I have a combination chain rode spliced to nylon line for my anchor rode. It is about six years old and gets moderate use. The chain link at the point where the line is splice to it is rusting. The nylon line is still intact without any signs of chafe or other wear. Time to replace it?
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Just give it a whack with a hammer and see how much rust flakes off. Measure a rusty link and a clean link and compare them. Steel can look rather cankered and still be very good and stainless steel can look wonderful and break without warning. A wire brush will let you decide if too much steel is lost. If it is just the few links near the splice cut them out and use the section that is still sound.
I imagine the rope holds salt and water
That is a common occurance. Every few years I re-splice the line, removing the 1 effected link and a foot of line. It is the easiest slpice to learn, I think. If the spice goes through a windlass, taper the splice by ending the 3 strands at different lengths and/or by tapering the strands.
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