My new-to-me 400DB came with a bent anchor. I don’t know how this happened and prefer not to ask. Lol. Can this be straightened or do I need to replace it? If it can be fixed, by what sort of repair shop? Can I use it as is?
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Do I need a new anchor?
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scooper321
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12,064 Posts
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- Tri Cities, WA
I took mine to a welding shop. The put it in a vice and bingo, it came back straightened. I'm not sure how they did it, but it worked.
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693 Posts
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- West Michigan
Last season I tried pulling (not gas docks. The current caught me and just barely caught a cement piling. It bent my anchor and windlass. A mechanic friend used his shop press and straightened it right out. I com-along straightened the windlass. My anchor looked almost exactly like yours. It’s straight as an arrow now
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10,220 Posts
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- N. Wisconsin/Lk Superior
It's not like they're being asked to design and build an anchor.
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820 Posts
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- NE Florida
How much do you plan to anchor, in what conditions, and for how long? If yours is minimal use, let it be. If you anchor a lot, etc., get a new modern anchor. Rocna, Manson, etc.
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15,266 Posts
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- Indiana lakes and Lake Michigan
First off, it is a fact bending and re-bending back to the original position stresses the metal affecting its strength, how much I do not know, neither will a metal fab shop. Second, bending and re-bending likely will damage the finish if it is not already. Risk management will not allow many shops to undertake that which they do not know. Now Frick and Frack will do anything for $100 and have nothing to lose if it fails and they get sued.
An anchor is a piece of significant safety equipment...
MM
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1,489 Posts
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- Seneca Lake, NY
I’d straighten it too.
The force that bent it is different than that which it will be exposed to in use. Totally opposite in fact.
If it were to show signs of developing a bend in the future you can say that you tried and relegate it to second anchor duty.
The impulse to just throw things away for no good reason is a big contributor to the hole in the water theory.
The force that bent it is different than that which it will be exposed to in use. Totally opposite in fact.
If it were to show signs of developing a bend in the future you can say that you tried and relegate it to second anchor duty.
The impulse to just throw things away for no good reason is a big contributor to the hole in the water theory.
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4,224 Posts
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- Washington DC
I'm just curious if anyone has had an anchor of that style "break" on them?
This is a minor bend on the shank (as another posted suggest....probably from a piling). Just about anyone with a hydraulic press could straighten it in 10 minutes without compromising it. That shank is 1/2" thick steel plate. You don't want to heat it just press it. Most decent auto repair shops, welding shops and machine shops have a 20 ton press laying around for axle bearing work.
If you want to spend the money on a new one....it's your money.
This is a minor bend on the shank (as another posted suggest....probably from a piling). Just about anyone with a hydraulic press could straighten it in 10 minutes without compromising it. That shank is 1/2" thick steel plate. You don't want to heat it just press it. Most decent auto repair shops, welding shops and machine shops have a 20 ton press laying around for axle bearing work.
If you want to spend the money on a new one....it's your money.
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1,102 Posts
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- W. Mich. / Lake Michigan
I just upgraded to a SS Anchor, my 35lb galvanized plow anchor is up for sale.
PM me if interested
PM me if interested
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1,946 Posts
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- Baltimore, MD
Thanks. The stock anchor is a 45lb for my boat, so I’ll get one of those if I replace.
- Location
- Space Coast Florida
Incidental in a slight yield like this. These anchors are made from mild steel so a straightening as long as there are no sharp bends that crack the grain is acceptable. A hydraulic press with controlled force to bend it back; local automotive shop..... In a bend like shown in the picture some insignificant loss of tensile strength of the material but should be of no concern. Beating on it with a hammer will damage the galvanizing and probably do more damage than good.
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150 Posts
I would definitely straighten it out, I have a 40 ton press in my machine shop and that would be about a 10 minute job. Properly set up, I'm confident no damage would be done to the galvanized coating, Even if there was a little scuffing on the galvanized, I would just spray it with the cold galvanized mentioned above. IMHO, its an easy fix.
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2,088 Posts
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- Cape Cod, MA
I am curious now after following this thread if I should have tried to have mine straightened because all the local opinions I got including the surveyor I used said I should replace the anchor. If you said the OP should straighten his, would you have recommended the same for mine? It is a 60lb stainless kodiak. The shank was bent as well as the right plow ear. The new one was $2100 so that hurt a bit to buy.
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- Location
- Space Coast Florida
Jeremy - SST is a malleable material and can be yielded (bent) multiple times without loss of mechanical properties. Bend it back and make it look good; you'll be OK.
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2,088 Posts
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- Cape Cod, MA
I guess I should have checked in here before buying another anchor. Everyone I spoke with about it (surveyor and local metal shops) said it would lose some strength and should be replaced if it was going to be relied on as primary anchor.
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1,438 Posts
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- North Vancouver, BC
I would buy a new one and use this as a spare. I just bought this delta style anchor on amazon. $139 for the 44lb, made in the USA, great reviews.
https://www.amazon.com/MarineNow-Ga...f=mp_s_a_1_14?keywords=delta+anchor&qid=1557497052&s=gateway&sr=8-14&th=1&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/MarineNow-Ga...f=mp_s_a_1_14?keywords=delta+anchor&qid=1557497052&s=gateway&sr=8-14&th=1&psc=1
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4,224 Posts
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- Washington DC
I'm still waiting to hear from any member where their plow anchor broke.
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3,137 Posts
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- Lake Norman, NC
Not that it has never happened, but in a lot of years of boating I have never heard of an anchor breaking. Rode, schackle, bridal, snubber, even cleats, but never the anchor itself. If it doesn't break while you are bending it back into shape then it probably isn't. If any of you guys are anchoring in conditions that come even close to breaking anything, I don't want to be with you!
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2,875 Posts
- Location
- Florida
I had one straightened as well, zero issues
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6,911 Posts
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- cape cod mass, cape coral fl
That Kodiak is a piece of crap, has absolutely no lateral strength. Bending and straightening was a yearly thing for me.
It bends when the anchor sets, then wind or current shifts and pulls on it sideways.
It bends when the anchor sets, then wind or current shifts and pulls on it sideways.
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10,220 Posts
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- N. Wisconsin/Lk Superior
Some anchor test/comparisons https://www.boatus.org/findings/05/
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