PSA: check your anchor bolt

FREEDOM!!!

FREEDOM!!!

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Almost lost my anchor yesterday. Took the boat to a beach side restaurant and dropped the anchor in shallow water, maybe 2ft deep. All is well. Threw out the stern anchor, no problems. Then I notice the bow swinging around. Weird. Guess I'm dragging the anchor, which never happens. I jump in the water to go reset the anchor....start pulling up the chain and poof! No anchor! WTH??? The bolt that attaches the anchor to the swivel came off. Luckily the anchor was right there, but if I had been in deeper water it would have been gone forever. I cut some line and tied the anchor to the chain and was able to salvage everything, but now I have a new fear unlocked.

Check your anchor bolts once in a while.
 
I didn't trust mine to begin with. A little dab of red Loctite will put your mind at ease.
 
family affair said:
I didn't trust mine to begin with. A little dab of red Loctite will put your mind at ease.
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Yep. About an hour after all this happened, one of the salesmen from MarineMax where I bought the boat pulled up right next to us. He's a friend of mine and I showed him what happened, he said the same thing... put some loctite on it. Ordered a new swivel on Amazon.
 
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DennisG01 said:
Use SS bailing wire and tie through the eye of the bolt and then the shackle. Use two separate pieces.
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I'm curious to see what this looks like. The PO of my boat made "improvements" from the factory resulting in components that would not work with the windlass or bow roller. I put red Loctite on the eyebolt, torqued it down and then cut the eye off so that it would not hang up on the factory bow roller assembly.
I have no doubt of the effectiveness of your suggestion, but it wouldn't work for my setup.
 
the hole in the shackle bolt is for wiring it so it doesn't work its way out. Not that anybody does it :rolleyes: ...but thats what its for....

Oh...Now I see...you have a swivel...with the hex key bolt?.....yep...Locktite....
 
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family affair said:
I'm curious to see what this looks like. The PO of my boat made "improvements" from the factory resulting in components that would not work with the windlass or bow roller. I put red Loctite on the eyebolt, torqued it down and then cut the eye off so that it would not hang up on the factory bow roller assembly.
I have no doubt of the effectiveness of your suggestion, but it wouldn't work for my setup.
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I think the OP was talking about a stern anchor, but... that's curious why you had problems with the bolt eye hanging up in your anchor roller. I've had multiple boats with windlasses and know of many, many people with them and never had issues with a shackle getting hung up. It should pull right up and over.
 
It's possible the wrong size was used and that created the problem to begin with. I have nothing to compare it to. Next time I'm at the boat and think of it, I'll snap a photo. I've had good luck with Loctite, but it would be nice to have a visual indicator of security like wire.
 
IMG_2153.jpeg
I never thought Google would have so many images of a wired shackle! That's what I had, and that's what got hung up numerous times. I think I'll just stick with what I have!
 
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DennisG01 said:
I think the OP was talking about a stern anchor, but... that's curious why you had problems with the bolt eye hanging up in your anchor roller. I've had multiple boats with windlasses and know of many, many people with them and never had issues with a shackle getting hung up. It should pull right up and over.
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It was my main bow anchor. The bolt holding the anchor on simply came unscrewed and fell out.
 
This is the swivel in question. The thick side connects to the chain and the narrow end connects to the anchor. The slotted screw in the front came out. I just ordered a whole new swivel for $25 on Amazon instead of trying to find the right bolt.
1716214775046.png
 
Personally I would try to find a different swivel to limit the chances. Then use a shackle with monel seizing wire like family affairs picture

there is this one from WM.. i think on my rig is a swivel with no bolt… will check if i can find… tbh i think most anchor setups I’ve used didn’t bother with a swivel shackle and never really had an issue with twist

www.westmarine.com

3/8" Galvanized Jaw and Eye Swivel | West Marine

Check out our 3/8" Galvanized Jaw and Eye Swivel and more from West Marine!
www.westmarine.com www.westmarine.com
 
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FREEDOM!!! said:
This is the swivel in question. The thick side connects to the chain and the narrow end connects to the anchor. The slotted screw in the front came out. I just ordered a whole new swivel for $25 on Amazon instead of trying to find the right bolt.
View attachment 33787
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Oh, OK. I thought (I think we all were) that you were referring to a standard shackle.

In this case, yes, the only thing that you can use is loctite. Which, "should have" been on there from the manufacturer.

Be careful with those cheap/inexpensive "over-seas" swivels - they may not have the proper rating for poundage... or a cheap connecting pin (the swivel part being of inferior metallurgy). Meaning, they may "look" good... but could break and fail. It's not a huge deal when you're just sitting there at lunch - but if you NEED it to work, it's best to get a quality piece.
 
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DennisG01 said:
Oh, OK. I thought (I think we all were) that you were referring to a standard shackle.

In this case, yes, the only thing that you can use is loctite. Which, "should have" been on there from the manufacturer.

Be careful with those cheap/inexpensive "over-seas" swivels - they may not have the proper rating for poundage... or a cheap connecting pin (the swivel part being of inferior metallurgy). Meaning, they may "look" good... but could break and fail. It's not a huge deal when you're just sitting there at lunch - but if you NEED it to work, it's best to get a quality piece.
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I'm just going to take the pin out and use it on the old swivel, then keep the rest of the new swivel in my boat tool box just in case I have another issue.
 
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HA HA almost happened to me. Running at 30mph noticed shackle bolt was almost out. Do not want to even think of what happens when anchor slips off pulpit at 30 mph! Retired with about a half mile of 18ga SS cerclage wire (fracture repair). I now have a half mile minus 6 inches.
 
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dogdoc said:
HA HA almost happened to me. Running at 30mph noticed shackle bolt was almost out. Do not want to even think of what happens when anchor slips off pulpit at 30 mph! Retired with about a half mile of 18ga SS cerclage wire (fracture repair). I now have a half mile minus 6 inches.
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Yep. This could have been bad as I was running about 30mph right before dropping anchor. Best case would be you lose an expensive anchor...worst case is it fall off at speed and smashes into the hull and lower unit. I'm wondering if I should get a longer safety cable and clip it to the anchor itself instead of just the chain.

I got the new swivel link yesterday and replaced the bolt and sleeve and used some blue locktite.
 
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