Snubbing
While our Mantus anchor is nicely buried in sand, holding us securely, the gusty conditions last night brought us out on deck to check the state of our relatively-new anchor bridle. My thoughts are that the snubber, spliced from some line that I found on the boat, is neither long enough, nor thick enough, to properly deal with the higher loads that come with the big gusts.
Splicing the new snubber while sailing.
Our friend Drew did quite a bit of testing on anchor snubbers for Practical Sailor Magazine, especially related to using a snubber/bridle to deal with less than ideal conditions. A quick Google search brought me to a discussion group thread where he was sharing some of his findings. While I could go buy some more line to make a better one, alternatively perhaps we should just get a Mantus bridle and chain hook to go with our shiny new anchor?
I agree that a good “snubber” is incredibly important. I’m a little discouraged by the tendency of folks to run out and buy the “next greatest thing” every time they feel the need to improve how they’re doing something.
It just seems like we’re replacing good old fashioned seamanship and the associated skill set with our checkbook. Yeah, I’m guilty too but you know what? I sure end up wasting a lot of money feeding the land sharks that way and for the most part I end up altering those products to suit my needs. Eventually ending up with something I could have done myself for a lot less money.
Please don’t flame me. Just offering my opinion.
Your opinion is very valid. For the record, note that I was splicing my own snubber in the pic I shared! I also felt like throwing in a plug for a supplier that I believe delivers well-made products (Mantus).
On this subject, there are times when trying to engineer and build something from scratch is false economy though, if time and materials are factored in. If no value is added for your time then you can’t compare costs.
I have one of those. What would you like to know?
The snubber was really too large for my boat (16 mm); I am using 8 mm climbing rope.
As for the chain hook, I think it is a matter of taste. What are you using now, or are you just hanging on chain? If it is easy to reach past the bow, the Mantus hook is very handy, my favorite, and I have tested a few methods. However, it does not come over the rollers. If I had a narrow bow to work with, I think I might favor a soft shackle. Much easier to attach on deck. But if you are athletic (!) and don’t mind reaching around, the hook is fast and dependable. I will add that Starzinger favored the soft shackle for his mono.
We used a Mantus chain hook on the Leopard and I liked it. Once we got used to it, we found it bomb proof. I’ve never tried the soft shackle although its on my list.
Cliff: for the record, I didn’t pay for it!
I like a good snubber design, fit to the boat, but at the same time I like something simple that can be sailor-fabricated. I see them as semi-disposable, intended to absorb shock until they loose resiliency (a few hundred days), and then replaced.
I was able to measure peak load reductions of 3-4X using a thin snubber vs. no snubber. That has simply GOT to help with the life span of the chain, bow roller and shackles, and help to keep the hook in. It also really quiets the motion of the boat.