Okay, so maybe “ordeal” is a strong word here. “Debacle” might be better.

There’s an old adage that says “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” I’m not a huge fan of television, but if I’m not mistaken, there was some sort of came show called Weakest Link that was based on this adage. (Ah, yes. Internet search to the rescue. The Brits did the show first and, as unsurprisingly, the Americans made their own version when it proved successful. I haven’t seen either one.)

My problem at the beginning of this year was that my boat’s anchor had 50 feet of chain and I was told by the powers that be at the charter company that it needed 150 feet of chain. I pointed out that my boat was the smallest one in the fleet and 100 more feet of chain would load 110 pounds of additional weight into my already crowded anchor locker. They then agreed that I only needed to add 50 feet for a total of 100 feet.

I had two ways to do this and each one has its pros and cons:

• I could buy 50 feet of the same kind of chain I already had and link it to the existing chain. This would require a connecting link that relied on rivets to keep closed. Any way I looked at it, that would be the weakest link and a source of constant worry. After all, if that link broke, I’d lose not only the new 50 feet of chain, but also my anchor, which would likely cost hundreds of dollars to replace.
• I could remove the existing chain and add a 100-foot length of new chain. This would eliminate the weakest link problem, but this solution had three drawbacks:
• At $4.68 per foot of chain, the new chain would cost $468 instead of $234.
• I’d have to disconnect the existing chain from the rope rode (easy enough) but then I’d have to reconnect the rope rode to the new chain. That would require rope splicing skills and tools I did not have (but could get).
• I’d be stuck with the original 50 feet of chain, which I could not use and probably could not sell.

Clearly, the connecting link option was better, as long as I could get the right connecting link.

Getting the Link

And that’s where the debacle begins.

Because I have a boat training and charter business now, I qualify for a “Pro” account at West Marine. I lot of folks don’t like West Marine because their prices are high, and I’ll agree that they generally are. But things change when you have a pro account. Suddenly, buying at West Marine is a lot more palatable.

I did my homework. I learned that my boat’s anchor has 5/16 Grade 43 chain. I even got a link to the chain on West Marine from someone on the excellent Tugnuts forum for Ranger Tug owners. So I knew exactly what kind of chain to buy.

Someone else on the forum gave me a link to the connecting link I’d need to buy on West Marine. That same person said that it’s been working great for him, despite the West Marine site saying it wasn’t compatible with a windlass.

So I ordered the chain and the link. Both were supposedly in stock. I ordered a few other things, too.

Or Not

Everything came within 3 days except the connecting link.

So now I had a 55 pound box of chain and no way to connect it to the rest of the chain.

I waited three weeks before contacting West Marine to see what was going on. They said they were working on it.

But the clock was ticking. The boat was now in my driveway and I wanted very badly to get it to Bellingham for some maintenance as soon as possible. Once the boat was in the water, dealing with the chain connection would be a lot more difficult.

Trying Another Source

So I got online to search for the part elsewhere. If the West Marine part arrived first, I’d use it. Otherwise, I should have the part I needed. I found it at another provider called US Stainless. It was a different brand but basically the same thing. It was stainless steel as opposed to galvanized steel. Was that better? I didn’t know or care. I’d be keeping a close eye on its condition every time I pulled in the anchor.

I ordered the part. It arrived within a week.

And Getting the Wrong Part

I prepped to do the chain work, removing the anchor from the existing chain. I opened the little part bag. I immediately knew something was off: the part was too big for my chain. Sure enough, although the bag said 5/16, 3/8 was stamped on the part.

Damn.

I got online and looked for a phone number to call. There wasn’t one. There was an email form, though. I used it. Within 24 hours I got a response with an apology. They said they’d send out the right part immediately, along with return packaging for the one I’d gotten. I was impressed that I didn’t have to return the bad part first.

A week went by. Winter storms put travel restrictions on the mountain pass I had to cross to get my boat to Bellingham. There was no way I was going to drive a 23,000 pound wide load over a mountain pass when there was any possibility of snow or ice anyway. I had time.

Getting the Right Part

The part arrived in a little less than a week. It was the correct part. I installed it and I think I did a good job. I know how to rivet from my silversmithing work, but it’s a heck of a lot harder to work on stainless steel than sterling silver.

I finished up my work on the anchor chain and rode and, with the help of a friend, cranked it all back into my anchor locker. The connecting link went through the windlass without any problems, but that anchor locker sure is full now.

Getting Another Wrong Part

Another week went by. A package arrived from West Marine. Okay, I figured. I’d keep this one as a spare. It wasn’t that expensive, after all.

And then I opened the package. I immediately knew something was off: the part was too small for my chain. Sure enough, it’s only 1/4 inch.

Needless to say, I’m not very impressed with anyone’s handling on this particular part.