Nylon bridle attachment to nylon rode

[SSgtPitt]

I have searched through numerous postings, Practical Sailor, Sailnet and all my books but can’t find a definitive answer to attaching a nylon anchor bridle to nylon rode.
I just installed my new S100 Mantus, 90’ of chain and 375’ of 3 line twisted nylon rode, I want to center and divide the pull of the anchor rode between the two forward cleats but can’t find anything to get me started on this.
The boat is a 36’ Cape Dory and classified as Ultra Heavy at 16K lb displacement so I really want to divide the weight equally between two cleats rather one.
Any help would be appreciated.

[thinwater]

Either a camel hitch or prusik hitch. These will need to be tied in line smaller than the rode, so a Dyneema/polyester blend of some sort is good (straight Dyneema will tend to slip).

You can Google these knots.

Monohulls don't do this very often, but it's common on smaller multihulls, since they have to use a bridle.

[belizesailor]

Rolling hitch is also a common method.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Rolling hitch is also a common method.

Gripping Hitches - Boat Knots - BoatUS Magazine

The camel hitch is considerably more secure, the only difference being the direction of the last turn. Quite a few cruisers have reported the rolling hitch slipping at high load and have switched to other knots. I've tested gripping hitches on chain and rope, and the rolling hitch generally slips at something like 15-25% breaking strength.

[valhalla360]

We always used the prusik and it was quick and easy. Never had any issues with slipping.

Just used a 50' dock line for the bridle (14' beam cat), so no additional purchase.

[steve77]

Since you have a Mantus anchor, talk to the Mantus folks about this:

Snubber Pendant - Mantus Marine

It looks like an easy way to use a Prusik knot for your anchor rode.

Cheers!

Steve

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by thinwater

Gripping Hitches - Boat Knots - BoatUS Magazine

The camel hitch is considerably more secure, the only difference being the direction of the last turn. Quite a few cruisers have reported the rolling hitch slipping at high load and have switched to other knots. I've tested gripping hitches on chain and rope, and the rolling hitch generally slips at something like 15-25% breaking strength.

Not that the other hitches are not techically more secure, but apparently my mileage varies, Ive never had a rolling hitch slip...even under relatively heavy loads (35-40 knots of wind at anchor).

After reading the ES's article on Boat US, a couple of observations: My use of the rolling hitch above has always been to tie to old largish diameter 3-strand nylon...a good scenario for the rolling hitch.

The camel hitch is an easy modification to the rolling hitch....will have to play w that one.

The icicle hitch looks a bit fiddly to tie (almost 3x more time by ES estimates). Given that either of the above hitches, used approapriately, will work fine, I dont foresee adding the icicle hitch to my skills set.

Ive also never had any significant trouble getting a rolling hitch tied in larger diameter line untied after its loaded. Just that final hitch to free up and then it just falls apart. I have had them be a bit harder to untie in small stuff that got relatively heavy loaded (like for securing loads etc...not anchoring).

[SSgtPitt]

Originally Posted by steve77

Since you have a Mantus anchor, talk to the Mantus folks about this:

Snubber Pendant - Mantus Marine

It looks like an easy way to use a Prusik knot for your anchor rode.

Cheers!

Steve

Perfect! Thanks Steve.

[LeeV]

Prusik will work well. I just finished my bridle, and while our boats are at opposite end of the spectrum, the concept is the same; I’m just attaching mine at pad eyes 25’ apart.

Regards,

[Midnight Son]

SSgtPitt:
Mainsail has this on his website, https://marinehowto.com/mooring-pend...ughts-musings/ he has his setup long for a mooring tie, you could modify it to suit your bow height/rode requirements.

Cheers

[foojin]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Not that the other hitches are not techically more secure, but apparently my mileage varies, Ive never had a rolling hitch slip...even under relatively heavy loads (35-40 knots of wind at anchor).

