How long is your anchor snubber?

[Lidderdale]

normally about 4meters i lengthen it as the wind picks up maximum length is 15meters

[s/v Jedi]

I hope by now everyone realizes that answers vary drastically between monohull and catamaran.

For catamarans I have certainly seen some that had way too much stretch in their snubbers; they were moving backwards and forwards at least 30’.

[ColIn Ferguson]

hi,

until recently I used a bridle of ab. out 10 metres to take the weight off the windlass and bow roller. It was very noisy however with contact points at the cleats anx the topsides. Also the chain on the sea bed.

I have recently moved to a self made elastic snubber using a large hank of shock cord looped on a 12mm warp.
Much quieter and way more comfortable.

[sailingharry]

Originally Posted by ColIn Ferguson

hi,

until recently I used a bridle of ab. out 10 metres to take the weight off the windlass and bow roller. It was very noisy however with contact points at the cleats anx the topsides. Also the chain on the sea bed.

I have recently moved to a self made elastic snubber using a large hank of shock cord looped on a 12mm warp.
Much quieter and way more comfortable.

Can you give more detail on this? I'm not sure I've ever seen shock cord that would be up to the task, so would like to understand what you use and how you use it.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

I hope by now everyone realizes that answers vary drastically between monohull and catamaran.

For catamarans I have certainly seen some that had way too much stretch in their snubbers; they were moving backwards and forwards at least 30’.

In the right weather conditions (often gusty winds with light lulls), any boat can turn into a slingshot with enough stretch. It stretches back in the gusts, then the stretch propels it forward when the wind drops.



If I've got enough of the rope portion of my rode out when I power set the anchor in light winds, it's not uncommon for the rode to end up pointing back under the boat after I take the engines out of gear. Not enough wind to prevent the rode stretch from slingshotting us forward as much as 200+ feet before we stop and slowly settle back in the wind. Doesn't happen in stronger winds, of course.

[ColIn Ferguson]

Originally Posted by sailingharry

Can you give more detail on this? I'm not sure I've ever seen shock cord that would be up to the task, so would like to understand what you use and how you use it.

The idea is the same as the snubbers made by www.davisnet.com, except more heavy duty.
I used 1cm diameter shock cord, about 5m long, tie the ends together and loop it 5 times so you have a hank of 10 lengths, about 0.5m long. I put a shackle at either end and cover it in a material sleeve.
I put two fixed loops in the warp and put the snubber between them so the snubber takes the strain.
one one of the warp goes to your cleats and the other to the chain via a book.
PBO did a comparison and surprisingly the Davisnet device came out best.

It seemed to work fine in a night of 20-30 knots recently with no snatching and much quieter.

[Dani-lu]

I made a snubber with two 25’, 5/8” double braided dock lines, connected to a stainless steel ring. The ring gets connected to the chain with a 1/4” Dynema soft shackle I make with a loop and a diamond knot. In light wind or short stays I only use one dock line attached to the cleat in front of windlass. Overnight I attach both dock lines to the port and starboard bow cleats. (45’ 12 ton mono hull express cruiser).

[PegasusIX]

Short snubber about 3m, connects to chain with winchard type shackle, two rubber shock absorbers for dock lines. Long snubber is 12mm 3 strand nylon, about 20m on 14m vessel, and goes back to Genoa sheet which.

[twofingerpoi]

2003 Beneteau Oceanis 361 with < 14,000 lbs displacement, home port is Port Canaveral Florida.

I currently have two 35 lbs Delta anchors each with swivel attached to 20 ft 5/16" galvanized chain spliced to 250 ft of 5/8" 3-strand rode. One anchor on the bow roller and the other sits in the bottom of the locker. Lofrans X2 1000W windlass.

I recently copied a Mantus pendant using 6mm Amsteel Blue with Dyneema cover, so that I can do a triple Prusik knot on the rode.

I also used two new 25 ft 5/8" double braid dock lines that already have large eyes with chafe guard for cleats and added an eye loop with a thimble to the bitter end. 1/2" shackle to secure the pendant to the snubber(s).

I can use one snubber or both for a bridle depending on conditions.

I may upgrade to a 45 lbs Rocna Vulcan for the primary anchor and add 100-150 ft of chain. Also may make an anchor riding sail out of the old genoa at some point.

[Srpulpo]

the idea of the snubber is to take the load off the windlass and put it on the cleats which were made to hold the load of the boat. do you want the four bolts holding the entire weight of your boat?

