Frank Langer
1984 Ericson 30+, Nanaimo, BC
Hi,
I am replacing my anchor rode on our E30+. We have a 22 lb. Bruce anchor, 20 foot 5/16" chain and 240 foot of 1/2" 3 strand nylon rope which is attached to the chain with a shackle/spliced thimble. It has worked very well for us over the past 10 years in a variety of coastal anchoring conditions in winds to about 32 knots, usually anchoring in about 30 feet of water. We do not have a windlass, so I anchor and raise the anchor manually, often single handing.
I am now replacing the nylon rope as it is about 15 years old, looks a bit "bedraggled" and was described as "tired" by a local rope shop. I will keep the Bruce anchor and the chain, but am considering splicing the new rope directly to the last chain link rather than to a thimble/shackle to attach it to the chain. My reason is that the previous thimble is a bit bulky and always caught a bit on the anchor roller as I raised the anchor.
In reading on line, some websites stated that splicing the rope directly to the chain is necessary in some cases to accommodate a windlass. I figure that if it's ok for use with a windlass, then it should be ok without a windlass as well. It would also remove one possible weakness (the shackle/thimble attachment).
I don't really see a downside to splicing the rope directly to the chain, but figured I better check with the experts here.
Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated!
Frank
I am replacing my anchor rode on our E30+. We have a 22 lb. Bruce anchor, 20 foot 5/16" chain and 240 foot of 1/2" 3 strand nylon rope which is attached to the chain with a shackle/spliced thimble. It has worked very well for us over the past 10 years in a variety of coastal anchoring conditions in winds to about 32 knots, usually anchoring in about 30 feet of water. We do not have a windlass, so I anchor and raise the anchor manually, often single handing.
I am now replacing the nylon rope as it is about 15 years old, looks a bit "bedraggled" and was described as "tired" by a local rope shop. I will keep the Bruce anchor and the chain, but am considering splicing the new rope directly to the last chain link rather than to a thimble/shackle to attach it to the chain. My reason is that the previous thimble is a bit bulky and always caught a bit on the anchor roller as I raised the anchor.
In reading on line, some websites stated that splicing the rope directly to the chain is necessary in some cases to accommodate a windlass. I figure that if it's ok for use with a windlass, then it should be ok without a windlass as well. It would also remove one possible weakness (the shackle/thimble attachment).
I don't really see a downside to splicing the rope directly to the chain, but figured I better check with the experts here.
Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated!
Frank
Last edited: