Frayed Line

I was cleaning/inspecting my ground tackle post trip and came across this section of line that had been partially frayed through. Fortunately, it was pretty far back and I hadn’t let out that much line until our last night anchored out during a very windy night ( Awendaw Creek, just south of McClellanville).

I found a section of the underside of the anchor platform that had become very rough, and apparently, the line had chaffed almost completely through one strand. Fortunately, the wind dropped during the night and she held on the two remaining strands, or we could have had a rude awakening.

If you’re going out and plan on anchoring, you might want to check your line before you go. KJ

Wow! Close call and a good catch!

FlyWright said:

Wow! Close call and a good catch!

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And maybe a bit of a point in favour of the all chain rode if feasible...?

Ouch! Are you going to splice through that area? Or just get all chain rode and never worry about chafe again.

For those that don't anchor much....check your all chain rode often too....many times most of it will look brand new and then one link somewhere will look like it's made from rust colored 20 pound fishing line...

One good thing about 3 strand.
It is easy to splice with very little loss in strength.

SD

I'm a big fan of 8 strand Brait. It's not as strong as all chain, but it brings many other advantages including shock absorption, compact storage, silence under strain. I haven't tried to splice it yet, but it looks complicated on the videos I've watched.

psneeld said:

For those that don't anchor much....check your all chain rode often too....many times most of it will look brand new and then one link somewhere will look like it's made from rust colored 20 pound fishing line...

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This actually happened to me so I replaced the rode with 20 feet of chain and 150 feet of 3 strand nylon. When all the rode is in the chain locker, the 20 feet of chain rests on the faked nylon line, thus allowing it to dry and not rust so much.

I would have loved to use the 8 strand Brait but I couldn't get it to quit slipping in the gypsy. (Probably the wrong size as I think Manyboats uses it and he knows a lot about anchoring.) Brait is a lot more flexible and retrieves (fakes?) a lot better in the locker.

When I ordered my Brait, I was advised by Defender to upsize it 1/8 (from 1/2 to 5/8) from what the gypsy called for to avoid slippage. Never have had a problem with slippage.

FlyWright said:

When I ordered my Brait, I was advised by Defender to upsize it 1/8 (from 1/2 to 5/8) from what the gypsy called for to avoid slippage. Never have had a problem with slippage.

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I didn't know that but wish I did as I really like the brait. it's easy on the hands, strong and coils easily.

Keith said:

Ouch! Are you going to splice through that area? Or just get all chain rode and never worry about chafe again.

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It's already been spliced. Gonna test it next week down on the Waccamaw.

An all chain rode has definitely moved up on my "wish list". Maybe when I win the lottery. KJ

SeaHorse II said:

This actually happened to me so I replaced the rode with 20 feet of chain and 150 feet of 3 strand nylon. When all the rode is in the chain locker, the 20 feet of chain rests on the faked nylon line, thus allowing it to dry and not rust so much.

I would have loved to use the 8 strand Brait but I couldn't get it to quit slipping in the gypsy. (Probably the wrong size as I think Manyboats uses it and he knows a lot about anchoring.) Brait is a lot more flexible and retrieves (fakes?) a lot better in the locker.

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Sorry Walt, can't resist, seeing you said it twice, but let's just say if I was to do to your name, what you just did to the word flake, then you name would be Wat....

Peter B said:

And maybe a bit of a point in favour of the all chain rode if feasible...?

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Pricey option tho! Not to mention weighty.

Especially if y'all anything like me and be out in 200+ meters of water chasing tuna's :-/ don't even want to think about how much that would cost or weigh.

Sent from my iPhone using Trawler

Peter B said:

Sorry Walt, can't resist, seeing you said it twice, but let's just say if I was to do to your name, what you just did to the word flake, then you name would be Wat....

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Thanks for pointing that out, Peter. It would seem, however, that the use of the word "fake" is acceptable but the word "Wat" is not. (Except in Thailand, Cambodia & Laos, of course.)

Frayed knot, Wally. Peter was probably using the Oz Nautical Dictionary.

FlyWright said:

Frayed knot, Wally. Peter was probably using the Oz Nautical Dictionary.

