Securing Bitter End with Windlass

[osirissail]

I get the feeling nobody is listening or reading the OP's post. "[I'm using chain followed by 3-strand.] How would you secure the bitter end?" She does not have an all-chain rode.
- - In this case, "Charlie" has the best answer for your objective, IMHO, Tie a long length of polypropylene line to the end of the Nylon and the other end to your anchor locker attachment point/ring/bolt/whatever.
- - The length is dependent upon whether you want to not have to attach a float and just have the polypropylene line (which floats) trail up to the surface. If you want to use a float then you can use a shorter polypropylene line.
- - For jettisoning the anchor and rode, let it run free off the bow and when the polypropylene line runs completely out - cut it with a sharp knife.
- - Alternatively for using a float you can pre-tie a loop in the polypropylene line where the fully let out line passes the windlass on its way to the bow. Snap on a float to the pre-tied loop and then cut the polypropylene between the windlass and anchor locker - or anywhere upstream from the loop.
- - The polypropylene line will live underneath your nylon at the bottom of the anchor rode locker.

[zeehag]

affix bitter end to someplace below without stress or strain and tie with a knot easily removed. a thimble wont feed thru windlass, nor will a splice. you will have to remember to make a loop knot such as a boline for affixing fenders or buoys.

[janice142]

Thanks for the ideas and such for securing my anchor rode to the boat. It's done. I ended up splicing some 1/4" braid into my three strand, and tied that into an eyebolt in the anchor locker. It does feed out thru the windlass and gives me a bit of insurance and a way to disconnect if need be (and I hope not to have to do that!) ... I do like the idea of a loop at the end so I could theoretically snap on a fender to that. Good idea -- n0t yet implemented, but definitely a step I'll be taking later.

Once again, thanks for all the advice. It has been helpful.

[imagine2frolic]

Does your bow roller have a hoop to contain the ground tackle? If so how will a fender fit through it?

What I have is chain, and then line. At the end of line is 5/16 line I thought to be breakaway, or cut in an emergency? I am thinking after the chaos is over I can find 400ft. of ground tackle with a grappling hook. Hopefully before some one else does.

In questionable situations I do tie a fender to the line. Already ran through the hoop, so it run free when everything is dumped. The fender will help find everything......i2f

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by imagine2frolic

Does your bow roller have a hoop to contain the ground tackle? If so how will a fender fit through it?

What I have is chain, and then line. At the end of line is 5/16 line I thought to be breakaway, or cut in an emergency? I am thinking after the chaos is over I can find 400ft. of ground tackle with a grappling hook. Hopefully before some one else does.

In questionable situations I do tie a fender to the line. Already ran through the hoop, so it run free when everything is dumped. The fender will help find everything......i2f

John what I did on my my boat was to tie a bight into the 5/16" line. From there I tie a loop in one end of the rope and tie the other end to the eyebolt. I made the 5/16" line long enough so that the bight goes thru the bow roller. From there I can reach over the pulpit and attach the bumper to the end of the 5/16" line that has the loop in it.

[imagine2frolic]

Originally Posted by Charlie

John what I did on my my boat was to tie a bight into the 5/16" line. From there I tie a loop in one end of the rope and tie the other end to the eyebolt. I made the 5/16" line long enough so that the bight goes thru the bow roller. From there I can reach over the pulpit and attach the bumper to the end of the 5/16" line that has the loop in it.

I understand when there's time to do this. We had a large schooner break loose that was unattended in a nasty squall. Passing through the anchorage in Panama a couple of months ago.

It was so windy that we had a hard time with Mel at the wheel, and me on the bow to get over the anchor, and raise it. I was getting ready to let out the remaining chain, and cut it loose. Then the anchor on the schooner reset. It stopped 20ft in front of the boat sitting in front of me.

As soon as the excitement stopped, and the weather settled. I ran about 30ft of line through the hoop, and let the bumper sit in the tramp so it could drag out with the chain, and the rest of the rode if it needed to be let loose. Hey this cruising thing can be exciting sometimes.....lol.....i2f

[janice142]

Yes, I've got one u-bolt to hold the shank of the anchor and a second should be installed today or tomorrow just above the roller. Of course the fender won't fit thru either loop but I'm hoping preparation, e.g. a fender with snap attached, will keep the anchor gods appeased. I sincerely hope I'll never have to test this part of the system.

Almost always I write down the GPS coordindates when dropping the hook and always I write down each turning of the tide (incoming/outgoing/wind from east/et al) so I have a good idea where I should be. That saved my cookies a couple months back when I was right where I belonged except the anchor was to the north instead of east. Moving Seaweed in the afternoon was loads easier than it would have been after dark and just coordinates aren't enough -- knowing how she lies in reference to those numbers makes a difference. Still, that's nothing new to anyone, except perhaps the dock queens.

Happy cruising, and thanks again for the helpful advice.
[Gosh, today is beautiful. The sun beams are shining thru the clouds -- it's truly a lovely day and I know how fortunate the Skipper and I are to be here enjoying life afloat. Life truly is wonderful.]

[GMac]

You can simply drill a hole in a bit of 100x50, or 2x4 if you are American, timber and tie the bitter end off thru that. It won't go up pipes.

Any eyebolts and the like installed would want to be very strong with some backing plate of some type, if you don't have a real grunty bulkhead or you risk the entire bulkhead being pulled out or a big hole suddenly appear in it if you have a lot of chain and it goes freefall. I've seen that happen twice, also seen a stringer busted due to the same reason. Unlikely for sure but not impossible.

Keep it simple folks and just watch you don't create another potential issue while fixing another.

[Weyalan]

We carry 150' chain with 50' 3-strand rope spliced in. I spliced a loop in the bitter end and secured the loop to a U-bolt type pad-eye on a frame adjacent to the chain locker. We do keep a decent knife handy in the unlikely event that it has to be cut