Anchor rode to chain...........

[SV Papillon]

This topic came up on the WBF on dealing with old stiff line rode and the various options of connecting it to chain rode. I posted in the other thread that I was a fan of the shovel splice. Many different opinions were put forth from various individuals experiance and preferences.

So.........

Some thoughts on this subject. I'll start with what I percieve as the benifits of the shovel splice over other options, these are in no way proven.

1.Of the various options you have other than a back splice or shovel splice all deal with additional hardware, shackles thimbles etc.

2. The loading point, and chaffing point of all splices other than the shovel splice is at one singe point, IE end link or thimble.

3. As there are no hard bends in the strands, the loading capacity of the splice may be higher, similar to a spelter socket vs. eye splice

That said, has anybody ever done destructive testing on the various ways to splice line to chain?

It would be interesting to compare, proper by the book splices of various methods, poor versions of the same. etc.

Jake