Anchor Chain jamming

[Ilenart]

G'day,

having a problem where the anchor chain is jamming in the PVC pipe that redirects the anchor chain further aft. I have tried lowering the pvc pipe a couple of inches, however it is still jamming. As I single hand a lot and utilse a remote anchor switch near the helm, this necessitates having to go forward and pull the chain by hand thru the pipe.

My next step will probably try lowering the pipe further and / or cutting the pipe shorter to see if that helps. Anyone have any other ideas?

The photos below show the basic setup.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Ilenart

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by Ilenart

G'day,

having a problem where the anchor chain is jamming in the PVC pipe that redirects the anchor chain further aft. I have tried lowering the pvc pipe a couple of inches, however it is still jamming. As I single hand a lot and utilse a remote anchor switch near the helm, this necessitates having to go forward and pull the chain by hand thru the pipe.

My next step will probably try lowering the pipe further and / or cutting the pipe shorter to see if that helps. Anyone have any other ideas?

Any suggestions appreciated.

Ilenart

You need the weight of suspended chain to pull it through the pipe. Given the length of the pipe there will be too much friction to allow the chain to free fall, particularly when the chain comes in loaded with mud et al. I'd shorten the chain pipe by quite a bit and perhaps run the chain over an idler wheel mounted on a J-Frame bolted to the overhead beam to allow the greatest free fall.

FWIW...

[Minnewaska]

Is that a washdown hose line it is trying to avoid? I would try to secure that up higher, shorten the pipe and drop it further to create a much steeper angle.

[jrd22]

Hard to tell from the pics but it doesn't look like cutting the pipe will solve the problem. If you shorten it, or drop it to get more fall you are going to move the pile of chain forward into the higher part of the bow so it will jam up even sooner. I kind of like HyLyte's idea of a pulley that the chain could run over and then down. It might be possible to position the pulley further aft so the chain would have further to fall and more room to pile up.

[Minnewaska]

Pics are hard, but it looks to me like the chain is already sliding away from the pipe. Cutting it is only necessary if you drop it down, so that the top of the chain pile isn't too close to it. I agree that just cutting it, doesn't seem like it would suffice and would interfere with the water line in the pic.

[P424]

I have the same type of setup on my Pearson but lots more area for the chain to drop. I still suffer from chain pile up after about 50 to 75 ft. Not a good thing for the windlass. I was able to fix it by putting an inspection hole over the locker so I can reach in and stagger the chain as it piles up. Now I get the whole 200 ft in without an issue. just wish I didnt have to resort to the hole.

[capecodda]

I chartered a boat with a similar setup a couple of weeks ago. The charter operator had cut the PVC pipe lengthwise, so it was open on top. If the jam involves the chain bunching up and catching on the top, this might help.

It is hard to tell from the pic if there's enough slope, or you could have enough slope and still have room for the pile (as stated by others).

[tdw]

Ilenart, Hi.

I'm a bit confused by this as well. Is it that the chain doesn't run through the pipe cleanly or is is that the pile of chain builds up and blocks the pipe?

If the former then increasing the slope of the pipe should help but you then run the risk of the pile of chain building up and blocking the outlet.

On Raven we have the problem where the chain piles up under the windlass until it jams in the pipe. Have to kick it away every now and then which makes pulling up the anchor something of a pain but doable.

If it is in the pipe, Capecodda's idea sounds good .

[Ilenart]

Originally Posted by tdw

Ilenart, Hi.

I'm a bit confused by this as well. Is it that the chain doesn't run through the pipe cleanly or is is that the pile of chain builds up and blocks the pipe?

If the former then increasing the slope of the pipe should help but you then run the risk of the pile of chain building up and blocking the outlet.

On Raven we have the problem where the chain piles up under the windlass until it jams in the pipe. Have to kick it away every now and then which makes pulling up the anchor something of a pain but doable.

If it is in the pipe, Capecodda's idea sounds good .

The chain does not run through the pipe cleanly, I think where there is a bend in the pipe. Hence by making the drop steeper (either by shortning or lowering the pipe) this may clear the blockage.

Another alternative is to make the bend larger or less sharp. However, as the bend is built into the bulkhead, this will require major surgery in an area which is painful to get at. Hence I am looking at other options to try first.

There is actually a fair bit of room below the pipe at the moment (yep the picture does not really highlight this). So I'll probably try lowering the pipe first. If I hit problems with the chain building up and blocking the pipe, I'll then cut back some of the pipe.

Also this is a rope / chain combination and I think the chain is sitting on some of the rope. As the rope has to done by hand I can probably pull that further back out of the way and the chain will have even more depth to fall into.

svHyLyte, thanks for the idea of an idler wheel, have'nt heard of that one before.

Thanks for the other comments. Once I figure this one out I'll post whatever I come up with.

Ilenart

PS another thought, could just get the ol' ball & chain to pull it through, however that does not work when you are singlehanding

[Gladrags1]

I too like Capecoda's idea of cutting the pipe on the top of the pipe, leaving a shelf for the chain to slide down on. I don't think I would make the pipe any shorter as you need to direct the chain to a deeper part of the anchor well. It's too bad that the ancor chain "fall" is not verticle as you would have a much better result.