I finally cracked today ...

[mm5aho]

I wonder if there's any solution to chain piling up?

We have a 3" pipe from the deck hole through which the chain goes, down to the chain locker which is between / under two forepeak bunks. Lift one cushion, lift the locker lid (plywood), and knock the pyramid of chain sideways. It amazes me how a chain can pile up into such a neat pyramid. It measures about 300mm diameter at base, but about 500mm high!
It is steadied by being in the V formed by the hull. I tried a cut down version of a traffic cone once. Useless.

Best way is to up anchor is winds over F5 and waves over 1m. If there's enough boat motion it doesn't pile. But in a deep anchorage, and calm water, it can be two trips below to de-pile the chain!

[Nick]

We have a 3" pipe from the deck hole through which the chain goes

Surely you can get a suitable stick down this to ram the cone of chain into submission. We do this very successfully and have a special broken boathook which I use for this purpose.

Going below to access the chain locker form the forepeak is a recipe for wet bunks. I've never had to do it since discovering the stick method.

[Arghiro]

.
Our Spade doesn't fit on the bow roller.

We carry it hooked over the pulpit and bungied in place.

It means it is a bit of a faff unbungie-ing it and feeding it under the pulpit prior to anchoring and vice versa on departure, but you would get used to it and for us I guess the unstowing and stowing adds a minute either end of the operation.

I'm with you on that. Even my humble CQR doesn't sit well on the bow roller in the local overfalls - and yes, I tried tying it down. But lifted off the roller & laid flat on the deck with the blade hooked around the rear stanchion of the pulpit & tied firmly, it is as safe as houses.

Ships always catted their anchors when they left soundings to avoid damage in storms if it should break loose, and the principle is just as valid today.

[wully]

My Spade fits on the bow roller OK but I needed to make up a stainless plate to stop it chipping the hull when 'snugged' down with brutal application of the windlass...
It also gets the shank lashed down.

Still rattles about when it gets bumpy sometimes...

[claymore]

I used to send Para down to the chain locker to flake it all down as we raised anchor, however he has grown rather portly of late so we are on the lookout for a slender young thing....

[DaveS]

I keep my Delta (ooh, old tech, horror, shock) on the bow roller with a lashing from the crown to the pulpit taking much of the weight and another lashing holding it down onto the roller. The point fits snugly against the hull, resting on a protective pad (a small sample piece of artificial teak decking). That pretty much stops it going anywhere and it doesn't move even when things are bouncy.

Thanks for the photo of the Knox. Maybe if I've a spare £400 one day...

[marisca]

I had a visit from Prof. John Knox himself today - disappointingly not dressed in black with a long beard! A lot of thought and testing has gone into his design (while avoiding others' patents) and he appreciates the stowing problem and has some ideas for solving it by repositioning the roll bar and possibly by adding weight to the tip(s). No dissing (modern vernacular, I believe) of other designs except he is not at all keen on my existing cyclically setting CQR copy. Is it chauvinistic to want a local effort to succeed in preference to French, New Zealand, Australian, South American etc.?

As for Geoff's query on hydrogen embrittlement in galvanising high tensile steel - he may be getting a call on the subject in the new year.