Anchor Rode

[Ziggy]

How often do you replace your nylon anchor rode? Assume there's no obvious external signs of wear.

[Hydra]

I changed my 2 rodes because they were too short for my needs. Apart from that reason, if no sign of wear (chafe, discoloration...), why replace?

Alain

[forsailbyowner]

One reason to go all chain. I had a power boat go by my second boat which was moored with 1" line and cut it clean. Damned rookies dont think twice about cutting across bow of anchored boats. Just something to think about. Luckily had neighbor rouse me and we rescued the boat just before beaching on the other side of bay in Gulfport.

[Ziggy]

Originally Posted by forsailbyowner

One reason to go all chain. I had a power boat go by my second boat which was moored with 1" line and cut it clean. Damned rookies dont think twice about cutting across bow of anchored boats. Just something to think about. Luckily had neighbor rouse me and we rescued the boat just before beaching on the other side of bay in Gulfport.

There are many reasons to go all chain, but unfortunately it's not a realistic option for me.

My nylon rode still looks pretty good cosmetically, but it's getting pretty old.

[Hydra]

It's the same for me: in the English Channel, the tides are up to 40' - 12m in some places. Then, just to stay afloat at low tide, I have about 47' - 14m of water at high tide, that is 50' - 15m from the bottom to the bow roller.

And my 30' - 9m boat will not carry 250' - 75m of chain at the bow: this would weight 240lbs - 108kg. So, I have to trade off for some rope.

Alain

[klem]

I have never been in the situation that you are in since I always have noticeable degradation after several years. Somewhat comparably, I replace my mooring penants every 5 years despite the fact that they look perfectly fine. On my anchor rode, I replace the splice every other year and end for end the rode at that time. I suppose that if I ever got to 10 years with ~50 nights at anchor/year, I would definitely replace an anchor rode.

The anchor rode will degrade from UV somewhat but the way that most of us store them, they don't see a whole lot of UV. There was some testing done a few years back which showed significant degradation with time but I believe it was attributed largely to UV. Maybe someone can chime in and give the results of that report.

[Ziggy]

Originally Posted by klem

I have never been in the situation that you are in since I always have noticeable degradation after several years. Somewhat comparably, I replace my mooring penants every 5 years despite the fact that they look perfectly fine. On my anchor rode, I replace the splice every other year and end for end the rode at that time. I suppose that if I ever got to 10 years with ~50 nights at anchor/year, I would definitely replace an anchor rode.

The anchor rode will degrade from UV somewhat but the way that most of us store them, they don't see a whole lot of UV. There was some testing done a few years back which showed significant degradation with time but I believe it was attributed largely to UV. Maybe someone can chime in and give the results of that report.

Mine is over 10 years old, spent most of its life stored in an anchor locker, protected from UV but damp from salt water. I wish I had something better than my gut to tell me when to replace it, but it may be time, whether it needs it or not.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Ziggy

How often do you replace your nylon anchor rode? Assume there's no obvious external signs of wear.

If it were twisted 3 strand I'd replace it now with a multiplait and just keep the 3 strand for med mooring.

[barnakiel]

Given Nylon's less than perfect performance under UV, I would replace it when I found any signs of deterioration: IF you anchor a lot and in predominantly sunny climes.

We have Dacron rode that has seen in excess of 30k Nm of sailing, 8 years of use and hundreds of days at anchor (at times in very bad conditions). The only reason I will replace it this year is because I know how old it is.

b.

[barnakiel]

BTW Given the fact that something like 99% of the material is inside ... if it looks fine to the eye then it may still have plenty of life in it.

b.

[NewMoon]

Originally Posted by Ziggy

How often do you replace your nylon anchor rode? Assume there's no obvious external signs of wear.

We spend summers on the BC and/or SE Alaska coast, anchoring 2/3 - 3/4 of the nights. I reverse and re-splice rope to chain every year, inspecting carefully. Our 1/2" rope seems to last about 6 years before it's noticeably beginning to lose it.

[s/v Jedi]

A nylon anchor rode will wear from the inside out. The stretching when in use causes internal friction and heat. UV only damages the outer fibers which is an insignificant part of the rode.

Check this Dashew paper on it: http://www.bethandevans.com/pdf/dashew-right-rode.pdf

ciao!
Nick.

[GregKutsen]

I second FORSAILBY OWNER comments. Had my nylon line cut by a Panama Canal pleasure cruise boats prop, when anchored in Panama city Panama, while I was bar hoping. A fellow cruiser Saved Coconut from destruction by jumping on board and re-anchoring the boat a few feet away from the rocks.

[SSI / NH]

Usually want to change it when is starts to get hard. It's basically stretched out at that point.

If you want durability, abrasion resistance, strength and not the weight of chain, checkout using dyneema as an anchor rode. A boat prop won't cut it and you'll know the guy that ran over your line because he will be close to your boat with a tangled prop. Usually same price as chain.

They used it on whale wars to tangle the props of the whaling ships.

Nylon has been used for it's stretch but the strength properties drop drastically once it's wet, basically cut in half.

There are some innovated ways to make a dyneema line to stretch. Google dyneema mooring pendants

[avb3]

[QUOTE=SSI / NH;858004.....

Nylon has been used for it's stretch but the strength properties drop drastically once it's wet, basically cut in half.
......[/QUOTE]

Huh? Nylon doesn't absorb water, so why would the strength be cut in half?