Chain suddenly has started slipping on retrival (help)

[discovery]

we have a 2002 passage 456 with the original horizon 1500 horizontal windless, we have 5/16 high test chain, it's worked flawlessly for 10 years we have owned the boat til just recently, the issue is on retrival when it comes under load the chain will suddenly lose its grip and 2-4 links go forward then catch again and this keeps up making retrival of the anchor a noisy and difficult process. Nothing has changed as far a alignment or equipment like anchor swivel etc in the last 3 years. I watched closely as the slipping was happening and I could not see any play in the shaft it was turning all the time and the slippage was the chain jumping . I assumed the gypsy was worn so I purchased a new on and installed it today, no change in the issue. I have noticed the chain seems twisted and it seems to spiral out to the water , can a twisted chain do this, if so how to I go about removing the twist? We're in the Caribbean now and not close to a marina at this time. Any help is appreciated. I did examine the swivel on the mantus anchor off ours and it was frozen, I fixed that perhaps that was what had put the twist in the chain.

 

[justsomeguy]

...how to I go about removing the twist? Any help is appreciated.

Go out to deep water and let the anchor and chain hang for a bit?

 

[discovery]

Go out to deep water and let the anchor and chain hang for a bit?

Not sure windless can retrieve 200 feet of chain and 65 pd anchor

 

[justsomeguy]

Not sure windless can retrieve 200 feet of chain and 65 pd anchor

Do you mean the battery can't power it?

 

[thinwater]

Do you mean the battery can't power it?

He means all of the chain plus the anchor is darn heavy.

But there is no need. This is NOT like rope. Once you retrieve the chain one time all of the twist is forced out.

However, if you want to be sure, is there a way to recover the chain under zero load, so that it won't jump (anchor with a second anchor and drop the primary and all the chain in shallow water, without setting the anchor).

That will eliminate twist as a cause.

Is it possible that as the chain has become more corroded it is now coning more in the locker, and the chain no longer has enough drop from the windlass? This is common with horizontal windlasses. Try knocking the pile over every 20 feet, and see if that solves it.

 

[Hunter Ad Bot]

And now a word from the sponsor...

Deck fill caps for most Hunter sailboats

Stainless, nylon, in all the shapes and sizes, replacement caps are in stock.
See the product

 

[All U Get]

Our bow roller has a groove in the center and it helps hold the chain links in line while we bring up the anchor. We motor over the anchor to pull it up since the windless cannot pull the heavy boat. There are time when wind and current stretch the chain and makes it difficult. That's when hand signals and a creative vocabulary are used between helm and bow.
http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|2276108|2276122|2304760&id=2656217
All U Get

 

[discovery]

We are on a mooring and I took the anchor off and dropped the chain until completely out, then retrieved it, first 100 feet were fine then at about 100 feet it started slipping , did so until last 20 feet then was smooth again? Did this three or four times same result , then dropped all the chain in the dinghy and exchanged ends so the less used chain is now nearest anchor, retrieve was fine! No,jumping , the chain was very twisted at last 50 feet or so, my helper untwisted it as I retrieved it. Go figure?

 

[discovery]

Did the knock the pile over idea didn't seem to make,a difference

 

[All U Get]

So it was the twist in the chain causing the slips?

All U Get

 

[discovery]

Yes it appears so, because when I reversed the ends both the unused end and the end that was slipping both sections ran smooth as butter

 

[SG]

How many feet of water were you in when you tried retrieving the chain?
Where you pulling the boat up to the anchor under load (wind or current)?
Do you retrieve the anchor by using the windlass in "spurts" so the motor doesn't overheat?
Did you have the engine alternator providing amperage to the windlass? (e.g., Were you in neutral at 1800 RPM to make sure that you didn't have momentary voltage loss?)
Have you checked to see what your voltage is AT THE WINDLASS while it's under load? (Your cable to the windlass could have deteriorated (remember, it's both the Hot and the Neutral)

When you say the windlass "slipped" do you mean the chain jumped out of the spocket? The motor may have an issue with the windings. The clutch on the windlass could be loose. The winding of the chain would have to be pretty extreme (but maybe). The gypsy may have been damaged (unlikely).