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Lowering the anchor locker drain

mtniner

New Member
I have an 82 383 and am working on my anchor locker, I have a lot more chain than the oem locker will hold. I have seen all the great anchor locker setups some have done here and they are great, I am using those to design my new deeper locker. The only thing I haven't seen is how much lower it's possible to put the locker drain. I don't want to put it too low that it will be under the water line when on port tack, since the drain is on the stbd side. Just wondering what others have done when adding a deeper anchor locker. Thanks!
 
It isn't uncommon to add a hawse pipe of some sort and let the chain fall to the locker below the chain locker on deck. I'm not sure many have lowered the floor of the stock locker.

How much chain do you have, and what size? Weight on the bow affects performance so you might consider less. You only need enough chain so that in the deepest anchorage, the rope won't be on the ground, and then only if you are in coral, which is less likely in deep anchorages. It is very difficult to imagine needing more than 100 feet of 5/16 chain backed by 250' of rope. That is good for anchoring in 100 feet.
 
Warren, some of us use all chain rode. I expect mtniner does too.

On lowering the anchor locker drain: I share the concern about water intrusion and have bnot done it. Some friends at my club have other boats with lower drains. I will ask them if I remember to do so. My lower chain locker still drains to the bilge, altho I have installed a hose so the water does not run under the forward berths. I also installed a wash deck pump to reduce the mud and dirt. My real problem is that the chain will not self stow; still considering solutions to that, which would require cutting and redoing the upper shelf.
 
A very large percentage of cruisers use all chain rode. I am suggesting that they shouldn't. It does not provide better holding, It is not stronger, and it negatively affects sailing. The only reason for more than 1.5 boat lengths of chain is because of chafe on the bottom. And with higher grades of chain, a boat our size can do with 1/4". Lessor more common grades, 5/16".
 
Warren
I am almost always in agreement with you on just about any topic we have discussed here on the board. But this is one time we veer off on different tacks. Bonnie and I have been using all chain rode since the mid 90s. Chain, we use 5/16" high tensile, is very much stronger, doesn't chafe, and does not effect the sailing ability of the Morgan 382. When our system was installed, the weight of the anchor, chain, windlass and associated equipment weighed in at just about 300 lbs. Lo and behold, we found exactly 300 lbs of lead ingots glassed in under the forward end of the Vberth. Mr Brewer probably felt that the boat should be equipped with good ground tackle. When the buyers didn't take that option, they had to add the weight up forward to compensate and keep the boat in trim and sailing well.

But the most important reason we like all chain is the fact that since going to chain we have never dragged anchor in anchorages from Great Exuma to Arcadia, Maine. Retrieveing the chain and anchor is a push of a button.

We always sleep very well.

Jim & Bonnie.
 
I have also glassed over the anchor locker drain hose to the bilge and drilled a drain hole at the deepest part of the lower chain locker. The hole is about 6" above the water level. When the boat heals to stbd, the drain hole goes under water. For the water to intrude into the boat it would have to rise to the level of the door into the Vbunk. That would be a very rare occasion, if ever.

Jim
 
Jim, I thought the anchor locker lowest point was at or below water line, but I admit I have never measured it. So you believe water will not pool in the lower anchor locker with your arrangement? Did you raise the level of the anchor locker bottom when you plugged the hole to the bilge? I wish there were some one way valve I could trust for a low anchor locker drain.
 
Jim, thanks, exactly the details I was wondering about. I intend to do the same, glassing over the drain to the bilge from the lower locker and lowering the locker drain through the hull. Where did you find lead ingots that were glassed in, under the furthest forward vee berth floorboards?

I have mostly always cruised with all chain rode. I single-hand a lot so for me it helps me sleep at night and with the windlass is easy to deal with.
 
