Chain Lockers

[gert]

What is a typical finish for the inside of a chain locker?
Could you use the stuff guys paint their pick-up beds with?

[mmd]

Yes, but it is expensive and heavy. (Sorry, that last bit slipped in because I am currently slogging through a very large & convoluted weight control system spreadsheet.)

[Vinny&Shawn]

If this is a wooden craft, we use a pinetar,linseed,turps mixture,I suppose redlead or Bilgecoat,very thin paint like a wash.

[Lew Barrett]

Mine was painted by the Coast Guard 60 years ago in this silver/gray stuff. Nothing that has ever touched that paint has lived to tell the tale.

[rbgarr]

If it's a new build consider heavily supported plastic bins that can be removed from time to time for cleaning. Drainage is always an issue.

[Windsong]

Plastic milk crates make great catch bins in the chain locker. Never fun to have to paint such a place.
Lars

[Woxbox]

And drainage is very important. We've taken to hosing down the chain every time we return to the dock to flush out the salt. You want all debris to wash right through. Over wood, I'd favor heavy glass, and then put the milk crate on top of that.

[htom]

That UHMW coated plywood that's used for the bottom of drift boats?

[Ian McColgin]

A proper chain (not rope) locker should be wider at the base than the top. For a general sense, spill your chain from about 6 feet onto the ground and you'll see its natural shape. The locker should approxomate that to keep the pile from spilling and to allow easy outflow.

For Goblin and Granuaile I found niced plastic garbage pails of about the right slope except it's upside down for a chain locker. Also the space to get it into was a bit small. So it worked well to cut the bottom off, fold the no-ended concic up enough to stuff in place, and then secure to a flat bottom I'd made in advance. I made up a few quoits of varying diameters to fit over the can and lash at four points in the locker, keeping the whole up and in place.

It's well to have a couple feet freefall from the hawse hole in the deck to the top of the container.

G'luck

[redbopeep]

A proper chain (not rope) locker should be wider at the base than the top...

It's well to have a couple feet freefall from the hawse hole in the deck to the top of the container.

G'luck

HA!!! you're so funny. space? freefall? ho, he, hahahahaha!!!

Onto other things to laugh about...milkcrates! HA! oh, you guys are so great. :p

Try stuffing one length of 600 feet of 1/2" BBB chain (uh, 1800 lbs or so) into anything that can be purchased as a trash can or milk crate....hehehehe....:rolleyes:

OK, I've picked myself up off the floor, dusted off and can now write something besides chuckles.

Ours is epoxied glass over marine ply and we'll be putting a floor covering (looks like drydek but isn't) over the insides to keep the chain from beating the life right outta the fiberglass. The locker is about the same size/shape as the crate we've got the chain stored in. About 48"x48"square top, 26"x26" bottom, and about 34" tall. Yes, its smaller at the bottom than the top because we're working with the space we've got. Oh, about that freefall? We have about 18" from the top of the anchor locker to the underside of the deck.

That 18" allows us to crawl over the anchor locker into the space forward of it if we need to get there. The locker starts about 3' aft of the stem. And, we expect the chain to crown above the locker so we'll have to get a little creative with heavy cargo net or something to keep the chain from ending up fore or aft of the locker.

[Ian McColgin]

I did not get that much chain in either locker - only 500' of 1/2". The key strength part is the bottom which also protects the planking from an unfair strain. The plastic pail properly lashed in stood up fine in both boats in all conditions. In Granuaile especially that was a test as she'd lay over to 45 degrees in a heart beat and we at least several times per season ended up with 24+ hours thrash into an honest gale.

[htom]

Part of the "bigger at the bottom" is that the inward-sloping sides would prevent the pile from shifting as the boat heaves. Small at the bottom, big in the middle, small at the top might work as well, but would be harder to build.

[paladin]

Good grief, Fellers.....I used 120 feet of 3/8ths chain (times two) on the two anchors forward, a CQR and a Danforth with a split locker and 800 feet times two of nylon rode.....Both anchors had shackles to remove the chain and I kept a Fisherman stowed forward also, not attached...
aft I carried another 800 feet of anchor rode and 120 feet of chain bent to another Danforth with another fisherman at ready. Also forward, accessible through a hatch was a drogue, a bridle, all ready to tie to one of the anchor lines and secure to anchor cleats just aft of the windlass....I used the drogue about as much as an anchor.

[Woxbox]

Chuck --- about that drogue. You were running it off the stern, I presume. And was this with the heavy monos? How about the tris? What was the heaay weather strategy there?