I'm installing a windlass on my Hunter 336, a boat that was definitely not built with a windlass in mind. I need to drop the chain from the deck-level windlass straight down to the anchor locker, which is under the vee berth. Because of the way the boat is built forward, the chain must drop *through* the existing vee berth to reach the anchor locker. Now, I can't have chain just flying down through the inside of the boat. It's wet, for one thing. Not to mention that said chain comes from a hole in the deck. I have to maintain some kind of watertight integrity in the cabin. My plan is to enclose the chain completely from the deck pipe to the locker, and then shorten the vee berth with a new custom-built bulkhead that will hide this enclosure. However, I am at a loss as how to construct the enclosed chain pipe. A dockmate has suggested a big PVC pipe, but I can't help think that the chain will pulverize it eventually. It would be great if I could use PVC, since it is the right shape to start with, won't rust, and would work great with fiberglass materials. Since when did a hawsepipe stop being a pipe and become a shiny metal ring? I need a real pipe! Any ideas? Thanks, Paul sv Escape Artist h336
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Gord May
PVC Hawse Pipe
Tho' I agree that your anchor chain will eventually grind up a PVC hawsepipe; I would give it a try. If nothing else, it would act as a cheap, easilly fabricated template for a future improvement. I suspect that the challenges will be in providing an adequate seal where the PVC pipe meets the deck fitting, and in supporting the PVC against dropping down into (towards) the chain locker. Don't forget to properly undercut the deck core and epoxy it. Regards, and Good Luck! Gord
Tho' I agree that your anchor chain will eventually grind up a PVC hawsepipe; I would give it a try. If nothing else, it would act as a cheap, easilly fabricated template for a future improvement. I suspect that the challenges will be in providing an adequate seal where the PVC pipe meets the deck fitting, and in supporting the PVC against dropping down into (towards) the chain locker. Don't forget to properly undercut the deck core and epoxy it. Regards, and Good Luck! Gord
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Dan McGuire
PVC Pipe is Tough
PVC pipe is a lot tougher than it looks. You need schedule 40 (I think); at least you need the heaviest. I use 1" PVC for standoffs to hold our 23' McGregor away from the dock.
PVC pipe is a lot tougher than it looks. You need schedule 40 (I think); at least you need the heaviest. I use 1" PVC for standoffs to hold our 23' McGregor away from the dock.
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Dave
Pipe
Why not use a piece of pipe? I'm sure if you look hard you can find a piece of pipe to suit your needs. Perhaps stainless or bronze or aluminum or cast iron. You can get welded pipe to just about any size and shape you want. One concern reading your note is getting water in the anchor locker. This will start to smell really bad very quickly. Can you flush this area out and is it directly draining into your bilge? Just a thought but why not use a piece of an exhaust pipe from a pickup truck? This pipe is constantly exposed to some extreme conditions and lasts for years. Not only is is always wet, it is exposed to dirt, sand, road salt in winter, and extremely hot temperatures to make corrosion even worse. It is probably the perfect size for chain to pass through and it is readily available at low cost. Dave
Why not use a piece of pipe? I'm sure if you look hard you can find a piece of pipe to suit your needs. Perhaps stainless or bronze or aluminum or cast iron. You can get welded pipe to just about any size and shape you want. One concern reading your note is getting water in the anchor locker. This will start to smell really bad very quickly. Can you flush this area out and is it directly draining into your bilge? Just a thought but why not use a piece of an exhaust pipe from a pickup truck? This pipe is constantly exposed to some extreme conditions and lasts for years. Not only is is always wet, it is exposed to dirt, sand, road salt in winter, and extremely hot temperatures to make corrosion even worse. It is probably the perfect size for chain to pass through and it is readily available at low cost. Dave
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Carl Lebo
Schedule 40 vs foam core
Paul, I like where you're going with this. I may adapt it to my C22. Two things to watch out for with the pvc pipe. One, make sure you use true schedule 40 or better yet schedule 80. The 80 will be hard to find without buying way more than you need but a good place to look would be a pool contractor. They use it all the time and always have scraps. Stay away from foam core pipe, it will be marked "Not for Pressure". Basically it has a thin inner wall and a thin outer wall, in between it is filled with "foamed" pvc. Same exact size and look to schedule 40 and uses same fittings but it used for DWV only. It will chip and crack in my opinion as a hawsepipe. Second, even with sch 40 you should use a protective ring at each end made of metal to take the wear of the chain sliding through. It's one of several reasons that clean-out caps on pvc sewers sre metal, not pvc. Great idea! Keep us posted.
