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I have BB chain that has been rusting a great deal lately. I don't think that the chain is anywhere near needing a replacement but now every time I put the anchor out the foredeck is full of little rust particles that get everywhere and leave stains if they are not washed off in time.
I have seen one guy who was wire brushing his chain and painting it but I have fears that if I try this the paint might start flaking off all over the deck as well as new rust.
Is there anyway I can galvanized it again myself or would I have to go to some place where it might be really expensive to have it done?
It does sound like the galvanization has failed, which is all too common these days. Even finding a place to re-galvanize is hard, let alone probably not cost effective, especially if you have to ship it both ways. New chain time, it sounds. It is a wear item, unfortunately.
If you have access to fresh water, keeping it well rinsed and dried after each use will extend it's life significantly. I hose the locker down every time I return to the slip.
Sounds like the galvanization has lived its life. How old was it?
Do you have space for a wash down pump?
Are you in a slip and have fresh water available?
Longevity will be increased by a fresh water rinse
Listening... I have the same problem right now. I've looked into getting the chain regalvanized, but even where it is possible, which isn't very easy, the cost is exorbitant. It's a shame because the chain has years of life left.
I've looked, rather superficially, at various DIY coatings. Am curious if anything like this would be worth it.
Wash the chain after use. If the chain is rusty at the end connected to the anchor... turn it end for end until the better end is too rusty... then replace.
Galvanizing old chain is costly, time consuming and the results are poor.
It's just not an option for me much of the time. I spend sometimes months off the dock, anchoring all the way. I don't have the fresh water to spare on board. If it rains I collect, and can use that, but this is hit-and-miss.
While this might get rid of the rust, it will do nothing to stop the rust from reforming almost immediately. Definitely in the time of a single use again, or just sitting in the locker for a few days.
Regalvanizing chain is almost never the best approach, particularly for boats that use a windlass. While the galvanizing may be thick enough to accommodate the lost steel, the chain remains weakened, and the cost is a large part of just buying new.
We have found that by the time chain has rusted to the point of flaking, it is a short matter of time before one goes to deploy it and finds it kinked and rusted together so bad it won't come out of the locker.
In the scheme of things, good chain is relatively inexpensive. We get 5-7yrs out of Maggi chain in full time cruising, and the last 300' of 5/16" G43 we bought cost $700. So about $100-$150/yr. Just don't buy chain at West Marine if cost is a concern.
We've had to replace our chain about every 2.5 years as we sit on it almost every night of the year.
Is your chain jumping in the gypsy? Regalvanizing could be an option if you can find someone who can do it and will put an extra heavy layer of zinc on to make up for the loss from rust.
But you must find a place that does hot dip galvanizing, not electroplate, which is actually what new chain comes with, no matter what the advertising says. Hot dip comes out very rough and dull, not smooth and shiny like the chain sold today.
Cleaning the chain and galvanizing it are very environmentally unfriendly, so it was pretty much not done any longer in the US, but with this administration, who knows?
If you get the rust off you can use ZRC cold galvanizing high zinc compound. May be able to get another season or 2 out of the chain depending on how good of a job you do and how often you anchor. I have to admit I do like the idea that Whalerus proposed for getting the rust off. If you have ever had a rusty chain come loose and drag down an asphalt road you'll know how effective it is for removing rust. Of course it removes more than just rust which could be a problem. Don't have any gravel roads in my neck of the woods ( we have pig trails and two rut roads) and not many of them left anymore but if we did have them I would certainly give the idea a shot.
I washed down my chain after every use, it was 1/4-inch BB and never had a speck of rust in more than 10 years of use. The previous owner had 3/8 BB chain, washed it down after every use and it was still clean 25 years later. I think the crud and mud left on the chain may have more to do with the loss of galvanize. I have used galvanic sprays, and they tend not to hold up for very long, but it would sure be a lot less expensive than buying new chain.
Galvanic sprays! That's what I was wondering about Gary. Can you tell me more? I know nothing about all this stuff. What type, or product name? And how hard is it to apply?
I know new chain is in my near future, but I check my chain pretty thoroughly and I believe it has plenty of thickness left. It's just getting a lot of surface dusty rust. I'd like to get another season or two out of it if I can.
We've used galvanizing sprays, and they might get you another season, but not much more. They are just paint on an imperfect and unprepped surface subject to abrasive use, so it comes off pretty quickly, particularly if anchoring in sand or similar substrates.
To have any hope of it sticking on chain, the existing rust has to be removed, and the chain cleaned. Removing rust by dragging it on a gravel road is likely to remove enough mass to make the chain no longer fit the gypsy.
If one only has 30' or so of chain, then maybe this is a reasonable approach, although 30' of new chain is not an onerous expense. If one has 300' of chain, by the time you haul it off the boat, take it to a gravel road and drag it around, then buy 20 cans of galvanizing spray and spend an entire day coating the chain, you have spent a lot of time and a good chunk of money that would have been more fruitful applied toward new chain.
Galvanizing spray works better for something like the anchor, where the tip often starts to rust. Wire brush that clean, treat with rust lock, and spray on galvanizing. This does work because the anchor tip sees little abrasion beyond each initial set, takes very little time, and costs only a can of spray.
I've used cold galvanizing, in fact, I plan to paint the new keel studs and nuts in the bilge with it to protect them. It works reasonably well on stationary metal you want to protect. I'm highly skeptical that it would take much abrasion to remove it. I'm sure it would last a little while and probably matters greatly whether the chain was laying in sand or soft mud. Perhaps whether the water was brackish or high salinity.
Have found for anchor tip.
Wire brush until bare metal.
