Quote:
Originally Posted by AFKASAP
Thankfully it is only about 1 meter from the end that is spliced to the anchor chain.
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Oh Heavens! If that's the case, I think it's a pretty obvious answer to cut and resplice. Presuming we're talking about a rope-to-chain splice, it's not a bad idea to renew these splices frequently.
I disagree that a hockle is to be expected from three-strand line that is tensioned and eased. I think it's a sign of an unbalanced line which has not be twisted correctly when made. It's essential that the torque on a twisted line be balanced so that hockling doesn't happen. Yes, it can happen by inducing twist (like circling an anchor in a tidal flow), but should not be caused by easing tension.
I did a test on rope-to-chain splices in the early 90s when the combination gypsies were hitting the market from
Simpson Lawrence and other companies. I spliced up 10 samples of 1/4" chain and 1/2" three-strand line, and five samples of 5/16" chain and 5/8" line, and sent them to
New England Ropes to be broken. In all cases, the splices broke at the last link of chain, but virtually all of them held to 90% of the breaking strength of the line (as I recall). In all cases, the chain links were stretched from 1 to 10% in length, showing that the chain was close to failure. The test was written up in Practical Sailor. CF readers may want to look it up.
Chuck Hawley
Alerion Express 38 Yawl "Surprise"