Today we had a bit of a project to replace the swivel on the port side anchor. As we were alongside but our bow was overlapping the end of the jetty by some 25m we could not simply lower it down and hoist it onto the pier.
We used two underwater balloons with 1t lifting capacity and 2 divers with gear, I was one of them and our rescue boat. The anchor was lowered into the water and we attached the underwater balloons and inflated them. After that we gave more slack on the chain and the rescue boat towed the anchor closer to the jetty. There we had a truck with a crane, lent from our agents Melita Marine.
New swivel
We attached the end of the hook to the chain and the anchor was lifted onto dry land. There we separated the anchor from the chain by opening the schackle that had been used to replace the old swivel that had broken. After that we started installing the swivel which looked easier than it was done. The pin was harder to hit into place and ended up grinding off some material off the end.
Locking pins
It took some hard black-smithing to hit the pin into place so that we could hit the locking pins in as well. The locking pins were not that tight so in the end we welded them into position to prevent anything dropping out. When all was done it was another job to do the anchor lifting in reverse. Eventually it all went well and the anchor was hoisted into the pocket without any hitches. Job completed.
Welded locking pins
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