Anchor maintenance

[ssullivan]

Today I started to get our primary CQR ready for a re-galvanizing. I went to remove the anchor, but both shackles are frozen. And when I say frozen, I mean a steel pin through the hole hit by a hammer won't even begin to budge the threaded bolt. I actuall bent the steel pin.

So, my shackles aren't coming off without a cutting torch or whatever.

This leads to the question: Is it safe to simply leave these on? They sure aren't going anywhere. Can I have the shop just re-galvanize the whole thing... chain, shackles and anchor in one shot rather than taking it all apart?

Any input on this? I'm not showing any real wear on the hardware where they meet, but I had figured it would always be best to disassemble and replace the shackles since I'm galvanizing anyway. Looks like this can't be done without a cutting torch.

What would you do? Anyone had this problem before?

[Alan Wheeler]

Or a hacksaw. Know anyone with a recipricating saw you could borrow or a jigsaw. Just place a metal cutting blade in the saw and away you go. But warning, Catch ALL the filings. The a natoriouse at etching into anything as they rust and leaving a nasty rust spot on your lovely glass or paint.
Or you get a hammer and something else metal underneath to belt against and hit the thread end of the shackle all around the outside. This expands the thread and loosens it.
If you are having the chain Galved, then it needs special treatment after the hot dip. It is shaken to ensure the links are not "welded" together. This may be difficult to do with an anchor firmly attached.

[Rick]

Yes, remove the shackles. I've had to do this many times over the years. Carry and use a large pair of vice grips, sometimes two pair are useful. Use a 14 teeth per inch hacksaw blade and a good hacksaw beefy enough so that the blade does not rotate vary easily when you inadvertently apply the wrong pressure on the hacksaw handle.

It is awkward yet quite doable in a few minutes becuase chain and shackles are relatively mild steel that will cut easily by hand. It is only your ability to hold the vice grips (clamped onto the shackle leaving sufficient room to place the cutting blade and work) rotating the shackle hard against the anchor so that it will not move when you then apply the blade and begin cutting.

Wheels is TOOOO correct in that you want to capture ALL the cuttings. Even then wash down the area well where you were working. Look at it again many hours later and look for any tiny rust spots and get on them with FSR or even rubbing compound if necessary.

Shackles are notoriously known to weaken and break before a chain link will so it is good to replace them periodically, even when oversized compared to the chain diameter. This is why I have eliminated them altogether on the anchor system. You may recall my use of the KONG S/S swivel to use merely to attach the chain to the anchor just to eleminate the shackle in favor of that device which can be disassembled and inspected carefully for any flaws or degradation of any kind.

I've had many anchors re-galvanized over the years. The best price has usually been when I could find someone with a pickup truck and gather other cruisers' anchors to get a pallet full of them to do all at once unless the galvanizer has a batch of other things happenstance to do with your anchor. Make sure that the person doing the job knows to rotate the CQR pieces immediately upon removal from the vat when warm to knock loose the zinc which will immobilize the two pieces making it more difficult to do later when cold.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Possibly a bit late now...............depending on what you have already done to the shackle!

But I do have quite a bit of experiance with frozen shackles from lifting mooring chains from drying moorings as and when they wear out. Usually whilst standing knee deep in mud..........somewhat away from power tools.

The shackles (same size if not a big bigger than those used to attach a decent Anchor) are always rusted solid - quite often also coated in thick rust to the chain........and their is an incentive not to have to use a hacksaw by hand, cos' it be like wrestling an eel.

1) Hit the shackle with a hammer to knock off all the rust that will fall off, taking care not to distort anything or "seal" the screwed end (in practice no great difficulty as standing knee deep in mud yer cannot apply "full welly") - I suspect that yours won't have been this bad.

2) Use the largest monkey wrench that will still fit the shackle key end (don't mess around with the hole!)..........so you get lots of leverage - and use a large tommy bar (I have "special" f#ck off sized screwdriver just for this job!) fitted through the U part of the shackle to counter the force you will then apply. TAKE care with things slipping - you can end up punching yourself - fairly hard

Works 70% of the time. maybe another 15% comes from fitting extentions of pipe to the ends of each lever to increase the force (Luke ), but this increases the riskof twisting / ripping the shackle key end off and having to resort to the hacksaw . (Note: all percentages approximate )

And a free tip when working in mud, take something to put yer tools in when you need to "just" put them down for 2 seconds......as otherwise they sink



Or sell 3 foot of Anchor chain end on E-Bay. Buyer collects

[Rick]

Almost forgot: you only need to cut through one side of the shackle. Then reapply the vice grips to force open the cut sufficiently to take it off. With chain only I use two vice grips to rotate the cut open. This process takes less time than messing around with penetrating oils and large wrenches attempting to break loose the rusted pin.

Don't rely on the galvanizing shop to remove rust before putting the anchor into the vat. Use steel brushes and 80 grit wet or dry sandpaper to remove rust. Make sure that there is no oil or grease anywhere on the anchor. Some shops don't degrease the parts first.

[Paul Elliott]

Sean,

I would cut off the shackle in any case. You want to be able to get the anchor off the chain in an emergency. Of course I can't think of an example of an emergency that would require this, but if it were my boat, I expect that just such an emergency would present itself at the worst possible moment. In any case, how do you know that the shackle isn't weakened by the corrosion that has frozen it?

[ssullivan]

Excellent advice, all! Thank you for the input. For clarification, the shackle isn't rusted... it's just completely stuck. I will at first try grabbing the pin with a large, long handled "something or other" from my tool collection. If this doesn't work, I'll break into the saw blades to cut. Also, I'll do that on the dock (I'm bow-in) instead of on deck.

Thanks again. I hadn't been to the galvanizing shop before. Again it's a question of middle-size boat experience. My little boat never needed this done. The megayachts had stainless anchors. Thank you!

[Auspicious]

Give both ends of the pin a shot of something like Liquid Wrench or PB Blaster. Let it sit for while, repeating every couple of hours. Take a shot at backing the pin out as the spirit moves you with the tools noted above.

Better living through chemistry.

[cat man do]

Do you have to remove and re-do the lead over there yourself, or does the galviniser do it for you?

My plough had a couple of Kg in the tip that I had to melt out, and then pour back in when regalved.

Dave

[ssullivan]

Honestly, I don't know. I was going to look at doing this project in the AM. Tightened the belts on my squeaking Hyundai instead this afternoon.

I will inspect for the lead. I'm sure the shop won't do the lead, since they don't appear to know or do much except galvanizing. They are specialists and that's it.

[seafox]

I think that the galv process is hot enough to melt the lead. May pay to get it out first.
I used a grinder with a cutting blade to get my last shackle off. It came off real easy.

[Rick]

I haven't had any trouble with any lead coming out from the galvanizing process.

[zephyr4]

I have read about regalvanizing anchors and chains, but what is the approximate cost to regalvanize an anchor (in the US)?

I assume that most cruisers end up paying the shop minimun for a job like this.

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by Rick

I haven't had any trouble with any lead coming out from the galvanizing process.

G'day Rick,


Hot dip galvanising is around 460c

Hot-dip galvanizing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Lead melting point is 327.5c

Chemical Elements.com - Lead (Pb)

Over here the lead must be removed before galvanizing

Dave

[ssullivan]

For a 45lb CQR and 200' of 3/8" chain I got the following quote:

"We can galvanize your anchor and steel chain for $250.00 Our current lead time is 5 - 7 working days."