We Replaced Our Rusty Anchor Chain With Stainless Steel—Here’s Why Ep. 78 #Cromox
After two years in the boatyard, we’re finally tackling one of the nastier pieces of old equipment aboard ROAM: our rusty, galvanized anchor chain.
We’re replacing it with Cromox stainless steel anchor chain, and in this episode we take you through the entire process—from removing the old chain and picking up the new chain at the warehouse to marking it, deploying it, and putting it into service in a very tight Chesapeake anchorage.
But this isn’t just an installation video. Stainless steel anchor chain is controversial among sailors, and we understand why. There are legitimate concerns about corrosion, strength, and long-term care. We discuss those concerns and explain why, after doing our research, we decided this was the right chain for ROAM.
The Chesapeake is notoriously dirty, and our new stainless chain quickly developed the ugly tan staining caused by tannins and other contaminants in the water. Stainless steel isn’t maintenance-free, and proper care is critical. Regularly rinsing the chain with fresh water helps remove salt and contaminants and keeps the chain looking—and hopefully performing—its best.
To clean the staining, we used a very dilute oxalic acid solution, followed by a thorough fresh-water rinse. It’s a simple process, but it’s an important reminder that stainless chain still needs attention if you want it to stay in good condition.
In this episode, we show:
⚓ Removing our old, disgusting galvanized anchor chain
🏭 Traveling to the warehouse to pick up our new Cromox chain
📏 Measuring and installing anchor chain markers
💥 Discovering that our first set of markers didn’t survive
🌈 Replacing them with simple colored zip ties
💦 Cleaning Chesapeake tannin staining from the stainless chain
Marking the chain turned out to be more complicated than expected. We wanted to work from the boat end down, using the dinghy to feed the chain out while measuring each section. Because we’re sitting in a very tight anchorage with poor holding, we really didn’t want to pull the anchor that was holding well. So we found a way to do the entire job while remaining anchored.
Why stainless steel?
There are plenty of sailors who would never put stainless steel anchor chain on a cruising boat, and we understand the concerns. In this video, we explain what we considered, what we researched, and why we ultimately decided to trust Cromox for ROAM.
We’re also very clear that stainless steel doesn’t mean maintenance-free. Regular fresh-water rinsing, inspection, and appropriate cleaning are all part of caring for the chain.
Full disclosure:
Cromox provided this chain to us as a marketing partner. We want to be completely transparent about that relationship. They supplied the product, but the opinions, experiences, and concerns discussed in this video are our own. We won’t partner with any manufacturer or product that we don’t believe in 100%.
We aren’t claiming that stainless steel chain is automatically better than galvanized chain. We’re explaining why this particular chain made sense for our boat and our cruising plans, and what we’re learning about caring for it along the way.
If you’re considering stainless steel anchor chain, replacing galvanized chain, upgrading your anchoring system, or simply wondering whether stainless chain is appropriate for cruising, we hope this gives you a useful look at both the benefits and the responsibilities that come with the choice.
And after looking at the old chain we pulled off ROAM…
We’re pretty happy to say goodbye to the rust. 😄
⛵ The refit may be over, but we’re still finding ways to make ROAM better for cruising.
Find Cromox here:
https://www.cromox-us.com
☝More about us, our adventures, and how we do all this on our website.More about Roam here
⛵️https://sailingroam.com/our-sailboat/
📲 Keep up with us on social
FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/sgsailingroam
INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/sailing_roam
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WE'RE GERI AND SHAWN. A couple travelers out chasing the horizon, meeting the people, and capturing it to share with you.
We’ve chosen to Roam the world by boat because, let’s face it, the most interesting path is rarely a straight line.
As we learn to let go of our American drive to finish, and embrace the meandering routes across islands, oceans, continents, and people, we hope to gain a better sense of our world and our place in it.
The path won’t always be comfortable or easy to find but, it will always #roam
#Sailing #AnchorChain #StainlessSteelChain #Cromox #Anchoring #Cruising #Catamaran #Sailboat #BoatLife #Liveaboard #AnchorChainReplacement #SailingLife #DIYBoat #ChesapeakeBay #CruisingLife #BoatMaintenance #StainlessSteel #AnchorCare
00:00 Intro
00:26 Channel intro
00:42 Remove old anchor chain
00:54 Cromox warehouse
01:55 Chain markers
03:12 Chain markers - 2nd try
12:21 Why stainless anchor chain
17:34 Maintenance and inspection
20:33 Wrap up
22:30 Like/Subscribe/Emoji
Sailing Roam
👋 Hi, we’re Geri 👩🏻⚕️(a retired nurse) and Shawn 🤓 (a not retired technologist). We’ve gone on the greatest adventure of our lives instead of living the comfortable and predictable suburban world we left behind. Living aboard Roam, our cruising catamaran, we explore and immerse ourselves in new cultures, do boat repairs in exotic places, and get up to all kinds of shenanigans. Roam isn’t just the name of our boat, it’s kind of a philosophy. We’re not taking the shortest routes or using a formula to sail around the world. We’re not in a hurry either. We’re meeting the people, seeing the places and getting distracted by things we find interesting along the way. We’re unconventional and we’re living the best life we can imagine! Join us as we turn our 11-year old catamaran into our perfect adventure platform and see what’s over the next horizon. We can’t wait to meet you wherever you are! Clamptite Tools link: https://clamptitetools.com/?sld=syroam 10% discount: gerischaffer10
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