Terry
A check valve on the thru hull would be nice but I've never seen one. I did raise the bottom of the locker by 2" when I poured in the epoxy. the hardest part was locating where to drill the hole. I tried using magnets on the inside, then a magnet on the outside to get them to match, no joy. Finally using a small angle drill with a tiny drill bit I was able to drill a hole out. Then using a hole saw from the outside to finish the hole. Next time I am at the boat I'll snap a photo.

Mike
On my 1978 382 there was a small sealed locker at the very forward lower part of the Vbunk. Opening that locker revealed 60 5lb plumbers ingots of lead glassed in place. Removing them was the worst job ever. But they weighed almost exactly equal to the gear I was putting back on the bow.

Jim
 
Thanks again Jim. I will take a look there to see if I have the same sealed locker with ingots. I also have to make that forward bulkhead watertight where the new lower locker will be, it's tabbed as it is. Is that what you had to do? Or did you make the whole bulkhead water tight? Either way I think I will have to modify the small door from the vbunk, possibly will have to remove that entirely.
 
Biggest problem I encountered in anchor locker: the bulkhead is not glassed to the deck at the top. After we beat into a gale for 20 hours, with green water over the bow almost constantly, the forecastle was drenched. I had it professionally repaired.
 
I glassed the forward bulkhead to the deck. I made a watertight cover for the opening behind the door out of aluminium, this bolts in place with fasteners. I tested it for watertightness by filling the locker with a hose until it flowed on deck. Satisfied that it was watertight to the interior, I cut a drain hole at the bottom of the bottom locker and covered that hole with a flapper check valve. I cut some big holes in the upper locker floor for drains but also so that I can pass the windlass handle down and knock the chain pile over when it binds up the windlass, so there is no need to go in the locker door. This system has worked flawlessly for over 15 years with many of those years spent traveling blue water and living on anchor.

I am sure there may be a little water in the bottom of the locker when beating to windward. So what. The locker is full of steel too!

Before I did this I learned some lessons the hard way. The bunk always got wet when we took water over the bow. We only had one bilge pump and no alarm. It failed on a rough day trip across vineyard sound where we took water over the bow every other wave. At day's end I went below to find the sole wet. The entire bilge filled to sole level from the anchor locker drain! It was over a year before I had all the corrosion and electrical issues sorted.

I firmly believe anchor lockers should drain overboard.
 
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The bottom is well above the water line, see the flapper valve in the first photo. In the upper locker I bonded in a longitudinal beam right down centerline that divided the upper locker in half side to side. It's 1.5" thick of quality ply and its glassed heavily to the hull, locker bottom and deck. This gave a place to mount the inner forestay, samson post and locate the windlass so it was a straight drop into the locker just forward of the bulkhead.
 

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Thanks David for all of that info! Especially the pics and the link to the valve. This is what I want to do.
 
Warren
I am almost always in agreement with you on just about any topic we have discussed here on the board. But this is one time we veer off on different tacks. Bonnie and I have been using all chain rode since the mid 90s. Chain, we use 5/16" high tensile, is very much stronger, doesn't chafe, and does not effect the sailing ability of the Morgan 382. When our system was installed, the weight of the anchor, chain, windlass and associated equipment weighed in at just about 300 lbs. Lo and behold, we found exactly 300 lbs of lead ingots glassed in under the forward end of the Vberth. Mr Brewer probably felt that the boat should be equipped with good ground tackle. When the buyers didn't take that option, they had to add the weight up forward to compensate and keep the boat in trim and sailing well.

But the most important reason we like all chain is the fact that since going to chain we have never dragged anchor in anchorages from Great Exuma to Arcadia, Maine. Retrieveing the chain and anchor is a push of a button.

We always sleep very well.

Jim & Bonnie.
Jim,
My understanding from Ted is that the lead was in the bow to float her on her lines because the 3qm30 weighted 600 pounds
 
John

Yes that is correct. The Yanmar weighed in heavier than expected. But Mr Brewer designed the boat as a cruiser with the expectation of the weight of cruising ground tackle up forward. When few new owners installed anchoring gear the need for the ingots became the solution.

Jim
 
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