Proper attachment on end of chain.

Discovered end of all chain rode >250’ it is not attached in the anchor locker.

There is a recently replaced Sampson post running down through the anchor locker that seems like a sturdy place to secure the end of the rode. Seems like it should be bolted down on the end.

I could either through bolt the chain to the post inside the locker or put the chain end around the post and secure it with a shackle.

Thoughts on proper way to secure this?

Glad I didn’t discover this while deploying the anchor for the first time...

I'd tie it off to the Sampson post with a short length of nylon rope attached to your chain. That way it is easier to cut in an emergency, if all your rode is out.

AusCan said:

I'd tie it off to the Sampson post with a short length of nylon rope attached to your chain. That way it is easier to cut in an emergency, if all your rode is out.

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David

AusCan said:

I'd tie it off to the Sampson post with a short length of nylon rope attached to your chain. That way it is easier to cut in an emergency, if all your rode is out.

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Me too.

Agree. Attach the end in a way that you can release it quickly if needed.

Makes sense. And since I discovered another 200’ of nylon rode stored in the laz i can shackle that onto the bitter-end of the chain in an emergency or if I need more length.

Discovering things still on this new-to-me trawler is great fun and I couldn’t make sense of how things were set up and why without this great forum and all the helpful members!

Thanks!

Or attach it with 50 to 75 feet of bright floating line...

That way if you cut it and it gets away from you before you get a bouy on it, you may still see enough line to retrieve it later.

I would at minimum attach a line that will reach out onto the deck in case you need to cut away you don’t have to go below and into the rope locker to cut the line. I do like the idea of the floating line that may reach the surface.

Also worth getting some cheap 6mm brightly coloured rope and weaving some through a few links of chain with tails sticking out a few metres before the end so you know when you are close to it.

I do the same at my 25m minimum drop, 50m and 75m
Lasts at least 2 years worth of daily use and is easily replaced, unlike paint.

AusCan said:

I'd tie it off to the Sampson post with a short length of nylon rope attached to your chain. That way it is easier to cut in an emergency, if all your rode is out.

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^^ this is the proper way. Think about an emergency, you're on deck, it may be very rough, night, bad weather. All of sudden you realize you NEED to release the anchor. How do you do it right now? Attach enough rope to to be visible on deck when all the anchor chain is out. Easily cut in an emergency.

Ken

The last 15’ of chain is painted red so no need for indicators- I like the floating line idea since most water I navigate is fairly shallow. I think that the average depth of SF Bay is about 4’, and the Sacramento delta is about the same

Here on the gulf coast the water is under 100 feet out almost 80-90 miles so 100 feet of floating line would do the job. I think I will add that to mine.

"Here on the gulf coast the water is under 100 feet out almost 80-90 miles so 100 feet of floating line would do the job. I think I will add that to mine."


Most FL boats do not install line utters as the Maineacks do , so if you do not reteive the floating line some boater will curse your blood line for 7 generations.

If that happens, they can have my expensive anchor and chain because I most likely won't find it again.

I have a hard point in my anchor locker and when I bought the boat the PO had shackled the end of the chain to it. After a year I finally got around to splicing some 3 strand to the end of the chain and splicing a loop on the other end that I shackle to that hard point. It is just long enough that when the rode is let out all the way, the line appears just above the deck but the chain is still engaged on the gypsy. This way I can't let the chain out so far that the windlass won't retrieve it, and yet the nylon is readily accessible to cut if needed.


For those in shallow waters, I like the floating line idea, but I would still use a different line as the anchor point for the chain so that if your clutch on your windlass lets go your chain doesn't go past the gyspy.

Snub it off, bring it in on the capstan, snub it off, drop the chain on the gypsy....less than a minute.

I remember on my steel boat the 440' of heavy chain was welded to the stem bar. I always thought that was the dumbest thing. Yep, some nylon is the way to go, but make it really thick.

This discussion is good for me because I just realized that in the 10 years of ownership of my 44 foot steel hulled Bruce Roberts Ketch with all chain rode, I never looked to see if the Bitter End was connected to anything!!! I have yet to check the rode on my Mainship 34 that I have owned, now, for six months. But I do have the new rode sitting on the front porch and a new anchor is also ready to attach.

The discussion above, of the bitter end attachment, brings to mind more than one time when, after a brief hard blow, in a crowded anchorage, I have encountered a boat that had dragged and was beating itself up on the shore, I called, banged on the hull, determined no one aboard, jumped on the bow and hauled in the ineffective anchor and reset it. Each time, I checked the rode to see how it was attached and found that it was not.
This happens way too frequently. Check yours.

dhays said:

It is just long enough that when the rode is let out all the way, the line appears just above the deck but the chain is still engaged on the gypsy. This way I can't let the chain out so far that the windlass won't retrieve it, and yet the nylon is readily accessible to cut if needed.
F.

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Thank you, that just got added to my project list! Excellent idea. I'd checked on mine before we ever left the dock and it is through bolted to a deck stringer (no sampson post or other.) I'd made it a list item to improve the anchor chain attachment but hadn't gotten around to figuring it out yet

I have a large round float with a carabineer attached, that I can snap to the end of the chain when I have to release it, so that I'll be able to find it again.

Is that a really big float that will support the chain???

If the depth is over 50 feet I'll attach the nylon rode to the chain.

Assuming everything is handy and you have the time.

Everytime I have heard of someone letting everything go, they were scared shi**less and even cutting the line took too long.

I have the float and rode already made up. If things go wrong I just snap the rope to the change and let it go.

psneeld said:

Assuming everything is handy and you have the time.

Everytime I have heard of someone letting everything go, they were scared shi**less and even cutting the line took too long.

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A "Man Overboard" mark on the GPS worked well for a friend in the Broughtons a few years ago. When he went back months later with a diver, the MOB mark made finding and recovering his anchor and chain a simple task. Luckily it wasn't too deep.

As I posted, the only times I have heard of dropping the whole rig was ....

Either all the time in the world where snapping on lines or hitting MOBs is possible, or it is a panic where rational thought is a distant memory for most.

That's why I have light line connecting the chain so it can part on it's own if I want it to, rather than heavy line that ALWAYS needs to be cut.

psneeld said:

As I posted, the only times I have heard of dropping the whole rig was ....

Either all the time in the world where snapping on lines or hitting MOBs is possible, or it is a panic where rational thought is a distant memory for most.

That's why I have light line connecting the chain so it can part on it's own if I want it to, rather than heavy line that ALWAYS needs to be cut.

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That is a really good point. I think I used 5/8" 3-strand, but I can't recall now. It could have been 1/2". In thinking about it, all the 5/8" would do is give me something that takes longer to cut. I'm not expecting the line to hold the boat.

I'm in the process of adding more chain to my nylon anchor rode. I decided to reverse the ride as it had some wear & tear. Also decided rather than cut off all of the prior 15 ft of chain I left a short run and use a carabiner to attach the new bitter end. No knife or cutting read just unsnap and snap onto another line, fender, etc in an emergengy.

Being able to release under load might be worth considering.