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Peter wasn't wrong...I's just the way I heard it said in Navy boot camp in 1959. I'm sure that in medical school, the more accepted "flake" is used. (Just joshing you, Peter! You know I love all the posts from "down under.")

KJ said:

It's already been spliced. Gonna test it next week down on the Waccamaw.

An all chain rode has definitely moved up on my "wish list". Maybe when I win the lottery. KJ

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Did you splice it yourself?

It is amazing to me how many people that run boats can't even Tye a bowline let alone do a simple back splice or splice an eye.

Sd

SeaHorse II said:

You know I love all the posts from "down under.")

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Here's some Aussie for ya mate

Song Of Australia - Colin Buchanan with Lee Kernaghan & Sara Storer (The Songwriter Sessions DVD) - YouTube

Yikes! Glad you caught that.

Last year we reduced our chain from ALL to 120' (maybe 100', I'd have to check the log book) and the rest rope. That puts us on all chain 95% of the time we anchor but reduced the weight considerably from when we had 300' of chain. We spliced the rope to the chain ourselves and actually found a good video on you tube that went through it step by step. We did make sure the process in the video corresponded to standard nautical references before going with it! LOL.

This thread has inspired me to check my whole rode before we anchor again. We don't have a routine for checking it on a regular basis. Obviously we need to! thanks KJ.

My husband always says it "fake". I think he picked that up in the Sea Scouts. I was taught it was "flake" in the sail training classes I took.

I never knew word for that....and now I have two! You guys are swell!

skipperdude said:

Did you splice it yourself?

It is amazing to me how many people that run boats can't even Tye a bowline let alone do a simple back splice or splice an eye.

Sd

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I learned how to splice some time ago. I did some eyes for lines on my sailboat. Not that difficult with three strand with a good fid. For the rode though, I had a guy that I know that is a professional rigger splice it. It just makes me feel a little better. KJ

Pineapple Girl said:

We spliced the rope to the chain ourselves and actually found a good video on you tube that went through it step by step. We did make sure the process in the video corresponded to standard nautical references before going with it! LOL.

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My rode has the line spliced to the chain also. I had never heard of or seen this configuration before and wasn’t quite sure how it would perform. On my trip down to the Keys and back, we anchored overnight quite a bit and had very strong winds and currents pretty frequently. The ground tackle worked fine, we never dragged, even with a short scope on some real skinny creeks. My rigger friend says that if done right, the splice should provide a very strong rig. I’m glad to see someone else uses it. KJ

KJ wow that is cool. We just did a simple splice through the last link of chain. I've never seen anything like what you have!!

Pineapple Girl said:

KJ We just did a simple splice through the last link of chain.

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I did the same as you & it's very strong.

KJ said:

I learned how to splice some time ago. I did some eyes for lines on my sailboat. Not that difficult with three strand with a good fid. For the rode though, I had a guy that I know that is a professional rigger splice it. It just makes me feel a little better. KJ

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did he do a long or short splice?

SeaHorse II said:

Peter wasn't wrong...I's just the way I heard it said in Navy boot camp in 1959. I'm sure that in medical school, the more accepted "flake" is used. (Just joshing you, Peter! You know I love all the posts from "down under.")

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Well...actually Walt, I stand corrected, according to that reference you posted. However, I never heard it used any other way than 'flake', so you learn a new thing every day, as they say.

I have never seen that type of "splice". Maybe i have been living in a cave but it looks Rube Goldberg to me.

Sailor of Fortune said:

I have never seen that type of "splice". Maybe i have been living in a cave but it looks Rube Goldberg to me.

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Even if it fit, I don't think my gypsy would accept it.

Sailor of Fortune said:

I have never seen that type of "splice". Maybe i have been living in a cave but it looks Rube Goldberg to me.

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If you are referring to the long splice to a chin it is fairly common...especially for certain wildcats being able to pass it where a short "back" splice won't work with all windlasses.

That was also why my question whether the "pro rigger" used a long splice or short splice. Weird but the short splice is a tad stronger but like I said the increased diameter of the short or "back splice" to one link limits its use though windlasses and block/tackles.

http://www.theensign.org/uspscompass/compassarchive/compassv6n1/v6n1_mm_shortsplice.htm