It seems most sailors know how to splice, because they seem to be folks wanting to be self sufficient. However, I find that most powerboaters do not know how to splice and so I have them come to us to have their anchor line spliced directly onto their anchor chain so that it feeds properly through their windlasses. Of course, there are exceptions on the above statement. Some sailors don't know how to splice and some powerboaters do. At any rate, if you have a windlass, then I recommend the rope to chain splice and assuming the anchor feeds through a bow anchor roller, a bullet swivel shackle (shaped like a bullet and not a galvanized anchor shackle) is the ticket for easy feeding. If you don't have a windlass, and you haul the anchor up by hand, then an eye splice with thimble and shackle is a good way to go. But, you know what? A splice is needed for that set up too
