Bridal at anchor or .....?

[Dsanduril]

Originally Posted by pcmm

I still prefer a rolling hitch as a method of attachment for the snubber.

I think the rolling hitch is quite common now in Western bridal structures. Seems to last 1-10 years, but detaching can become quite expensive and eat into the cruising kitty before the next rolling hitch is found

Seriously though, I used to use a rolling hitch, and sometimes still do, but soft shackles are so much easier to remove after significant load.

[sailormed]

Originally Posted by skipgundlach

I don't have a name but I got a marvelous chain hook at Annapolis several years ago and spliced it into 20' of 1" Megabraid.

Easy to attach, easy to undo, rarely slips as I roll it out with the chain, it's basically a cup (round depression, like a watch crystal - if you've ever seen one of those - but deeper) with a slight angle toward the slot where the chain goes into it, with a bail for the snubber (we don't use a bridle - and the bridal aspects of our time together are long in the past ☺).

Highly recommended, though I apologize for not knowing whose it was.

When we bought the boat, there was just a chain hook tied to some 3-strand. We still have that, and would use it if we ever (see other threads about why we might unmount our secondary anchor) have to deploy our secondary. We have also, on rare occasion, used it for a bridle to offset to the waves/wind...

So, ours is a doddle to attach, launch, retrieve and unhook; we wouldn't be without it.

Is this the one you were referring to? This one is from Osculati in Italy.

[skipgundlach]

Originally Posted by sailormed

Is this the one you were referring to? This one is from Osculati in Italy.

No, but it's on the same line. That should work just fine.

[Sailing55]

Originally Posted by malcolmlj

Bridle- from horse tack correct spelling.

Bridal- pertaining to the Bride wedding associated incorrect spelling.

Carabineer correct spelling.

Spell checkers are good.

Carabineer: cavalry soldier whose principle weapon was a carbine.
Carabiner: correct spelling.

[Sailing55]

Originally Posted by Dsanduril

I think the rolling hitch is quite common now in Western bridal structures. Seems to last 1-10 years, but detaching can become quite expensive and eat into the cruising kitty before the next rolling hitch is found

Seriously though, I used to use a rolling hitch, and sometimes still do, but soft shackles are so much easier to remove after significant load.

Thank you, I needed that! Good one! Pity the poor fellow with multiple rolling hitches!

[Cheechako]

The beauty of a snubber or bridal is that it cushions the shock load rather than hard jerking, which breaks things. have never used anything other than a chain hook with it never coming off in 30 years.

[IRG]

Bridal - getting married.

Bridle - correct spelling. Please!

BTW a rolling hitch and a couple of lines to your chain or rope rode work perfectly and need no hardware.

[lesterbutch]

Originally Posted by malcolmlj

Bridle- from horse tack correct spelling.

Bridal- pertaining to the Bride wedding associated incorrect spelling.

Carabineer correct spelling.

Spell checkers are good.

Thank you: I was going to say something similar!
I was a J.P. And performed nautical style ceremonies on the foredeck of my boat. That would work with "Bridal"!

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by IRG

Bridal - getting married.

Bridle - correct spelling. Please!

BTW a rolling hitch and a couple of lines to your chain or rope rode work perfectly and need no hardware.

haha, the speling poleese are hear! Yeah , I new that...

[sailing_gal]

I have 3/8" chain and a Mantus "hook. I have 2- 5/8" lines spliced onto the shackle that goes through the hook, each one attaches to a bow cleat. I have no problem removing the hook since as soon as it comes up to the bow roller, I can safely detach it without worrying about it falling in the water, since there are two lines holding it.

As others have said, you want that 3 strand line there to take the shock load off the windlass and the boat in general. You will sit more easily at anchor with that extra stretch built in.

[deblen]

Is it really a good idea to moor/anchor thru (sic intentional) a bow roller in bad conditions?



I would be afraid of damaging the roller assy.,so I moor/anchor to my P & S cleats using a 3/4" 3 strand nylon bridle if 2 pendants are not available.
Just wunderin.

Cheers/ Len

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by Hylas 49 Hope

We have been using a bridal at anchorage to keep the load off of the windlass. I was wondering why the chain stopper would not provide similar protection for the windlass. Then, instead I also started thinking of clipping a carabeaner to the chain ( between the gypsy and the bow roller) with a small length of line cleated off to a bow cleat. Take the load off of the windlass by transferring the load to the line and carabeaner.

Is there some reason this would not work instead of a bridal? The carabeaner cleated off is much easier to deploy and remove than a bridal.

Thanks for your response.

Hylas,

Because a chain stopper doesn't buffer shock loads on the boat or ground tackle, we also use a double bridle. We also have one chain stopper per anchor to isolate the windlass [temporarily] in the event of a bridle failure...

