Life expectancy of anchor rode? Recommendations?

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Gary Mc

I would only trust chain or rode if I knew for sure who manufactured it and where. There is a significant amount of substandard product our there.

Quite a few here appear to think that rode means rope. An anchor rode is in fact the name given to that which connects the anchor to the vessel, usually consisting of a mix of chain and rope, though may be entirely chain. It is still the rode, regardless of what it is made up of .
Having got that orf my chest I am in the camp that says use the best quality that you can afford/obtain. Not the place to skimp.

[Gary Mc]

Thank you, you are correct of course! A little whoops on my part.

[Mike Crothers]

If you do not have a spare 200' rode I would recommend replacing the existing and keeping the existing as a spare ( if it doesn't have signs of wear or damage).



If you already have a spare rode I wouldn't replace a perfectly fine looking 1/2" nylon line simply because of age but you need to have faith in it. Anchored in a gale is not the time to worry about your rope breaking.

[Cheechako]

It's a good question. Like many, behind my chain was 150-200 feet of 3 strand. How old can it get before it's risky? I never thought there might be a limited life before.

I kinda like it old as it's stiffer like 3 strand used to be new and not so damn soft like the new stuff.

[Zugbug99]

Your right Gary! I’m going to order new rode from e-rigging.com. They list mfg by USA companies.
Some things you can’t scrimp on.

[Zugbug99]

I think that’s great advice Mike.

[Zugbug99]

Thanks Uncle Bob! Very good advice given!

[Jim Cate]

If I was worried about the life expectancy of your nylon rode I would contact one of the mainline cordage firms with the question. I suspect they know a lot more about this than the average CF guesser.

My expectation is that if kept out of the sun and dry it will last a very long time. But that is not an informed opinion!

Jim

[searenity38]

Splicing 3 strand line to chain is not that difficult. There is an excellent 6 minute youtube video that walks you through the process.

[Nepidae]

First, I'd suggest you get into the habit of washing your chain. We have a rode of 150' of chain backed by 250' of 8 plait. The plait has never seen the water. BTW, Rode is a make up of the products you use for anchoring. All chain, all line or a mix of both.

You may find, and we have never been to MX but we are on the Loop and have anchored in the North Channel, many times, and based on our experiences, feel that an 8:1 ratio is a bit long. Keep in mind, not MX experience.

We find during our 6yrs on the Chesapeake and 6yrs still on the Loop that in an anchorage 8:1 would not make you any friends. IF protected, would also be unnecessary.

I mentioned wash your chain. Yearly, when we winterize our boat I remove the chain from the windlass (it is spliced to the plait) and as I drop it into a 5gal bucket I spray it with some rust inhibitor. CRC products are good. The chain was purchased new in '10 and has no, NO rust.

The 8 plait pretty much stays in the anchor locker but 2 yrs ago i washed that with Woolite & Fabric softener, dried it on deck and put it back into the anchor locker.

In answer to your life expectancy, I'd say it all depends on how you care for your tools. A rode is a tool just like any other tool. Take care of it and it will take care of you.

Good luck.

[Zugbug99]

Thank you! Splicing is an art I would love to master. Just an amateur now. I decided on double braid 1/2 inch nylon x 200 ft. Ordered yesterday for delivery to Arizona. Will then install on Baltika my 27.
I’ll keep the old nylon 3 strand as a spare, or gift it to a local.boater.

[LifePart2]

Just the other day I was told that new regulations are affecting the quality of galvanizing on chain such that chain which used to last 10 years (as it did for us) now lasts only 3 years (as it does for us).

Seems to me yet another example of stupid environmental regulations. The zinc is going to wear off at the same rate however thick it is, but now we have to throw away the whole chain every three years? How does that make any sense?

So now we split our chain rode into two lengths - our common maximum length of 50 meters which is then spliced to another 30 meters by means of a dyneema link (that goes fine over the windlass). So now we can replace just the short length instead of the whole thing.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by LifePart2

Just the other day I was told that new regulations are affecting the quality of galvanizing on chain such that chain which used to last 10 years (as it did for us) now lasts only 3 years (as it does for us).

Seems to me yet another example of stupid environmental regulations. The zinc is going to wear off at the same rate however thick it is, but now we have to throw away the whole chain every three years? How does that make any sense?

Generally when any process change gets forced on an industry, it takes some time for them to figure out how to make it work. Look at car paints. There have been cases of paint formula changes for reduced environmental impact, etc. And sometimes, that led to paint durability issues afterwards. But within a few years after that, the manufacturers had tweaked the formula and their techniques and got it to work well, fixing the problem.

In the case of galvanizing, it may also be that the less durable galvanizing is costing the manufacturers less money, so they don't have much motivation to fix it.

[thinwater]

I've just been working on an article about nylon rope an fatigue life. A good bit of testing was involved.


The sort answer is that there are no reliable visual indications. Chafe and sunburn can indicate a rope that is done in, but a rope can also be damaged by fatigue without those signs.



Stretch is one fairly reliable indicator of hard use, but that requires markings and record keeping. Every rope stretches as it breaks in, but a rope that has been overloaded becomes permanently stretched.


Another way is to cut a section from one end and pull-test it. This does not need to be a lab test; pull a few strands, the amount that mathematically should hold about double your body weight, tie a loop in each end, and step into the loop. Did it hold nearly your weight? Then you're good to go. Less? Then either it's sunburned, fatigued, or was poor to start with.