Anchor rode re-build\switch - 1 0f 3 - 2014

December 2014 -Anchored in Barra-Bahia de Navidad Lagoon, Mexico

 OK we have a problem. Our anchor chain is just not going work out any more. We have been keeping a measurement log and it is just gotten too thin in places. We were hooping to get this season from it. Not so. There is probably about 100' that needs to be discarded. We have in the past cut off some from the chain. This summer we cut 5' from the anchor back as it was worn. So we have about 185' of 3\8 3B chain. Another 125' of three strand rode spliced o to that. We will go into the Grand Isla Navidad Resort Marina for a day to string out the chain onto the dock and cut out the bad part.

 We will need a utility cleat in the anchor looker of our 36' Islander Freeport sail boat for the 8 plat rode we will be using. Of course there is no where to purchase a Schaefer Stainless 8" Cleat so we will "borrow" one from one of the stays. We have a smaller one we can use in it's place until we can replace it with a new one.

Finding the placement for the Schaefer Stainless 8" Cleat.

Looks about right. Who knows till we try using it.

The anchor locker has a thick deck and we were lucky to have screws to fit the cleat ad deck. Not our fist choice for cleats but it will work and we are in "the field" here. No resources to work with but our own.

The 8 plate rode has 10' of 3B chain spliced on.

New and old.

The old 3 B 3\8 chain is stretched out to the point it now skips out of the gypsy.

Some links are also way thin.

New chain sitting in gypsy. Some point in the next 6 months or so we will order 200' of 3\8 3B chain and re-splice the rode to it.

Note:

 We did eventually get 125' of 3\8 Acco chain brought down from the US. It is the chain the Lewmar H3 Anchor Windlass recommended for use.  The local chain did not fit the gypsy well. It was very expensive to bring it here so thats why 125' not 225'.

We stored the 8 plat rode in the bilge. 

It was for an emergency rode for our Bruce 44# anchor . Our every day anchor is our 45 lb CQR. We have never dragged with our CQR and it came with the boat. It also sets every time no problem! 

Chain to 8 plat splice.

We had never marked the 8 plat line. We strung it out on deck and marked it with some "lucky we had some" line markings. They came out a bit wrong in spacing so we had to redo them all and it was hot out!

We used this sewing tool to snake the markins into the 8 plat. Worked great.

Marking the line.

Green for 60\90 then red then yellow.

Re-doing the markings.

Ahaaa, all done. We now will see if we need to use the drum or can use the gypsy. It will matter on the way we can get the line to flow into the boat.