Anchoring dilemma and question

We anchor out quite often, sometimes in difficult conditions, so our process needs to be as smooth and foolproof as possible. We have a problem because the 1/2" nylon line is attached to the chain with a thimble that measures about 2" and this is too big to ride smoothly on the anchor holder/roller when I raise/lower the anchor, especially as I also have a Harken roller furling drum to contend with at the bow. I currently have to let out the chain til I get to the thimble, then lift the chain off the roller around the furler drum and lower the thimble past the anchor roller and then get the nylon line back on the anchor roller to lower the rest of the nylon rode. Weighing anchor requires the reverse. This can get tricky in windy/wavey conditions and I risk getting my hand/fingers caught.

Does anyone know of a way to attach the 1/2" nylon line to the chain without using a thimble or bulky mechanism that would catch on the anchor holder/roller? I have considered cutting off the thimble and splicing the nylon line directly to the chain or tying a bowline or anchor knot, but I know that any knot will reduce the breaking strength of the line, which is currently spliced around the thimble.

Any suggestions that would allow me to simply raise/lower the anchor over the anchor holder/roller would be much appreciated.

Also, if you have any suggestions for how to raise/lower the stern anchor over the transom without damaging the gelcoat, I would love to hear them as well. We sometimes anchor in areas where I want to limit the swing room, which a stern anchor together with a bow anchor does quite nicely, but I'm worried that pulling the line, chain and anchor over the transom to get it into the stern locker will leave marks. We have a stern stainless pushpit which I'm also dodging as I do this. So far I have been lucky in handling it carefully to avoid chain or anchor touching the transom gelcoat, but I know that one of these days I'll likely drop the chain or even worse, ding the transom with the anchor.

Thanks,
Frank

A Splice might be Nice

There seems to be a school of thought that a splice is quite appropriate. I have not tried it, but then we do not have a windlass, either. I must admit that when "armstrong-ing" our anchor in I do have to carefully work the shackle over the bow roller.

http://www.bluemoment.com/warpchainsplice.html

Loren

That link shows a method I have not seen. I spliced my anchor rode to the chain by this method:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfDyDYC5g1E

There are several other videos of this on You Tube as well. Brion Toss sells a splicing DVD that includes this splice and it makes it pretty easy to watch the video and do the splice at the same time.

Warp to chain splice

So doubling the line over the chain link and then splicing it back on itself will lose about half the warps strength and then there's chafe to worry about. But what amount of warp strength is lost splicing the rope into the chain links and is it less prone to chafe?

So doubling the line over the chain link and then splicing it back on itself will lose about half the warps strength...

Click to expand...

Can you cite any evidence to support this? I thought splicing was supposed to maintain the strength of the line. The strands are not just "doubled over" they should actually form a "crown knot" (the strands are intertwined) through the link; hence the splice is called a crown splice. Seems like chafing could eventually occur with either method...even a thimble doesn't last forever...

Brion Toss comments:

I found these comments by Master Rigger Brion Toss on the Ocean Navigator website. Seems as if a chain splice can certainly deliver, with not much loss in breaking strength.


"Working with the very kind folks at New England Rope, I've done some testing on these splices, too. First, the four-strand splice, though simple, might be relatively weak. I only had five broken, but the average efficiency (the percentage of the parent rope's breaking strength) was only 75.6%. The rope was 5/8-inch MegaBraid, spliced through the last 13 links of the chain and seized with constrictors. It seems likely that the rope moves through the links under extremes of load causing distortions, and thus weakness.

You didn't have the crown splice tested for your article, but we got 87.3% average efficiency for the untapered version, and 80.9% for the tapered version. I was surprised to see that the taper resulted in a weaker splice, but this has been borne out, at least in three-strand nylon, in other tests. The crown splice numbers are a little higher than the ones you got for the three-strand direct eye splice, and my experience in the field is that the latter is much more likely to chafe than the former.

As for the two-strand direct splice, we only broke two untapered ones, but both gave way at close to 100% of the rope's strength, a figure far higher than the 87% that you obtained. Even our tapered samples averaged 91% efficiency. The reason for the disparity is, I believe, that the two-strand splice to chain is simply very difficult to do well, especially in nylon, which is poor at holding its lay. It takes a lot of practice to get it right, so it's important either to practice accordingly or to hire someone who has. Either way it's worth it, both for strength and smoothest transition to chain.

As for the thimbled eye splice, not only is it no stronger than a proper two-strand splice, it also has a couple of significant drawbacks: the shackle and thimble are a major headache at rollers and gypsies, and the thimble can get sideways in the eye under heavy loads and chew its way through the rope it was meant to protect. The only sure way to prevent this is to use a bronze "keeper" thimble, with straps that prevent rotation. But it is an expensive, even clunkier alternative. Nylon keepers are too easy to break.

I'll be doing a great deal more testing on a wide variety of knots in the near future, including more chain splices, and would be happy to pass along the results. The tests are for my next book, Working Knots, which, among other things, will address odd splices in nylon, Dacron, and exotic materials."

I used the tapered version of this splice on 5/16 chain and 1/2 or 5/8 rode. Worked fine for 6 years, exclusively in clay and sand bottoms. I just replaced the chain and need to figure out how to do it again. Goes over the bow roller very well. I have never tried it on a windlass/gypsy.

mherrcat said:

That link shows a method I have not seen. I spliced my anchor rode to the chain by this method:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfDyDYC5g1E

There are several other videos of this on You Tube as well. Brion Toss sells a splicing DVD that includes this splice and it makes it pretty easy to watch the video and do the splice at the same time.

Click to expand...