Good zinc rich primer.
Over coat with metal paint. The over coat is quite a bit harder than zinc paint so lasts longer.
Down here just use spray cans. From hardware store. Most places have primer for cars and metal paint of some sort for engines, stoves and the like. Way cheaper than IWW or budget.
Think many types of stainless aren’t as strong as simple mild steel. Stainless chain is quite expensive. See it used for dinghies as now cable isn’t sufficient to deter thieves any longer. We went with galvie. I can replace it four times for the cost of stainless.
Periodically will pour straight vinegar into chain locker and flush with fresh. Keeps it clean and smelling nice. Anchoring mostly in sand and dip anchor up/down so it’s clean while leaving. Chain is 7 years old and still good. Biggest deal is to not get Chinese chain if you can avoid it. Recently have been putting out the same amount of chain over and over (100’). So getting grass growth from 90’ to 100’. Use stiff nylon brush to remove. Trick is to do it right away. If it dries it’s hard to get off.
Given the importance, use, life span, cost of anchor chain when it gets to the too rusty period the only real answer is to ................... replace it.
To me it just just crazy to do things like painting etc. that it the end put your boat at risk ti save the cost of a chain every 5 years or so.
Pondering the same question. 4 year old chain. It spends perhaps 150 night on anchor per season so 600 nights. Starting to see some rust. If I flip it the whole l get maybe another 3 years. So maybe 1,000 nights on anchor. That’s a 2-3 bucks a night to anchor.
It's been a few years, and it's true that pollution rules have reduced the number of companies, but galvanizing is still possible.
When I had two shorter lengths of chain and two rusty anchors, I took them to a local (well, out in a suburban industrial area) galvanizer. They have a sand blasting company next door.
Total bill for cleaning and dipping was quite a bit less than replacing all of our ground tackle with similar quality.
It is a heavy enough box of material that you probably need to find a way to transport it and pick it up.
They had our anchors and chains ready in a few days, shinning like new, on a pallet.
BTW, I had previously tried using the spray can of "cold galvanize" and it rubbed of pretty fast in use. Perhaps my application technique was not up to standard... ??
A few years ago I tried pretty hard to get some chain galvanized in the Philadelphia area. I ended up in North Jersey, dropped the chain off, and the hey kept it for a month only to eventually tell me they could not do it.
I've had decent results using Ospho to treat mild rust on anchor chain before spraying hardware store cold galvanizing on it. It helps give the paint a better surface to bond to. Once the chain gets rusty it's still a maintenance issue, though - the spray on galvanizing isn't nearly as tough as the hot-dip, and if you use the chain a lot you're probably not going to be able to re-coat it enough to stay ahead of the rust. For folks who use their chain seasonally, though, doing the ospho / spray galv process at the end of the season can be a good way to extend the life of the chain. YMMV
I have had my Acco chain re-galvanized by Bristol Galvanizing (now AZZ) in Bristol. VA and by South Atlantic Galvanizing in Graham, NC, twice each. It was cheaper than buying new. My biggest problem was getting enough weight together to reach their minimum charge weight. I collected chain and anchors from friends to get up to around 300 lb. The last time I asked, neither were doing chain. Both had too much business to mess with high labor, low volume work. It is after all a little hard to galvanize chain without soldering it into a big lump. They'd rather do structural steel. Faced with that problem I bought a 550 ft drum of Titan 5/16" BBB from Amazon at a price much less that WM ($1313 vs $3100). It was a Prime item so shipment was free. Delivery put it in my garage. I cut 137 ft from the 550 ft drum and it is now on the boat. It should last three years before it starts to stain the deck. Then I will cut off another 137 ft. In the end I'll have about 600 lb to be re-galvanized. Maybe I'll still be alive. Maybe the galvanizing companies will then want the business.
Keep an eye on Titan chain on Amazon. I think they dispose of damaged stock via this route. The stuff comes and goes. It is Chinese chain, but they also made my Ronca anchor and my zinc anodes, so I'm not too worried. Hey, the Chinese also made my cell phone.
I've had small batch galvanizing done here in Seattle but the places don't like to do it as they do large pieces. Used chain at a consignment shop however is usually pretty cheap.
Owning a boat means keeping it, the components and systems in good repair. This includes replacement and upgrades as well.
Galvanized chain and anchors will corrode. They do continue to perform as needed with unsightly corrosion. But too much corrosion will weaken any metal component and it then fail under normal conditions. I suppose some rusted chain does part. I haven't read accounts of it getting that far.
Bite the bullet and replace the chain and anchor before it degrades too much.
These sorts of expenses are part of boat ownership.
We've anchored in some places with stinky mud where after a few days, the rusty chain laying in the mud came back up rust free and black like it had been treated with rust treatment. Stayed rust free for a considerable time afterward.
Probably was a type of rust treatment - an anaerobic environment that replaces the oxide with something else common to that environment (sulfate? tannate?).
We've anchored in some places with stinky mud where after a few days, the rusty chain laying in the mud came back up rust free and black like it had been treated with rust treatment. Stayed rust free for a considerable time afterward.
Probably was a type of rust treatment - an anaerobic environment that replaces the oxide with something else common to that environment (sulfate? tannate?).
Hmmm, now that you mention that, I had the same thing happen to me two seasons ago. We were anchored in a harbour for a long time with a bottom that was this fine, black, sticky mud. Probably a combination of mud, loon-crap, and generations of fishing activity.
The chain came up clean of rust, but stained very dark. It stayed clean for a while after that. I hadn't really thought about it, but you're probably right about some other chemical reaction taking the location of the iron oxide. Interesting...
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