After our 16 hour day on Monday, having the anchor chain hook straighten out and come off, was just the icing on a not very palatable cake. So to determine what had gone wrong, I first need a bit of history on this bit of kit.

For years we used a standard sort of chain hook that was plenty strong enough for the job.



The problem with this hook was it needs to be attached to the anchor chain below the roller at the front of the boat, maybe 500 mm down from the front cross beam. This is easily achieved on a quiet day (flat sea) and with a bit of a reach over the front of the boat. For the, shall we say, more vertically challenged crew members, this can become a "reach too far". It also had a tendency to fall off when anchored in shallow water and it lay on the bottom in calm conditions.

Then, on the recommendation of a fellow boater, we tried this next hook.



This worked well as now the hook could be attached to the chain on the deck then lowered. It could also be pulled up through the front roller for removal on the deck (No reach too far anymore). The second advantage was the cunning locking pin held it in place on the chain, so it did not fall off. But alas, this was also its downfall. One time it came up and the crew was unable to release the pin and remove it. On inspection it became evident that the Pin was bending in its hole, so a bit of a hit with a blunt heavy object had it removed.

Not being the type to give up easily, we persisted with this hook for quite a while, going through all sorts of lubricants, drilling out the hole for more clearance, trying different pin materials etc. The only guaranteed way for the crew to get the pin out and the hook off was to carry said "blunt heavy object" forward each time the anchor was being pulled up.

Then, one day while Steve and I were visiting a Lagoon 450 that had just spent 5 years traveling from Europe to Australia, we spied a different type of hook. On inquiry it had served them well all this time with not an issue.



Steve realized he had one of those hooks aboard and I ran off to the nearest marine store to by one. That was back in January this year.

Fast forward 4 months of anchoring out in all sorts of conditions and this hook has been a Snap (guess that's why it is called a Snap Hook) it has changed the life of the fore deck crew, making a erroneous job just that bit easier. Then we had the failure last Monday night, that left the hook looking thus.



There was a clue to this upcoming failure, a week ago said hook fell off. On inspection the tip appeared to have moved by 2mm and the locking spring was unable to lock. Instead of heeding this warning, you guessed it, out comes the (blunt heavy object) easy peasy, fixed.

So after a conversation with Steve as to how his hook is standing up to the test of time, I was convinced that the damage was being done by myself. The over zealous pulling on the anchor with the motors to confirm correct anchor set, prior to sleeping like a baby with not a worry about the anchor.

So, off to the good old internet to order a new hook and a reminder to self, less power at time of anchor set.

I then found this hook, same size by the same manufacturer, but with a 4,000 kg breaking load, instead of 1,500 kg breaking load.



I emailed the 2 pictures to Steve to show him the difference, he immediately informed me that his hook was the one with 2 holes and 4,000 kg BL, not the same as the one I had at all.

Moral of the story, just because you think it looks like the right thing and is made by the same people, you still need to read the fine print. A new hook and a spare have been ordered and will arrive by a special courier (aka Sue and Greg from SV Blue Pointer nee SV Sunshine) this afternoon who will join us for dinner this pm at Paradise Point.

Oh! Paradise Point is where we are currently anchored. Yesterday morning after a quick dinghy trip to the Runaway Bay Shopping Center, Bluglass lead the way into an anchorage we had never been into before. It is at Paradise Point, tucked in behind Ephraim Island.



This house opposite us is up for sale.



Only a snip under $7,000,000.00 and it's yours. Wonder how they like us as their morning breakfast view?