Anchor Rode Interconnection

[eldergeat]

What's the latest thinking on how to connect two or more anchor lines together? For example, I have 300' of nylon out and now I want to add another 300'. The old way, I believe, would been to have thimbles in eye splices on the ends of both lines, and use a shackle to interconnect them. I know that the use of any thimble other than a "keeper" thimble is questionable. I have heard that there has been some research that indicates that the thimbles themselves are redundant, that simply interlocking two eyesplices is just as effective. I worry, however, that the eyesplices might "work" and chafe against each other. That has to be balanced against the chafe of rope on thimble, of course, even if it is a "keeper" thimble. What has been the experience of other members of this forum?

[Ian McColgin]

I must be missing part of the question.

If you're interlocking two eyes and if it's three strand, you can't untie or undo anything, so why not make a good short splice as the securist way to join two lines, assuming equal size. No need in an anchor rode for the much harder to do long splice.

If you want to be able to take the lengths apart, then you need some sort of shackle connection. An eye over a thimble prevents chafe inside the eye but may subject the outside of the rode to more abrasion on the bottom. The same happens at the chain to fiber rode connection. For both, I like the crown knot (or sometimes two strand version) chain splice. It's like a marriage of a long splice and a back splice and Brion's books illustrate it.

In your application, do it on a shackle on each line and then just join by interlocking shackles.

I don't have good thoughts on what to do if you're looking at braided line.

G'luck