Anchor Chain Tensioner

Suncatcher

New Member
Aug 27, 2021
22
Penetang
Boat Info
1999 Sundancer 270
Engines
Twin 4.3 Mercruisers with Alpha Gen II drives
Hello…new to powerboating

My chain rode is kept taught by the windlass on my Sundancer 270. Doesn’t this put excessive tension on the windlass? (I realize the effectiveness of snubbers while at anchor ). Is it worth installing an anchor chain tensioner to relieve the tension on the windlass?

5AEEFB44-D648-47EB-8901-E9EC229E833E.jpeg
 
Tension on the windlass is ok to stow the anchor. You do, however, need to get rid of that carabiner and get a proper swivel..... Mantus makes a great swivel.
 
Tension on the windlass is ok to stow the anchor. You do, however, need to get rid of that carabiner and get a proper swivel..... Mantus makes a great swivel.


Noted …thanks
 
Nope, that's the way they are designed to be used.

And yeah...I'd expedite your replacement of that link in the photo. You're just asking to lose that beauty of a stainless steel anchor :)
 
Tension on the windlass is ok to stow the anchor. You do, however, need to get rid of that carabiner and get a proper swivel..... Mantus makes a great swivel.

i see that other swivel makes cost about ⅓ the price. What makes the Mantus worth the extra $$$ ?
 
You could also simply use a proper shackle ($<30 +/-) and dramatically improve your current setup. The benefit of a swivel can be somewhat debatable though many of us have them...

I’m considering using a less expensive swivel with a shackle attaching it to a short (~foot) length of chain which would attach to the anchor with a shackle to allow the chain to easily move with wind shifts.
I.e. chain rode-swivel-short chain-shackle-anchor.
 
I replaced my Lewmar swivel with the Mantus this year and couldn't be happier but like Stee said there are many differing opinions. West Marine had the best price when I bought mine.

Here is why Mantus says theirs is better...

The strongest link –
Mantus swivel is stronger than its corresponding Grade 40 chain. (WLL is 1/5 UBS)

Integrated shackle design completely eliminates side loading making this the safest swivel on the market.

The pin on the chain side of the swivel is the strength limiting part since the geometry of the chain determines the pin size. Mantus swivel is the first to feature an oblong pin to maximizes the pin strength, with the aid of computer modeling and physical testing we truly created a swivel that is the strongest link.
 
Yes I get that …I like to sleep well on the boat. But what makes it better than the others?
Better steel. Stainless steel formulations can be all over the map. Mantus has a good reputation. There is a lot of cheap chinese stainless used in marine parts, and you need to know you are getting good quality. This is a pretty good online article from a sailing web site. https://www.practical-sailor.com/sails-rigging-deckgear/anchor-swivels-caution-required

I can give you another example. I bought a nice pretty stainless steel Bruce style anchor. No doubt a Chinese made clone for the price I paid. It works well, holds well etc. This spring when I reinstalled the windlass I had the chain all on the ground with the anchor and I noticed that the "claws" are not symmetrical any more. So it has bent a bit. Not a big deal, but I have no clue when/how it could have happened. Maybe the wind one evening, or maybe it slightly snagged on a retrieve. Bottom line is nothing I did should have bent it. But it did. For what its worth, I tried to bend it back with a very large wrench and it can't budge, but I expect that a stainless Lewmar would not have done that. You get what you pay for. I will keep using mine for now, but I intend to upgrade to a Delta at some point.
 
Hmmm. I have a swivel myself but from a safety standpoint a $20 shackle is likely, technically, less prone to mechanical failure than our swivels?
I think probably yes if you have a cheap swivel from an unknown manufacturer.
 
Actually, that screw link is pretty hefty. It probably has a working load limit of somewhere in the 2 ton range (assuming it's a 3/8" diameter) - which is considerably higher than high test 1/4" chain, which is probably what is on there. That screw link, I believe, is as strong (or stronger) than a typical shackle.

However, I would still prefer a shackle since scew links are a pain in the butt to unscrew.

I don't see any advantage to what you proposed doing in post #7.

As others said, don't buy a swivel based on price (if you want to add a swivel, that is). It will likely become your "weakest link". Unless YOU can verify that the less expensive one is structurally just as solid as the Mantus, don't do it.
 
Actually, that screw link is pretty hefty. It probably has a working load limit of somewhere in the 2 ton range (assuming it's a 3/8" diameter) - which is considerably higher than high test 1/4" chain, which is probably what is on there. That screw link, I believe, is as strong (or stronger) than a typical shackle.

However, I would still prefer a shackle since scew links are a pain in the butt to unscrew.

I don't see any advantage to what you proposed doing in post #7.

As others said, don't buy a swivel based on price (if you want to add a swivel, that is). It will likely become your "weakest link". Unless YOU can verify that the less expensive one is structurally just as solid as the Mantus, don't do it.
 
The idea behind using a short chain to bridge the swivel and the anchor is to take off any side tension from the swivel in high gusty winds.
 
The idea behind using a short chain to bridge the swivel and the anchor is to take off any side tension from the swivel in high gusty winds.
The chain connection at the swivel will already do that to some extent. But it won't matter - the same amount of tension will be there whether you use one piece of chain or 100 pieces of chain.
 
This thread kinda turned into a discussion on swivels but to your original question about taking the tension off your windlass, it is really not necessary in my opinion if you have a chain rode. At rest the windlass will do fine for recreational use. It's when you start taking in rode under a heavy load that the recreational units will eat themselves up. Not in short order but you will see some bushing wear and gear wear after a time if you do this a lot. If however the rode is a soft line then sitting in one spot on the gypsie while being loaded and unloaded hundreds of time over a night, then a person will see chaffed spots where this happened. If you do want to unload your gypsie while anchored, which is never a bad idea, this is one outfits offering to achieve that.

https://www.boatid.com/maxwell/anch...594debL-hqZKgA-Ebvnc23P_8R1MvmKAaApYqEALw_wcB
 
Here on the tidal rivers where I anchor, It's not uncommon to see 180° swings over-night. After bending two anchor shanks, I decided not to scrimp on the tackle and went with the Mantis swivel. I also went from a delta style to a plow style anchor. Plows tend to reset in mud, whereas the Delta worked just a little too well and wouldn't pull out and reset.

I should also mention that the Mantis swivel goes through my rollers without getting hung up, which was an occasional problem with the thinner competitor's swivel.

In any case, I don't use a snubber unless it's real windy. Even then its more to minimize the noise than any concern over the windlass.

So far so good...
 
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