After reading the ES's article on Boat US, a couple of observations: My use of the rolling hitch above has always been to tie to old largish diameter 3-strand nylon...a good scenario for the rolling hitch.

The camel hitch is an easy modification to the rolling hitch....will have to play w that one.

The icicle hitch looks a bit fiddly to tie (almost 3x more time by ES estimates). Given that either of the above hitches, used approapriately, will work fine, I dont foresee adding the icicle hitch to my skills set.

Ive also never had any significant trouble getting a rolling hitch tied in larger diameter line untied after its loaded. Just that final hitch to free up and then it just falls apart. I have had them be a bit harder to untie in small stuff that got relatively heavy loaded (like for securing loads etc...not anchoring).

I was also thinking that I have never had a rolling hitch that slipped. Then I went to the Gripping Hitches link to discover that it is a camel hitch that I have been tying all these years. Too funny.

[deblen]

If you don't want to mess with knots,make one of these toggle bridles up.
Len







The anchor rode in red continues in one piece to the port cleat. The "bridle rope" is from the stbd cleat out to the rode.
You slack the rode on deck,make two loops in it,push the loops up thru the thimble in the bridle rope & insert the toggle.

[doublewide]

On a cat, mind you, after setting the anchor and paying out enough rode I take another line, 3-strand nylon or polyester, as strong as the rode and the same size or slightly smaller, and hitch it to the rode at a convenient point using a rolling hitch. (I like to lead it retrograde over the anchor roller and make the hitch on the foredeck.) This will be half of the bridle. After hitching it to the rode, lead it outside of everything, back through the chock or hawse hole, and make it fast to one bow cleat.
Let out rode until the strain is taken on that half of the bridle just described.
Then bring the rode, itself, outside of everything in the same fashion as above, through the chock or hawsehole on the other side and make it fast to that bow cleat.
Then let out more bridle until the strain is equal on the two parts, the added line on one side, and the rode on the other.

I have never had it slip or had trouble removing it.

[Mike Banks]

A double-Prusik knot tied in the base of a long soft shackle--works on ease of release, as long as each arm of the bridle is long enough to pull the rode to within reach of the soft shackle which passes through both eyes lock-spliced into the ends of the arms.

A soft shackle can be made quickly from almost any polyester or nylon rope. It takes me about five minutes or less to rig one.

Soft shackle (a quickie).

Take as long a length of rope as one needs for the double-Prisik knot (ordinary Prusik with an extra turn) plus extra length for rode clearance so the slack part of the rode hangs just clear of the tensioned part leading to the anchor.

Tie a diamond knot in the end of the looped rope.

At the other end, make a knitter's cast-on loop and set the half-knot close to the centre of the loop, so that the stopper knot is held tightly when the shackle comes under load.

Now all you need do is make your bridle arms. For these, use a thimble lock-spliced into the ends of the bridle arms. I always lock-splice anything in nylon because when wet, the water acts as a lubricant. Locked splices do not slip, and one should get into the habit of doing only locked loop splices in all ropes.

When I have these thimbles fitted and bound with twine at their bases to render them hard tight, I tie these loosely together with a couple of feet of thin UV treated polyester rope. This is just so I can walk the ends ariound from one bow cleat to the other, then work backwards to bring the bridle ends to the hawse just forward of the windlass..

Both of these ends will be soft-shackled to the hawse via a double Prusik knot. Tie the Prusik using the stopper knot end around the rode, the loop has to pass through the Prusik end under the stopper knot, through the eyes of the bridle, then over the stoopper knot.

I used this system on my trimaran--which had a wider bridle than most cats, without any problems. The systen is safe enough to use in rough weather to rig a sea anchor or drogue.

Chafe is the main enemy of nylon rope because it stretches readily. Any parts under tension need to be shielded from chafe using soft PVC piping tied in place either end.

[doublewide]

That's quite brilliant, really. Thanks. I will use a variant of that.