growing up had the same ethic.

So if a man has worked his arse off his whole life and he had succeeded doing things his way then more power to him to continue that on his boat(s) whether that means cheapo chain or hand polished American made stainless. Insofar as losing an anchor due to stainless breaking, I'd offer the opposite is equally true. At the bottom of price is galvanized and there are no profit margins down there so it's much more likely to be made in a low wage country with zero quality control.

All that said, I keep a couple of buckets of very heavy galvanized chain around for pulling things.

Originally Posted by Erik de Jong

Do I understand you correctly that where you come from, the people with galvanized anchors maintain their boat poorly? Interesting conclusion I might say!

[SpillTheWine]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

I guess the term " Form follows function" is not for you but a " Fool and his money are soon parted" is.
I bet you are an apple fanboy as well.
Nope. I don't really need any of the advantages an Apple would provide. Tried it but didn't make a difference. That said, we may start playing with 4K video soon and I understand that Apple's SW for video, Final Cut Pro, is the best for amateurs like me.


I gather you are refering to woman with that comment?
How incredibly shallow and tacky.

No, but I like the way you think.
I worked in bars here in LA when I was young and I know what you are looking to be PC on here. But that isn't among the terms commonly used here. But there are plenty of men and women in bars who are thinking only of the single thing they want when they go to a bar. That will never change. And if you think people are gonna start suddenly abandoning their DNA to choose on anything much past looks then I like your dream but it ain't gonna happen soon.

I can see how that kinda mimicks the OZ (OZ and So Cal are very similar) style but I'm referring to the buyers who only focus on price so they come in and clean out all the crap ugly junk so I don't have to see 50 boats or motorcycles or whatever to find the clean, pretty, perfectly maintained stuff. It's especially common now with online sales like eBay. Excellent condition in America's NE where everything rusts is a completely different appearance than excellent condition in America's southwest where the appearance of cars/boats/motorcycles can last forever.