Our double-bridle is a single length of line: I attach the middle of a ~80ft length of 5/8" 3-strand nylon [our boat displaces 22 tons loaded] to the anchor chain with a cow-hitch for our bridle. [This method evolved over 30 years from first using hardware, then rolling-hitches, now a cow-hitch; next a soft shackle...]

I am preparing to switch to a soft shackle for the chain attachment point for improved chafe prevention in inclement conditions. [I will tie a figure-eight loop (stronger than an overhand loop, and more easily untied after being loaded...) in the middle of the bridle so the soft shackle attachment point can be changed, and it still rides over the bow roller easily...]

I don't always use the entire bridle length, and that allows for adjusting the chafe points in rough conditions. It is also long enough to lead to the primary winches if desired for safer handling of adjustments in inclement conditions- and maximizing bridle length and stretch...

In the current bridle iteration [sans soft shackle] the cow-hitch is easy to deploy if you flake your bridle line while it is 'folded' in half. I start flaking at the 2 bitter ends so the middle [hitch portion of the loop of line] is on the outside of the coil of flaked line.

For context, following is an overview of our overnight anchoring procedures: [Every time; regardless of anticipated (and welcome) benign conditions...]

• Drop the hook and deploy most of the chain scope needed
• "Soft set" the anchor
• Unwrap enough flaked bridle line to expose a couple of feet of the loop
• Slide the loop end under the deployed chain, open the loop, and tuck the remaining coil of line through it and cinch it up
• Unflake the rest of the bridle line, lead fair and cleat the 2 bitter ends
• Let out enough chain to put the load on the bridle with an appropriate amount of slack chain [typically 6 to 12 ft]
• Back down hard to fully set the anchor and test the bridle

If I need to let out more chain it is quick to retrieve enough chain to bring the hitch back on deck (it goes over the bow roller easily.) I open the cow-hitch so it is about 2ft in diameter and then adjust the chain length. When I get close to the new length of chain desired, I again cinch the hitch and let out enough chain to re-engage the bridle.

I suspect it takes less time to do it than read about...

I should mention for years I used Devil's claws to attach to the chain As they keep the load uniform on the link it is attached to...



But I, too, got tired of having to lean over the bow to attach/detach the Devil's claw and associated safety line to keep it attached to the chain. Once I developed this cow-hitch method, I haven't gone back to hardware for the bridle-chain attachment.

Switching to a soft shackle as the chain attachment method will be even faster and better- especially for post deployment chain length adjustments.

We also have a hurricane version that adds a second, single bridle [which can be the primary or secondary bridle as needed] which connects to the bob-stay attachment point at the waterline. We built a simple mechanism [like a heavy-duty snatch block] that allows for bridle adjustment on deck. This also allows us to use the warp drum on the windlass for adjustment if needed- leaving the longer loop of chain in the water during adjustments in rough conditions- or lead it back to the cockpit winches...

[And maybe we will have an opportunity to test our hurricane set-up sooner than expected as we currently have 3 lows converging in the Gulf of Alaska promising hurricane force winds as a result...]

We all have different needs and situations, and I enjoy reading and learning about everyone's approach for dealing with this common requirement.

Thanks to you all for taking the time to share.

Cheers!

Bill

[PeterLIA]

Our boat weighs over 100 Tonnes and is 75' long and after the anchor is set we use 2 x 25mm diam 3 polyethylene 3 braid ropes about 10Mtrs long secured to our bow cleats and use a clove hitch to attach each rope to the anchor chain and then deploy the chain some more until the ropes take up the load and there is some slack chain between our bow roller and the clove hitches. This system has worked well for us over the last few years and we are still using the same 2 pieces of rope after probably >200 nights at anchor. Only issue is after a few heavy wind nights the clove hitches can get pretty tight and take a bit of loosening by hand so we use a splicing Fid to open the knot up and get it moving.

[zboss]

We love our mantus chian hook but the plastic stop that helps keep the chain in place (you only kinda need it) is brittle. Apparently so much so that you can buy additional gates on their website.

I used it for several months in the Bahamas without the gate and had no issues but I can see how the gate does help.

[bobofthenorth]

Originally Posted by skipgundlach

I don't have a name but I got a marvelous chain hook at Annapolis several years ago and spliced it into 20' of 1" Megabraid.
..............

Just guessing but I expect what you have is the same as we have, an Ultra chain hook. Ultra Chain Grab

Ours will usually trip off the chain when it hits the bow roller. When that happens it hangs free with the bridle. On the rare occasion when it stays attached it clears the bow roller and I release it before it gets to the chain locker.