Anchor chains galvanized

After six years of heavy but not full-time use, our 3/8 BBB anchor chain had started to show the early signs of needing some attention. Rust had started to form on all links, and though it was only light, it is a rapid deterioration from that point to bad places. Given our approaching trip around Vancouver Island, I am making certain that everything is in the best shape possible and this motivated me to look into getting our chain re-galvanized.

Here around Seattle there are several places that will galvanize chain, and I suppose they each have happy customers associated with them. I decided to use Emerald Galvanizing in Ballard, and was happy with the service and price. They charge $.80 a pound with a $100 minimum. Evidently they are unusual in that they are able to run your chain through a centrifuge to break up any stuck links. I dropped off my main chain and secondary chain on a Tuesday and picked it up early the next week.



The technician explained that the many people wait too long and he was complimentary with how good my chain looked for treatment. The acid bath and other treatments remove any rust and loose metal, and if rust has penetrated with any depth, you start losing serious strength in your chain. He showed me finished chain from a few other customers and how the width of their links in some places was almost half of what it should have been because they brought in rusty buckets of chain.

He also said that with normal use this treatment should last more than 7 years here in the Salish Sea. I would be happy with that.

Besides the satisfaction of having new shiny chain, the most enjoyable part of the process was being able to redo the rope to chain splice for each chain. I also got onto McMaster Carr and got two good quality 1/2" shackles with clear labeling for a 2 ton WLL. The 3/8 BBB itself only has a WLL of 2650 so my shackles are not the weak links.

One more thing checked off the list.