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by Srpulpo

the idea of the snubber is to take the load off the windlass and put it on the cleats which were made to hold the load of the boat. do you want the four bolts holding the entire weight of your boat?

True, but if you have all chain rode, in adverse conditions the snubber should also provide stretch in your anchor system to minimise the peak loads on the anchor.

This important property of the snubber is sometimes not met in boats that otherwise have good anchoring equipment.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Srpulpo

the idea of the snubber is to take the load off the windlass and put it on the cleats which were made to hold the load of the boat. do you want the four bolts holding the entire weight of your boat?

See, I don’t agree with that. The item that must take the load off the windlass is called the chain stopper. If you have the room for a real one then it doesn’t use any cleats, but if there’s no room then one can splice a short length of Dyneema to the base of a cleat and attach it to the chain between windlass and roller using a soft shackle to take the load off.

The snubber is a separate item, designed to prevent shock loading the anchor so that it doesn’t get ripped out the seabed during a surge on the rode. The chain stopper is the primary backup to the snubber.

Edit: I attached a picture of our setup. Our windlass is way aft to move the weight of the chain away from the bow, so I have plenty room for the chain stopper, which is halfway to the anchor roller. This chain stopper is what held us during hurricane Ivan with 120kts sustained wind. The snubber had melted through so the stopper took all the force.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

True, but if you have all chain rode, in adverse conditions the snubber should also provide stretch in your anchor system to minimise the peak loads on the anchor.

This important property of the snubber is sometimes not met in boats that otherwise have good anchoring equipment.

This^^^

Another aspect of the length of the snubber is how much stretch you wish to introduce. Longer snubber, of the right material, will allow more stretch, but that also allows more rebound. I like to have about 20ft of 5/8 nylon for my 18000lb 43 boat.

However I discovered an issue caused by the distance back from my bow roller to the bollard where the snubber is secured (no cleats on my boat at the bow). With the snubber stretching and recoiling in big winds and waves it heats up where it goes over the roller and even with chafing gear the nylon snubber begins to show wear even after a few hours of these condition.

I solve it by reaving a non stretch line between the bollard and the roller, then the nylon snubber is attached from there to the chain. Since the non-stretchy line doesn't stretch it does not heat up or chafe where it goes over the roller. But my total snubber length was now over 30 ft.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by wingssail

This^^^

Another aspect of the length of the snubber is how much stretch you wish to introduce. Longer snubber, of the right material, will allow more stretch, but that also allows more rebound. I like to have about 20ft of 5/8 nylon for my 18000lb 43 boat.

However I discovered an issue caused by the distance back from my bow roller to the bollard where the snubber is secured (no cleats on my boat at the bow). With the snubber stretching and recoiling in big winds and waves it heats up where it goes over the roller and even with chafing gear the nylon snubber begins to show wear even after a few hours of these condition.

I solve it by reaving a non stretch line between the bollard and the roller, then the nylon snubber is attached from there to the chain. Since the non-stretchy line doesn't stretch it does not heat up or chafe where it goes over the roller. But my total snubber length was now over 30 ft.

That's a good solution to the chafe problem. Snubbers can also be tuned by going larger, but longer to get the same stretch over a longer distance (and with lower loading on the line), which will give more safety margin in heavy weather.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

See, I don’t agree with that. The item that must take the load off the windlass is called the chain stopper. If you have the room for a real one then it doesn’t use any cleats, but if there’s no room then one can splice a short length of Dyneema to the base of a cleat and attach it to the chain between windlass and roller using a soft shackle to take the load off.

The snubber is a separate item, designed to prevent shock loading the anchor so that it doesn’t get ripped out the seabed during a surge on the rode. The chain stopper is the primary backup to the snubber.

Edit: I attached a picture of our setup. Our windlass is way aft to move the weight of the chain away from the bow, so I have plenty room for the chain stopper, which is halfway to the anchor roller. This chain stopper is what held us during hurricane Ivan with 120kts sustained wind. The snubber had melted through so the stopper took all the force.

I like your set-up Jedi, very similar to mine with the windlass and hawse pipe about 10 feet back from the bow. I don't have much experience with a chain stopper but I am familiar with melting snubbers. It happens when they stretch where they go over the roller. I agree with your solution. In my case I run a line with a chain hook on the end back to the bollard where it is cleated and I have a non-stretchy portion of the snubber where it passes over the roller.