Washing the chain as the anchor is hoisted?

a. Here is a photo of a project we just completed, an anchor chain washdown system, using a commercial chain scrubber (Davis Instruments “Gunk Buster”) and a hose jet system that I made up. anchorchainwashdown.jpg There is a lead weight holding the device down against the pull as the chain is hauled in and we have an electric washdown pump using lake water. It seems to work well in tests at our dock. Local anchorages usually result in lots of mud coming up with the chain as well as lots of weed if one is in shallower locations (where the sunlight can get to the bottom). We usually try and anchor in 20 ft or less and have up to 100 ft of 3/8″ BBB chain out. Up to now I have used a hand-held hose but this results in a slow process of alternating chain washing and chain recovery. A future addition is to have a dam across the forward area just aft of the stem fitting and a drain overboard. Regards, David Salter (s/v #050, Opportunity)

Category: ANCHORS and GROUND TACKLE