Yes we can certainly do that. Are there any othe questions people would like answering on anchoring so that I can put together a useful follow up questionnaire?

Many years ago when I was a bit less informed I used a stainless steel thimble connecting to a heavy duty galvanized shackle. This was completely submerged in salty water, part of a trot mooring system. Towards the end of the Scottish sailing season the thimble was in perfect condition, the shackle was half eaten through. It was replaced with an all galvanized system. Any comments?

I have paced a new survey designed to answer the stainless debate in a new topic. called "stailess versus galvanised"

[quote="chrisdevans" post=332]As per my earlier post, we do have a stainless swivel from Kong - new this year so latest version. My understanding is that stainless only becomes a potential problem when immersed in salt water for long periods. So not useful for permanent moorings, or I guess for sitting swinging for weeks on end without raising. We sometimes sit for a few days at a time, but rarely longer, and we are always very vigilant in washing down immediately with fresh water on the swivel after use.

Is this enough? I guess time will tell.[/quote]

If you 're only there a few days, why bother with a swivel? Instead, weigh anchor slowly and allow it to untwist.

During the off season, we always take the chain out - mainly to inspect, sometimes to re-paint markings. I guess this would be a good time to untwist the chain - if it were severely twisted - however I don 't remember any issues with twisted chain during this process - and I don 't use a swivel.

Bill Balme

Could do, Bill. Only opted for a swivel originally due to problems getting 32kg Delta aligned to come over bow roller. Twisting was a minor irritation but not a bad problem. Original swivel used in ignorance was poor quality, but nevertheless worked well with very frequent use - we live aboard and sail a lot, and do not tend to sit at anchor for weeks at a time.

The short chain between anchor and swivel, plus a high quality galvanised certified commercial shackle would seem to relieve the possibility of the sideways pull potential weakness of the swivel. Interestingly the Kong spec gives the straight line and sideways MWL of 2000kgs. This considerably exceeds both the 10mm chain and the shackle, both at around 1250/1500kgs, so is the swivel the weakest link in this configuration? I have also ensured the only removable pin in the swivel is locked with suitable adhesive. I guess if left submerged or not freshwater rinsed, corrosion could become an issue over time, but checking for that is part of the overall ongoing ground tackle maintenance.

This debate is very interesting, but the hardest part is comparing like with like - all chain or chain and rope/swivel direct to anchor or with a shackle or with a short chain and a shackle/side pull or straight pull/cheap stainless or high quality/long or short immersion/good or poor maintenance - OR any combination of the above.

Certainly there are some horror stories, but what were the combinations and was the load when failure occurred direct or sideways? Opinions seems very strong as well!! If one of the experts could assure me one way or the other that my configuration and products will work or categorically not for what I do, that would be brilliant!!

Here 's a new post on anchor swivels that covers the pros and cons. What are your feelings on using an anchor swivel?


To Swivel or to Twist, That is The Question
To a cruiser, anchoring tackle is perhaps one of the most important pieces of gear – second only to the boat itself. As such, any mention of the pros or cons of any particular component, such as swivels, or configuration will... coastalboating.net

http://www.coastalboating.net/Features/Editorials/swivels/index.html

Vice Commodore, OCC 

The use of any piece of equipment on a boat should solve a problem. I used a swivel the first 5+ years of boating as that was the recommendation at the time. For the last 30 years I have not used a swivel, 13 years being full time live-aboard.In certainly thousands, probably 10s of thousands of times where we anchored, I have never come across a problem that lead to me wishing for a swivel. The consults I have done with people and complaints were tracked often to those who lock their chain down (chain lock or in the windlass). A snubber is the answer to this as it allows free rotation which is absorbed in the snubber.
Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Having had a catastrophic failure of a swivel some years ago I sleep much more soundly without one and with the chain connected to the anchor with a moused shackle. I have not experienced a problem in not having a swivel.

Inevitably the chain does build up twists and normally the windlass accommodates these by the chain occasionally jumping over the socket of the gypsy (wildcat). Periodically these twists should be removed by removing the anchor and veering the first 30 or 40 metres of chain normally used, and then bringing it back aboard slowly allowing the free end of the chain to rotate. Twists do not normally come out when the anchor is attached especially if it is a large or heavy Rocna or Spade.

Hi John,
Twists in the chain may seem inevitable, but I have not had my chain ending up twisted. This may be because I use a fairly long and small diameter snubber which may absorb more twist than most. I agree that some twist may resolve itself when the chain does its occasional jumping in the gypsy. I suspect much also gets untwisted when the anchor frees itself from the bottom and while it hangs free on the way back to the boat. In any case, we agree about the need for a swivel.
My best, Dick

Here is a report on failure of a Kong swivel. It 's a type of failure I had not seen before.

http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/lectronicday.lasso?date=2009-05-15#.VcjUivnG-PV

Vice Commodore, OCC