Paul, I like where you're going with this. I may adapt it to my C22. Two things to watch out for with the pvc pipe. One, make sure you use true schedule 40 or better yet schedule 80. The 80 will be hard to find without buying way more than you need but a good place to look would be a pool contractor. They use it all the time and always have scraps. Stay away from foam core pipe, it will be marked "Not for Pressure". Basically it has a thin inner wall and a thin outer wall, in between it is filled with "foamed" pvc. Same exact size and look to schedule 40 and uses same fittings but it used for DWV only. It will chip and crack in my opinion as a hawsepipe. Second, even with sch 40 you should use a protective ring at each end made of metal to take the wear of the chain sliding through. It's one of several reasons that clean-out caps on pvc sewers sre metal, not pvc. Great idea! Keep us posted.
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Gord May
Schedule 80
Schedule 80 PVC/CPVC Pipe is heavier/thicker than Schedule 40. ie: 1 1/2" I.D. Pipe: Sched. 40 Wall Thickness = .145" Sched. 80 Wall Thickness = .200" 2" I.D. Pipe: Sched. 40 Wall Thickness = .154" Sched. 80 Wall Thickness = .218" Gord
Schedule 80 PVC/CPVC Pipe is heavier/thicker than Schedule 40. ie: 1 1/2" I.D. Pipe: Sched. 40 Wall Thickness = .145" Sched. 80 Wall Thickness = .200" 2" I.D. Pipe: Sched. 40 Wall Thickness = .154" Sched. 80 Wall Thickness = .218" Gord
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Don Evans
Another Idea...?
Instead of dropping the chain down below the V berth deck into the bilge, via a long piece of pipe why not let the chain fall and lie on the V berth deck, enclosed behind the "false bulkhead" you were going to build. That's exactly what I have in my O'Day 25. I don't see the need to go down to the bilge area with the chain. A removable bulkhead (4 screws) and the area enclosed is fiberglass (the carpet on the V berth walls was removed in this spot) all around and I have 2 drain holes at the base , angled down and overboard to allow any water to run out down the outside of the hull. I just opened up this area this weekend to remove my anchor sprit for rebedding and had not looked in there for 5 years. Everything looked fine inside. I have a stainless steel hawse pipe ring on deck to take the beating the chain gives. Don
Instead of dropping the chain down below the V berth deck into the bilge, via a long piece of pipe why not let the chain fall and lie on the V berth deck, enclosed behind the "false bulkhead" you were going to build. That's exactly what I have in my O'Day 25. I don't see the need to go down to the bilge area with the chain. A removable bulkhead (4 screws) and the area enclosed is fiberglass (the carpet on the V berth walls was removed in this spot) all around and I have 2 drain holes at the base , angled down and overboard to allow any water to run out down the outside of the hull. I just opened up this area this weekend to remove my anchor sprit for rebedding and had not looked in there for 5 years. Everything looked fine inside. I have a stainless steel hawse pipe ring on deck to take the beating the chain gives. Don
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Don Alexander
Done It - Just as you describe
Paul, Eventually I got fed up with the anchor chain jamming in the navel pipe on my H376 which was supplied with an electric windlass. The cause was due to the chain being fed into the locker at the very front where the hull comes to a point. I removed the old pipe and replaced it with a piece of 2 1/2" PVC pipe with only an .080" wall thickness. The attached photo shows the pipe emerging from the existing windlass position and passing into the chain locker and then between the two bunk cushions. I found no need to modify the cushions and the berth is so long and so narrow at this point that the sleeper's feet never reach it. Also make sure you have maximum height as chain piles up and might not topple whilst it is coming in. Needless to say this completely solved my problem and the pipe has suffered no wear in the last three years. Don't know what your setup looks like but you may be able to do the same.
Paul, Eventually I got fed up with the anchor chain jamming in the navel pipe on my H376 which was supplied with an electric windlass. The cause was due to the chain being fed into the locker at the very front where the hull comes to a point. I removed the old pipe and replaced it with a piece of 2 1/2" PVC pipe with only an .080" wall thickness. The attached photo shows the pipe emerging from the existing windlass position and passing into the chain locker and then between the two bunk cushions. I found no need to modify the cushions and the berth is so long and so narrow at this point that the sleeper's feet never reach it. Also make sure you have maximum height as chain piles up and might not topple whilst it is coming in. Needless to say this completely solved my problem and the pipe has suffered no wear in the last three years. Don't know what your setup looks like but you may be able to do the same.
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