@dlochner Are you fastening this to the chain almost like the prusik hitch that @thinwater posted above?
Yes. A Prussik knot is sort of like a cow hitch with more wraps. On rope the extra wraps are necessary to develop enough friction. On chain the shape of the chain and the links hold with only one wrap. If you check the Mantus site their instructions for using the pendant on rope is to add wraps, in the same manner as a Prussik knot.
It is inadvisable to secure your ground tackle directly to the windlass. Our snub goes to one of the foredeck cleats. When the anchor is up, we use doubled lines with hooks that snap into the chain, attached to a stanchion base. If worse came to worse, I'd rather lose a stanchion than the windlass.
If you are dragging in a bit of a blow, you need to reassess your anchor tackle.
Agreed. The question is, are you pulling in the anchor and resetting, or, it seems to me, you are more likely putting out more scope. Now some say, you put out a second anchor, but honestly, at this point I think you're too late... I've been in some mighty tough blows and I've no idea how I would have been able to set a second anchor. I guess with enough room, I could drop a second one while the first one is dragging and at some point I'd have enough scope on both, I guess. But that just doesn't seem like that's going to be a realistic solution.
Again also in agreement. Here is where I think the secured snubber is better. You can simply drop both and go, and you won't loose your snubber. With a hook, you'd have to pull in the anchor line, unhook, then drop the system. Heck at that point just pull in the system. But there's the problem, we're talking you don't have the time...
Now we disagree. Here's the advantage of the tied on snubber - you simply let out more scope. You don't have to bring in anything, no unhooking hooks, just let out more scope. Now, if your snubber is not long enough, you can simply tie more line onto the end and let it out.
By the way, thanks for this. My new to me boat has a method of securing the anchor that I don't like at all. And I've been thinking about how best to do this. You've just answered, and I haven't even asked the question yet! Ha!
Like Dlochner posted. Any climbing site or Animated Knots will show the knot. This is rope, but it works even better on chain.
I spliced my own dyneema loops (sling) for this purpose, and use them to form a prussik knot on the anchor rode and attach the loops with a large stainless spring-gated hook on the bridle/snubber lines. (1/4" dyneema has a breaking strength >5,000 pounds)
You had originally said "a climbing sling and a prusik hitch " - I should have been more specific - I know the prusik hitch, I used to climb. I did not know what the climbing sling meant. I see now that you just meant the free end of the prusik hitch that gives you the sling part.
I tied a Brian Toss designed soft shackle with 1/4” Dyneema SK-78 12-strand single braid line. Tested on a commercial test rig. I believe the failure occurred at 10400 lbs. I’ll need to pull out the data sheet. The failure occurred in the section of the buried splice. I chose to see if tapered or square cut buried ends made any difference. It does. As the knot was stretched the sharp bend in the untapered bury caused the strands of the tightening line to break around the ends of the buried edge. A tapered end would have corrected that weakness.
I used it for a bridle on a multihull. It could also be used on a monohull to offset the pull of the rode (to angle the boat into swells, or reduce "hunting").
You would not, or at least not for the same purpose. Heck, the bridle on my F-24 is Dyneema (long story--a Dyneema bridle reduces yawing in a breeze vs. nylon).
@dLj,
A few more factors to consider.
Very good additions to the Options available and that need analysis. Thanks for those. More things for dLj to consider, rather than jumping to only one conclusion and good for him to know about.
Idiots, of course, but still...
