Replacing Anchor Chain, Anchor Windlass, and Chain Locker Modifications

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Replacing Anchor Chain, Anchor Chain Windlass, and Chain Locker Modifications we made to Sailboat Brick House.

We finally found ourselves replacing anchor chain on Brick House. It was a long time coming…the anchor chain is 26+ years old and was getting rusty… so it was a much needed upgrade! It turns out there are quite a few factors to consider when replacing anchor chain on a sailboat! It also turns out that buying anchor chain isn’t the only thing to consider when replacing anchor chain…the Windlass, and the base it sits on is important, right down to the details of the chain locker that the chain will live in! Replacing Anchor Chain is something every cruiser needs to think about and research. When replacing anchor chain, do your homework,a

We are still hard at work in the boatyard in Richards Bay, South Africa. As we sailed across the Indian Ocean this year, we chose Maggi Chains USA to replace our new galvanized anchor chain. This high quality calibrated anchor chain is made by Maggi Chain in Italy. We arranged to have it shipped  to Richards Bay, South Africa via a slow ship. As we made our way across the Indian Ocean, the new anchor chain, slowly made its way to us.

We had decided in SE Asia that we specifically wanted Maggi  Anchor Chain, made in Italy and not some of the chain we were seeing imported locally. We mostly saw Chinese Anchor Chain. It’s not to say all Chinese Chain is inferior. It’s that some is good, some is bad, and it’s hard to figure out if your particular strand is a good one or a bad one, and if it was tested by a reputable company or not, and  if the certificate is authentic or not. So we put our trust in a reputable manufacturer, in the USA; an honest, reputable retailer with great service, and ordered our Maggi anchor chain well in advance of landfall. We ordered galvanized, calibrated 3/8 inch Maggi Aqua4, Grade 40 (G40) anchor Chain from the sister company of http://www.anchorsandchains.com/. 

Twelve or thirteen years ago, we also had purchased an anchor Windlass, made in Italy. It’s a Lofrans Tigres electric windlass, which has performed flawlessly for its entire life. In this video, Patrick takes it off (the anchor Windlass) , does some windlass maintenance and reinstalls the Windlass.

Before he shows how to install the Windlass, he shows many things he did to the chain locker to make sure the Windlass keeps running flawlessly, and to maintain the anchor chain. The anchor locker smells and looks fresher and is ready to receive brand new anchor chain.

 

In the second video, besides a tour of some of the more boring parts of Brick House, Patricks shows the chain locker modifications he did years ago to better accommodate our anchor chain.

The third video is an above deck tour of Sailboat Brick House, which shows a bit more about the Windlass….

Enjoy!

 

 

Valiant 40 Sailboat Tour (#3) Down Below Part 2. Water Tank Repair, Chain Locker, Marine Toilet, Electronics

 

(Disclosure: Maggi Chains provided us a discount, but we chose this anchor chain because we felt it the very best choice to hold our cruising sailboat in everything that will challenge it for the next several decades, anchoring very often in challenging conditions due to the cruising ground that we choose. We certainly could have found much cheaper anchor chain, and purchased it locally to avoid shipping costs. But Maggi Chains was our absolute number one choice when it was time to replace our anchor chain. It was a very researched and educated decision but only time will tell just How good of a decision it was. It will likely appear occasionally in our “What Worked, What Didn’t” articles we write every year, detailing the longevity of or the shortcomings of the marine products we choose to put on Brick House, so watch there for updates, and subscribe to this blog for updates too.)

Here is the  previous video, detailing why we ripped Out the deck below the Windlass. Just how string die sthe deck indeed the Windlass need to be?

Rotten to the CORE! Replace rotten sailboat decking, BEFORE the Lofrans Windlass rips right out!

How we communicate at Sea…

Bluewater Sailboat Brick House Communications at Sea: Predictwind Offshore & Iridium GO or Sailmail and Winlink on the SSB