Your Chain Explained: Understanding
Anchor Chain
All chain’s the same, right? Well, no. There’s actually a variety of types and grades that cruising sailors
should know about. What follows is a primer on understanding anchor chain and how to use it...
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Your Chain Explained: Understanding
Anchor Chain
All chain’s the same, right? Well, no. There’s actually a variety of types and grades that cruising sailors
should know about. What follows is a primer on understanding anchor chain and how to use it properly.
The most popular varieties of galvanized-steel windlass chain include high-test or grade 40 (usually
marked HT, G4, or HT4); triple B or grade 30 (marked as BBB or 3B); and proof coil, also grade 30 (often
marked PC, PC3, or G3). Each has attributes and shortcomings. BBB and proof coil are made from lowcarbon steel; heat-treated high-test is made from a high carbon-manganese alloy.
HT chain is widely used because of its “strength-to-link” factor: Its working load limit is nearly twice that
of BBB, and it has the highest weight-to-working load ratio. In other words, it allows the use of a thinner
link, which means more chain can be stored in a given chain locker. Its links are also windlass calibrated,
which means that they should f
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