Anchor Swivel - Lucky Escape

[multihullsailor6]

In January 2012 I upgraded my main anchor from a 10kg Bruce to a more modern 14kg Bügel anchor and at the same time I also upgraded the anchor swivel from a barely adequate size (came with the boat likle the Bruce anchor) and put in a new good medium size anchor swivel.

As I am currently virtually anchoring all the time today I decided to upgrade the anchor swivel again, partly also to add some more weight at the anchor shaft.

When I took off the old anchor swivel - one of those with two interlocking bolts for which you need an Allan key - I discovered to my horror that the swivel was on one side only being held in place by the fortunately screwed in bolt, the securing part was missing!

So, my advice - CHECK YOUR ANCHR SWIVEL REGULARY!

Happy sailing and anchoring!

[dmmbruce]

Lucky!

Various friends have had trouble with swivels over the years. I have never found the need for one.

Mike

[Talbot]

Lucky!

Various friends have had trouble with swivels over the years. I have never found the need for one.

Mike

Broken anchor swivel has been blamed on a lot of occassions for loss of an anchor. It is just one more failure risk in your anchor system.

Stainless and galvanised do not work well together anyway.

[therapy]

From all my reading over the years I have found that, in general, those that use them (anchor a lot) have them fail. Those that don't use them (don't anchor much) have no problem with them.

[multihullsailor6]

Stainless and galvanised do not work well together anyway.

Marc,

That's a very good point but what's the best solution?
- Do without an anchor swivel and use a galvanised shackle?
- Go the stainless steel route, i.e anchor chain, swivel and anchor?

[dmmbruce]

- Do without an anchor swivel and use a galvanised shackle?

That seems to me to be the best choice. You could use a stainless shackle, they are easier to get, and just accept that every 5 years or something, you cut off the last 3 links where the galvanising has gone and reshackle.

Have you tried doing without a swivel. A thread last year(?) had some people saying that they had no trouble with the anchor chain getting twisted. But there were others who found that their anchor span around as they got it up and they had real trouble with it.

I have always anchored when relevant and never had a problem with it, nor did my father, and we have been through quite a variety of anchors and boats!

Mike

[Talbot]

Mark,
That's a very good point but what's the best solution?
- Do without an anchor swivel and use a galvanised shackle?
- Go the stainless steel route, i.e anchor chain, swivel and anchor?

Long term use of stainless underwater is not a good idea as it has issues that can lead to failure.

An anchor swivel should not be necessary for a few days at anchor. Long term is a different matter,

[ggray]

If all chain rode, I can't see any reason for a swivel. If it's not twisted going down, it won't be twisted coming up. Of course as Talbot says, long term might be different.

A combination rode with twisted nylon could well twist when under tension, so in this case using that plaited nylon might be the way to go.

[colemj]

There is no problem with stainless and galvanized. We have been anchoring full time for 4 years using a stainless WASI Powerball connecting galvanized chain to a galvanized anchor. There has been no interaction at all among the two components.

This year, I did cut off the last link of the chain because of wear, but the wear was due to abrasion of the galvanization inside the link on the riding part (the first link with the pin through has constant contact movement) and not to a mixture of metals.

We do experience twisting of the chain (no rope) when anchored for longer periods and the swivel does help, although not how you would expect. It does nothing while the chain is twisting, so the twist happens, but it allows the chain to untwist as the rode is brought back in. The anchor roller has a "V" in it that causes the chain to come in straight and pushes any twist toward the anchor where the swivel accommodates it.

We have never had a failure of the swivel and we anchor a lot, but have seen other types of swivels fail. Personally, I would only use a WASI or Kong swivel (and would be checking the Kong constantly). All the other SS swivels on the market are disasters waiting to happen.

Mark

[scotte]

Our boat originally had a swivel on it, but I cut it off (fasteners had seized) and replaced it with a Crosby shackle. Of course everyone has their way of doing things that works well for them. I like shackles because they are strong, simple, and time-tested - and don't have any moving parts. Get the biggest one that will fit on your chain and anchor, put some Lanocote on the threads, mouse it well, and go find some nice gunkhole for the weekend.

[BigCat]

From all my reading over the years I have found that, in general, those that use them (anchor a lot) have them fail. Those that don't use them (don't anchor much) have no problem with them.

Anchor swivels are for all chain rodes. I used one for years with no problem, but it was galvanized and 1/4" bigger than the chain size.

[therapy]

Anchor swivels are for all chain rodes.
.

OH.

[colemj]

Anchor swivels are for all chain rodes. I used one for years with no problem, but it was galvanized and 1/4" bigger than the chain size.

Actually, they are more useful for mixed rodes, where the nylon part of the rode causes a lot of twist in the chain.

Mark

[dmmbruce]

Actually, they are more useful for mixed rodes, where the nylon part of the rode causes a lot of twist in the chain.

Mark

Mark, are you meaning nylon 3strand or nylon multiplait? I haven't seen any 3strand used for years.

Mike

[colemj]

3-strand - I see it all the time. Many chain-to-rope windlass gypsies do not handle multiplait well.

Mark

[Brightside2]

Hi.
With anchor swivels on the new type of anchor (say Rocna) you need a swivel with up & down, then side to side and 360 degree rotation axis of movement. Often listed a Double swivels but be careful when you look at some of the photos they are up & down and again up & down and finally 360 degree which is the wrong manufacture.

The problem is the Rocna style and new generation anchors hold so well compared with the older generation that the anchor does not yield when the tide turns so the wrong type (single swivel, up & down plus 360 degree) swivel does and the jaws open.

I think the Kong site shows that for a single swivel, it should be installed a few chain links away from the end of the anchor.

Hope this makes sense.
Mike.

Just been on to the Kong website and it no longer shows the diagram explaining the problem but the Rocnar knowledge base on ' anchor swivels' does. It's all about 'Lateral Forces'.

I got my Double swivel anchor connector by Osculati from their UK agent, Sea-screw in Eastbourne UK. It is a special order and not on their website, so phone them.

Google 'Cox Engineering anchor connector testing' for an excellent site.