Page 117 - Barbara Merry - The Splicing Handbook

ELEVEN
Eight-Plait Rope-to-Chain Splice

Technically, this splice belongs in chapter 10 on eight-plait rope, but it deserves

a chapter of its own. This splice is superior to other systems for anchor rodes
because there is no knobby shackle-and-thimble connection to drag across the
deck. Also, it eliminates a shackle in a position where the pin often is lost from
chafe or rust.
Chain is used on an anchor rode more for its weight than its strength. It lies on
the bottom and helps to convert the force pulling on the anchor from vertical to
horizontal so the anchor will be less likely to break out of the bottom and more
likely to hold. Chain is also more resistant to chafing on rocks and coral heads.
Match your chain to the anchor and shackle, as recommended by your supplier,
and choose rope of sufficient diameter to be handled comfortably and to match
the breaking strength of the chain. Be careful, however, not to buy rope so big

that the strand pairs can’t be laced through the chain links. Make sure the rope is
nylon, which is elastic enough to function as a shock absorber when the boat
bucks and tugs at its anchor.

ROPE-TO-CHAIN SPLICE

The Rope-to-Chain Splice and the construction of the eight-plait rope
work very well together for anchor rodes, permitting the passage of rope
and chain through a bow chock or hawsepipe. The eight-plait rope is
excellent: Kinks and hockles fall right out, so it need not be coiled
belowdecks. If eight-plait rope is not available, twelve-plait can be used
instead; no shackle is needed. Be sure to work this splice up tight; excess
slack in the spliced strands could cause abrasion.