Poor Man’s Sandblasting Solution

Seems like every time we receive a note from longtime cruiser Kirk McGeorge of the USVI-based Tayana 42 Gallivanter it brings a chuckle. His latest offering was no different. 

"I’ve just learned a new trick and thought I’d share it with my fellow sailors," he wrote last week. It seems that after seven years of hard use in both the Caribbean and Pacific, Gallivanter‘s primary anchor chain — 200 feet of high quality, American-made BBB grade links — had lost much of its galvanized coating, and was staining her decks. Rather than buying all new chain, Kirk was determined to have his old chain regalvanized. He found three places in Bundaberg that could do the job for a reasonable price, but there was one problem: "They said I’d have to remove all paint markings and loose rust before they’d accept it, and suggested I have it sand blasted prior to delivery." But the fee for doing that was a deal-breaker, as it would make the total cost of the whole exercise higher than simply buying new chain.

Luckily, Kirk’s friend Sam came up with a brilliant plan. "Yesterday, we loaded nearly 400 lbs of rusty steel chain into the back of our pickup truck. We turned off the highway toward the old coastal road and drove until the pavement ended, where we got out and unloaded the two crates of chain. I tied a short piece of tuna cord to the last link of the chain, looped the string over our bumper hitch, locked the hubs and we took-off on a 10-km detour along a hard-packed beach. We dragged the chain for about a half hour at speeds reaching 40 mph while swerving and doing figure eights. We reversed the chain and drove some more and by the time we were done all traces of paint and rust were gone, and the entire length of chain was shiny metal when we arrived at the galvanizing plant. A poor man’s sandblaster, but very effective!"

It’s a wonderful story. We only wish Kirk had thought to snap some pictures of his crazy antics. By the way, for those of you heading to Australia, Kirk notes, "You can get hot-dip galvanizing done in Brisbane, Bundaberg and Townsville, all of which are official ports of entry. But Bundy is the best deal, in my opinion."