John E3
Active Member
The rope on our anchor rode has reached end of life and I'm trying to decide what the best action is. I pondered resplicing it from the other end but after removing it from the locker there is a lot of wear over a good bit of it, so that is no longer an option.
I found a handful of threads here, and they did offer some good insight, but still leaves me with some doubts. We have the Lofrans Progress 1 Windlass, and according to the SR parts list, the boat came with 200ft of "grade 40" 5/16 chain, the same size as noted in some posts for that windlass. Currently we have a 5/8 rope and 3/8 chain. We only used it a few times in the 1 full season we've had the boat, but it didn't seem to run smooth. Maybe the 3/8 chain & 5/8 rope is to blame?
I'm leaning toward going back to all chain, as I was already considering adding some ballast in the bow to try and keep the swim platform from dragging at slow speed. That's a whole other story. First time out (and didn't know this yet....) the water swirled up over the back edge, filled the inflatable and tore the tube off the flooring (it is nearly 20 years old, but was barely used). That's got to be a HUGE performance drag. All chain will be 300lbs, maybe 250lbs more than the current.
I've been reading up on chain, but have not found that perfect reference on the multitude of chain types available. G4 seems to be the standard, but it seems every style has a windlass and non-windlass version with a 2:1 price difference. In the end it looks like the G4 High Test Windlass grade is the best choice. I assume that Grade 43 High Test is similar. Am I on the right track here? Any other points to consider?
Any suggested vendors? I'm seeing a large variation in price, but some are truck ship only on top of the chain price, others are free shipping. The free shipping requires a commercial delivery address and a forklift. The same is likely true for the "truck only" shipping vendors. I considered WM as they will deliver to the store for free, but at 40% higher price. I might be able to work a deal with a boat shop just up the road (rural area) and run over with my tractor.
Thanks - John
I found a handful of threads here, and they did offer some good insight, but still leaves me with some doubts. We have the Lofrans Progress 1 Windlass, and according to the SR parts list, the boat came with 200ft of "grade 40" 5/16 chain, the same size as noted in some posts for that windlass. Currently we have a 5/8 rope and 3/8 chain. We only used it a few times in the 1 full season we've had the boat, but it didn't seem to run smooth. Maybe the 3/8 chain & 5/8 rope is to blame?
I'm leaning toward going back to all chain, as I was already considering adding some ballast in the bow to try and keep the swim platform from dragging at slow speed. That's a whole other story. First time out (and didn't know this yet....) the water swirled up over the back edge, filled the inflatable and tore the tube off the flooring (it is nearly 20 years old, but was barely used). That's got to be a HUGE performance drag. All chain will be 300lbs, maybe 250lbs more than the current.
I've been reading up on chain, but have not found that perfect reference on the multitude of chain types available. G4 seems to be the standard, but it seems every style has a windlass and non-windlass version with a 2:1 price difference. In the end it looks like the G4 High Test Windlass grade is the best choice. I assume that Grade 43 High Test is similar. Am I on the right track here? Any other points to consider?
Any suggested vendors? I'm seeing a large variation in price, but some are truck ship only on top of the chain price, others are free shipping. The free shipping requires a commercial delivery address and a forklift. The same is likely true for the "truck only" shipping vendors. I considered WM as they will deliver to the store for free, but at 40% higher price. I might be able to work a deal with a boat shop just up the road (rural area) and run over with my tractor.
Thanks - John