Emergency anchor line extension

[PuppyFeet2]

Hypothetical situation . . .

At anchor using a new style anchor in 20-30 feet of water with a bottom just made to hold your anchor. You have 200' of 1/2 3-ply nylon with a boats length of chain connected to the anchor. Anchored at better than 7:1.

Storm comes up with advanced warning and rather than leave the relative safety of your anchorage you decide to extend your anchor line using another length of 1/2 3-ply nylon line. The bitter end of the "in use" anchor line is whipped as are both ends of the "spare" 3-ply line.

How do you choose to join the two lines? You have some time but not a lot and there are other things that need your attention. You decide to knot the two lines together. Which knot and why?

[Jim Cate]

There has been a whole, long thread about the joys of the Zeppelin Bend... and it is ideal for this application.

If you are interested, try a search.

Jim

[StuM]

No surprise here

Which: Zeppelin Bend.
Why: Easy to tie, secure, non jamming.

[Lizzy Belle]

Originally Posted by PuppyFeet2

Hypothetical situation

Very much so, for several reasons

But I'll play: no clue what the knot is called in English (or Dutch for that matter), but you make a 6 with one line and a 9 with the other. The end of the 6 goes through the 9 and the 6, then the 9 goes through the 6 and the 9.

Why? Cos it's the first knot I thought of and it's pretty secure.

Edit:
After seeing the first 2 comments, I searched for Zeppelin Bend ... Doh!
I just(quietly) call it the 69 knot. Make all the jokes you want, but at least I remember the knot

[Jim Cate]

Holy Cow: three consecutive answers that agree 100%!

A new record for CF...

Jim

[Lizzy Belle]

Haha, Jim, true enough

I just feel like an idiot cos I had no clue what it was called, and I had to sit and think for a bit since describing it is harder then just tying the it

[StuM]

It's also called the Rosendahl Bend after the US Naval Officer who insisted that his men use it on mooring lines on airships (hence zeppelin).

[Kenomac]

Here's an illustration of the Zeppelin bend. Personally, I wouldn't trust an all line rode in a storm. You're going to need ta attach a snubber in the mix, otherwise the anchor line is going to chafe and break where it passes over the roller.

[MarkJ]

1/2 inch ie 12mm 3 ply nylon. Are you anchoring a teacup in a storm?

SWL is 700 pounds.

[Kenomac]

Mark,

I don't think most people who are considering what the OP is planning to do have had a 50-60 knot blow come through their anchorage. The force on the anchor rode is...... intense. And all you can do after dispensing your entire rode... is cross your fingers and hope.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

1/2 inch ie 12mm 3 ply nylon. Are you anchoring a teacup in a storm?

SWL is 700 pounds.

That is true but tensile strength is nearly 6000 lbs I think. It is really hard to break that stuff! It stretches like a rubber band! I prefer 5/8 with a medium lay, but I was using 200' of 1/2" last summer in about 35 knots (not 60-70 knots, I know) and I thought I was dragging! When it calmed down I sprang back to where I had been. Granted my boat only weighs 7500# though. He's got a Seafarer 26 which is even lighter.

[Snowpetrel]

I'd tie a few big fenders into the join, keeps the line up off the bottom, and they provide a lot of drag as they get pulled underwater. This helps reduce the inevitable yawing and damp the bungy cord effect of such a long length of nylon. Id also drop another anchor at the end of my biggest swing to help steady her up.

I have got to play with that Zeppelin bend. Sounds very good. I would have used a double sheet bend, because its a good knot that I trust and can tie with my eyes closed, but its always nice to learn some better knots. Thanks

[GregoryK]

Why would you knot 3 strand? A long splice wouldn't take all that long and won't weaken your anchor line by 50%. You could even do a couple of extra tucks for added security.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by GregoryK

Why would you knot 3 strand? A long splice wouldn't take all that long and won't weaken your anchor line by 50%. You could even do a couple of extra tucks for added security.

From memory, lng splices are not as strong as standard short splices, and are only used where the splice must run through a block or other size limited hardware. Also somewhat more difficult to accomplish, at least for this not-so-talented rope worker!

I think the Zep bend is a bit better than 50%, too, again from memory...

Jim

[Don C L]

I know I can't splice that fast, especially if it is dark and windy... Wish I could though!