Stop my anchor chain hawse pipe from leaking

[drwayne]

Nerf football jammed in the hole

[roverhi]

The best but not easiest solution is to glass in the bottom of the chain locker and install overboard through hulls to drain it. Other than the water the bottomless chain locker lets in is also dumps bottom gunk off the chain and into your bilge. Unless you like the smell of bottom ooze the stuff can make for a very aromatic interior that's virtually impossible to get rid of.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Vasco

And that's not a hawse pipe it's a spurling pipe.

Thank you, I knew what it wasn't but not what it was called. I would guess he is missing a cap slotted for the chain.

[Mike Banks]

The solution commercial vessels use is stuff newspaper all around the chain then cover with a thin layer of cement worked aroundthe chain and top of the hawse (spurling pipe). The weight of the anchor takes it all overboard as soon as the anchor windlass brake is released. Sometimes the anchor needs a bit of help taking off--a winch brake handle will do as a crowbar for this purpose.

Far more practical is a waterproof cover to enclose the entire windlass, hawse and chain--and tighten a zippered sleeve around the chain with a lanyard to minimise any water ingress..

And even more obvious would be the one where a drain is fitted to the chain locker so that it exits well above the water line. This may involve fitting a heavy duty fibreglass sole in the chain locker so that the chain is held well aloft the laden water line and the sole drains all of the deck water and any residual water and mud particles adhering to the chain. Do not make the mistake of having the outlet at or below the waterline, the sea will wash in and out constantly and your anchor chain will not last so long.

The outlet thru-hull needs a small lip washer made from a bent piece of rubber hose cut length ways and opened out, so that draining dirty water clears the hull and rust stains do not get onto the paintwork as much as would a standard outlet. In eight years I never had any rust stains. My water left the chain locker sole via a pipe which curved to the hull outlet fixture. I did not use a sea cock--the chain locker was behind a lockable waterproof door in the forward bulkhead. The chain locker was, when this portal was secured, entirely separate from the rest of the vessel interior. No smell of mud or H2S got into the boat.

[singlespeed]

But a pool noodle and cut off a couple of inches. Slit it lengthwise on one side, then wrap it around the chain and stuff it into the pipe. Won't keep outside a lot of the water, but will keep out the vast majority. To extract the piece of noodle, drop the chain about six inches and pull out the piece of noodle. You can reuse it many times. If you lose it, just cut off a new piece.

[Mike OReilly]

The pool noodle might work like my sponge. My problem is I have so little space in the hole. I'm thinking about designing some sort of rubber cap, like ones used to seal electrical wires that pass through gaps. Something like these:

[oceanshoretiga]

I have used, successfully, a system of Vaseline and 'silicon'. First, set the chain in its resting position. Second, the Vaseline is used to line the pipe. Third, you pump a silicon plug around the chain and in the pipe. Let it set and it then stays on the chain when the anchor is set. I've had such a plug work for years before having to be remade. Depending on your set-up, you'll probably need a plug at the inner end of the pipe.

Best of the New Year to all of you from January 1 here in Australia.

Jim

[sy_gilana]

We use expanding PU foam from a can. On re-anchoring it just pulls out, then you can peel it off the chain and recover it before deploying.