Best/least expensive sources for chain?

[Amgine]

I'd really like about 100' of chain aboard, but that sort of blows my budget to smithereens: $375 Canadian dollars at We$t Marine, but even more (for the same manufacturer, shipping in the same container!) at a local boatique who shall remain nameless.

Anyone know of any cheaper sources? Not that buying online is likely to be cheaper since shipping is usually charged by the pound... But if it's anywhere on the west coast north of California, I can probably come up with a justification to drive over and pick it up.

[AdriftAtSea]

what kind of chain are you looking for??? 1/4", 5/16"?  G43, BBB, Proof Coil???? 

[Amgine]

1/4". High test most likely, since that's all I've found at the boatiques.

[s/v necessity]

I did a good deal of searching about 6 months ago and it seemed that defender could get it to me for the least amount of money. So you might check with them.  Still wasn't cheap by my standards ;)

[CharlieJ]

ACCO chain shows a distribution center in Reno, Nevada. I have no idea how far away from you that is, but in a 1/4 inch grade 4 galvanized chain, you can't go wrong using ACCO.

There's also a company listed in Auburn Wa that seems to carry ACCO chain-

Acco Chain & Lifting Products

5002 D St Nw, Auburn, WA 98001-2435

Contact Phone:    (253) 850-1197

[Tim]

ACCO chain shows a distribution center in Reno, Nevada. I have no idea how far away from you that is, but in a 1/4 inch grade 4 galvanized chain, you can't go wrong using ACCO.

There's also a company listed in Auburn Wa that seems to carry ACCO chain-

Acco Chain & Lifting Products

5002 D St Nw, Auburn, WA 98001-2435

Contact Phone:    (253) 850-1197

Thanks Charley, I did not realize that, Reno is pretty easy for me. When I go to purchase the (what looks like 5/16") chain for the Ariel I hopefully can save on shipping.

[s/v Faith]

FWIW,

  I have a 25' length of 1/4" HT which is basically useless for anything.  The problem is that there are no shackles that fit it, that have a WLL of anything near the chain.  Most 1/4" shackles are "1/4 ton" which makes the chain of very little use.

  Some will weld an oversize link on either end, which would be a good option.  The problem is that you then have the expense, as well as an untested link... which is not galvanized.

  IMHO better to stick with 1/4" proof chain, or go ahead an upsize to 5/16"

For an excellent discusion of the problem, see this thread on the Pearson Ariel Owners site.

[Tim]

Using Defender as a source the  difference on 90' of chain

1/4" G-3 Proof   1,250 working load   $216

5/16 G-4 HT  3,900 working load      $299

[s/v necessity]

Funny thing on the pricing.  When I priced the chain (5/16" HT acco) the shipping was killing me, so I came up with this idea to swing by a distributor while on vacation (in Wisconsin).  However, once I had a price from the distributor it became apparent that ordering it from defender was still less expensive! 

[Captain Smollett]

I might get blasted for this, but I bought G4, same WLL as the ACCO stuff, locally from LOWES.  Their buckets come in 60 ft lengths, and I just had them order me a full bucket.  This was FAR cheaper than any of the marine chains.

The caveat: very thin galvanizing.  But for what I needed it for at the time, it worked for me.  One such application was my Bahamian Mooring.  This length stayed on the bottom, in mud, for 18 months.

I'm going to get a quote on regalvanizing my other piece. 

[AdriftAtSea]

The problem with buying from a chain distributor is they can't sell it to you as cheaply as some of the retail outlets can, since they'd be effectively competing with their own customers. 

As for chain from Lowe's or HD... that's the problem. The galvanization on them is very thin and the chain starts to rust far sooner than marine-grade anchor chain. 

Capn Smollett—  let us know how expensive the re-galvanizing costs are.  If they're low enough, it might make getting chain from HD or Lowe's reasonable, but I doubt it. :)

[Amgine]

Fisheries Supply in Seattle has a 141' bucket of galvanized proof-coil from Cooper Tools for $213.31, about $1.51 per foot. I'm assuming this is the lightly-galvanized variety, since it's listed as general purpose rather than marine. The next cheapest they have is $3.44 per foot.

[Auspicious]

The industrial chain products have a different link size than the marine grade (ACCO calls it Windlass Chain) product, at least for Grade 43 5/16" HT which I use. This is an issue if you have or might ever add a windlass.

you can't go wrong using ACCO.

Last year ACCO was having a problem with the galvanization process. I helped a friend pick up a barrel of chain at the local West Marine (which was the least expensive source for him at the time). We had the barrel out of my truck and rolled down the dock to the boat and starting to feed it on board before we realized how poor the galvanization was. Getting the barrel back into the truck was a huge job, especially for two middle-aged guys with back pain.

WM ordered another barrel that showed up at the store with the same issues (we inspected on site - slow learners but not stupid). We went through all the other stock in the store (partial drums) and it was all the same.

We ended up with a three-way phone call with my friend, regional WM purchasing manager, and someone at ACCO. Ultimately ACCO admitted to some quality issues that "had been resolved." Apparently (our speculation, ACCO didn't comment) ACCO didn't pull anything back that had already shipped.

My friend went back to his old rode (the eight- or ten-year-old chain looked better than the new stuff) until he got to New England were he found some good chain at Defender.

My suggestion is not to take delivery without inspecting the chain. You can expect some thinner galvanization around the grade stamp and some very minor silvering from abrasion in shipment, but the galvanization should be complete over the link.

sail fast, dave
S/V Auspicious

[Amgine]

How much does this cost? The reason I'm asking is the lightly-galvanized is a bit less than half the price of the 'marine' grade, and at that price savings it may actually be financially viable to purchase the cheaper and get a second coat of zinc.

[maxiSwede]

dunno if this is of any help, since I am in another part of the world from your point of view, but I just had my CQR anchor and my chain regalvanized. This cost me approx SEK 10/kg which should be the (roughly) equivalent of 65 cents per pound. They made a really good job, it looks just like new even though a few meters of it was quie corroded...

As an aside I decided to order a new length of chain and now I am considering the best way of attaching those lengths of chain without losing strength.... but that is another SF thread.

[Amgine]

::nod:: Yes, I've been following that thread too. At 0.65 per pound, 80 pound of the cheaper chain, that's only $52 for the extra zinc. So, for just about half the cost of the 'marine' chain I could get the cheaper chain.

Sounds like a good deal, if I can find a regalvanizer in my area so I'm not paying shipping charges. Of course I need to keep in mind that proof coil is not as good as HT, I may never be able to find a windlass to fit it, and driving all over the west coast is going to cost me even if I'm not paying a shipping company to do it.

Thanks for the information, everyone!

[maxiSwede]

@ Amgine

I guess you know this already, but regalvanizing chain has to be done in a drum/centrifuge to be good. Not all galvanizing businesses have it. It has to be heat galvanizing too.

good luck with it

Magnus