"Horace Brownbag" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 17:49:48 -0500, Courtney Thomas
wrote:

I finally found it on WM. It's the same as the one at Hamilton Marine.

Since you already have a chain hook, why not use 2 shackles attached to
the hook's shackle to balance it out port&starboard, and then you might
not need the chain grabber at all.

Courtney


Couple of reasons we don't do the two-shackles bit...

The first is that there's a line through the eye which more than takes up
the space allotted. It must have been put in as new, cuz it surely doesn't
want to move, now (inferred age, salt, UV caused expansion somewhat).

The other is that the eye isn't big enough to accommodate two shackles, in
any event - or, at least, not big enough that I'd want to trust them to
heavy loads such as anchor yanks.

The pull of the eye is not inline with the slot of the hook...so it
will always pull the link of the chain to one side.

Pragmatically I don't know if this cant of the link would be
significant unless one puts it to the test will some heavy and or
prolonged load.

I don't expect the couple-inch-off-center pull, particularly 20 or so feet
out, would make any difference that could be measured. However, being
somewhat of a pragmatist but more of a neatnik (elegant solutions rather
than Rube Goldberg), I'm resistant to three shackles just to be able to
attach two lines to a device not designed for the task.

In other words, if you just don't like that little, occasional, jerk,
and are not going to leave for extended periods, I can't imagine it
being a problem.

...but then, I'm not a metallurgical engineer. I just play one on
TV....I just haven't found any work.

:{)) I wouldn't expect a problem, either - however, using this rig (one
sided pull) I lost the snubber, once (just fell off, that is - it was still
attached to the rode when I pulled it in. I expect the Chain Grabber, being
designed to the purpose, would be far less likely to accidentally dislodge.

Back to our rode/hook, however:

While we didn't think (well, technically, we hadn't been exposed to the
concept yet) of it in time, we surely would have wanted to use that line and
hook to offset to the waves on our last night offshore during our
delivery/shakedown cruise. I've forgotten the name of the technique, but it
amounts to attaching a second line to the anchor chain and running it to the
stern, making a bridle. Adjust the length of the anchor line to point the
bow as desired. It would have allowed our entirely beam-to, very rolly
anchorage, to be head-on with the wind about 60* to starboard.

Otherwise, we'd want to center the anchor, and the Chain Grabber looks to do
that admirably, along with sharing the momentary loads with two lines rather
than just one - which might allow lighter line, too. (Our current snubber
line is 5/8 or 3/4 by eye, not having measured it.)

L8R

Skip and Lydia, watching Ivan move west and keeping our fingers crossed

--
Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail
away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore.
Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain