8 plait to chain splice

Hi Harvey,
Actually, there are places that I frequently put out a stern anchor and a bow anchor. Usually in rivers or local lakes where anchorages are tight or I don't want the boat to move much. As for going to the claw, no real reason I guess. Just that I had it, and before I get rid of it I wanted to see how it compares to my Delta. Colby
 
Actually, there are places that I frequently put out a stern anchor and a bow anchor.
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I suspect Harvey is thinking of places where there is significant tidal current. Lakes have none; river currents don't change direction.

Harvey, I have a question for you. You say you might deploy 2 anchors from the bow (at 45 degrees). I've often wondered if I should do that when faced with a storm. In that arrangement, how do you avoid the 2 anchor rodes getting twisted around each other as the boat swings on the anchors. I've always worried that if the current or wind blows me back and forth, one anchor may even drag over the other one, dislodging it.
 
Sandy, I have never done that so I am just thinking about it now. My guess is that you would need the anchors to be farther apart than than the distance from the boat to either anchor. In reversing, you would go back and forth between, but not around. That would not keep the boat from turning and twisting the line though.


You are right, I was thinking of being in an area where there are reversing currents.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

0_God_s_Pocket_Anchorage.thumb.jpg
 
Harvey,
So why would it not be wise to have both a bow and a stern anchor, say in a cove with tidal changes? Isn't it very common up in Canada to stern tie to land very similar and not a lot of problems?
 
Knipet":xz4ccf9u said:
Harvey,
So why would it not be wise to have both a bow and a stern anchor, say in a cove with tidal changes? Isn't it very common up in Canada to stern tie to land very similar and not a lot of problems?
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In a cove, like in the pix of SleepyC just above your post Steve, a stern anchor would be OK, where there is no current coming from the stern, either a stern anchor or a stern tie could work. In my case above, there was plenty of kelp so the boat did not swing. It was a very small cove, with effectively no current coming from the stern and with the help of the kelp, the boat maintained fore/aft position and just went up and down.

Anywhere there is a chance of either tidal current or wind waves coming from the stern, you stand the chance of water coming over the stern and boarding the boat. This could rapidly out pace the bilge pump and could become serious in minutes. The bow is designed to take that kind of water load easily, but not the stern.

In this anchorage, there is an opening at the end of the bay so there is a bidirectional tidal current, and the boat swings a full 360 through the tidal cycle. There are places here to do shore tie, but they are off to the low current side of the long narrow bay, (Mound Island Bay, Broughtons.)

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

Forks_and_Friday_Harbor_2009_1531.thumb.jpg
 
Like Harvey, I am very leery of both a bow and stern tie. I've done it to be sure, but as Harvey says, it can only be done in low current areas.

Even too much wind can cause problems. I was once on a sailboat anchored in an area with modest currents. In the late evening the current changed and a strong wind developed from the same direction as the current....both abeam the boat. Earlier in the day we had set bow & stern anchors to minimize rolling during dinner. The boat became pinned between the 2 anchor points......so much so that we were afraid to loosen the line off either cleat. In the end, we simply prussicked a fender to the stern anchor line, and then cut the anchor line since it was cheap and cleated near the bitter end, so we didn't lose much line. The boat swung neatly into position. The next morning we easily retrieved the bow anchor with the windlass, and then went to retrieve the abandoned lunch hook.

P.S. There is one situation where I often tie off to the stern. Again in an area of modest current/wind, and after I am firmly anchored with the bow anchor. This is usually in the late afternoon. As the boat swings with the current/wind, or because of sun movement, we sometimes lose the sun in the cockpit . So I go to the bow and quickly release about 30' of anchor line without touching how the anchor line is cleated (must be held outside of the pulpit etc). I then walk the line back to the cockpit, keeping it outside of everything, and tie it off to a stern cleat. In a few minutes the boat usually swings 180° and viola we have sun again (you can even vary the angle somewhat by which stern cleat you use). Once the sun sets, I simply release the anchor line from the stern cleat, and the boat comes back to its bow pivot point.
 
There are many places where it is very common, if not mandated that bow and stern anchors be used. This is common in S. Calif and Mexico, with many anchorages open to the swell.

The first boat to anchor in a cove sets the precedent for others who come to anchor there. Imagine if some boats are swinging, and others on two hooks...You can get more boats into an anchorage by anchoring fore and aft. I have seen some Catalina Coves on holiday weekends where you could literally walk from one side of a cove to another on boats anchored for and aft.

Also a places like Lake Powell, one usually puts an anchor strait out from the beach, and then two stern hooks on the beach, with the stern in very shallow water.

Granted that there is little current or beam winds in these conditions-and there are times when swinging on one hook is much preferred. Also in hurricane moorings, many times 3 anchors are set at 120* to each other, so that when the winds shifts as the eye goes thru, it does not pull out the bow anchor which all of a sudden has a 180* shift as the eye passes. These three anchors would attach at the bow.
 
So I am redoing my 8 plait to chain splice. Originally I did the method described in this Yale Cordage example:

https://yalecordage.com/wp-content/uplo ... 1682809438

Initially the splice was picked up by the gypsy on my Lewmar 700 Profish readily. Now it will not without manual assistance. I cut the old splice so now I am committed. Is this method still the best way to go or is there a better system out there? Thanks in advance. Ken
 
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