4A2: Anchor Chain Locker & Anchor Jams
Hauling anchor:
There is an anchor forward on the bow deck with its chain passing over a bow roller. It
is raised and lowered by the anchor windlass, The chain goes from the
windlass below into the chain locker through the chain pipe behind the
chain wheel (“wildcat”). The chain locker is accessed from a door in the
master stateroom above and forward of the berth.
Be careful when dealing with the chain! If a
crew member is operating the windlass while a
person is accessing the chain locker, be
especially careful to keep that person’s fingers,
hands, arms, etc. away from the chain! Use a
windlass handle or broomstick to deal with it!
Lowering anchor:
If the chain jams while lowering anchor, it is because one loop of the chain on top of the
pile has fallen inside another loop of chain when the chain pile may have fallen over or shifted.
There is no way the chain can be tangled so that you will ever need to disconnect it! One easy
way to disentangle the chain is, while wearing gloves, grasp the chain as it goes into the
locker, and, while lifting it above the wildcat manually, rapidly yank it up and down. This will
usually free it.
If, on the other hand, this “yanking” technique fails, you must reach in to the chain locker
to un-overlap the layers of chain in the pile.
4A3: Anchor Chain Measurement
The chain markings are as follows:
1
st
Band
2
nd
Band
3rd Band
Length Out
Red
25’
White
50’
Blue
75’
Red
(space)
Red
100’
Red
Red
Red
125’
Red
White
Red
150’
Red
Blue
Red
175’
White
(space)
White
200’
White
Red
White
225’
White
White
White
250’
White
Blue
White
275’
Blue
(space)
Blue
300’
The windlass deck area.
Section 4A: Anchor & Ground Tackle 4.2
