*Making Up An Anchor Line*
An anchor is an important item to have before getting underway on a boat. There are several different styles of them. Mine is a Danforth. Having a good anchor line is critical because if it parts, you’ve lost your anchor and you’re adrift again. A good rule of thumb is, your line length should be 3 times the depth of the water you’re in.
I made my line using 3-stranded polypropylene. I spliced an eye into the end that attaches to the boat. I can also attach another line if I need to length it. There is a splicing article in the Rubicon on how to splice 3 strand.
It’s good practice to use a chafe chain. This helps prevent trauma to the rope. The chain will drag or roll against the bottom as the boat moves around. I used about 6’ of galvanized. It attaches directly to the anchor with a shackle.
In the lower end of the rope, I spliced another eye with a thimble in it. (That’s the metal thing you see where the chain joins the rope). This will prevent the rope from the abrasion of the shackle.
On larger boats, it’s good practice to install a swivel somewhere between the rope and anchor. Then the line won’t twist up, for my 14’ aluminum boat I’m not going to worry about it.
Mousing Shackles-
The shackle pins should be moused after they’re tightened. This prevents them from being able to loosen. I used a piece of 10 gauge copper wire. Strong zip ties work good.
Moused
Complete
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