Splashdown!

[awthacker]

Originally Posted by Destroyer

... The coated wire leader works very well.

The rope/chain hole is called a hawse pipe.

Rope is called line. Line starts out as small strands of rope that are twisted together to make a strand. Three strands are then twisted together to make a line.

The chain is called an anchor rode.

The tail or end of a line is called the bitter end.

A rope with a knot will reduce a ropes breaking strength by 40 to 65%, depending on the knot.

An eye splice will still retain roughly 95% of the ropes strength.

You will need to get a metal (not plastic) thimble of the right size for the rope you are using, and either a lighter or some masking tape. The thimble keeps the line from chaffing and greatly increases the life of the line. Most people will tape the ends of the strands with tape. I like to use nylon line, so I usually melt the ends of the strands with the lighter and while they are still hot I form them into a point. The point makes weaving the strands through the line easier. CAUTION!!!!!! if you go this route, remember that melted nylon is VERY hot, will stick to your skin and will burn you severly if you touch it too soon. I use a stainless steel plate and an old file and I roll the melted nylon between the two of them to make the point while the nylon is hardening.

To make an eye splice, or really just about any kind of splice in a line, you just have to unravel the bitter end of the line into the three strands, and then re-weave (also called tucking) the strands back into the body of the line. I'd be happy to make up a sample and send it to you, and I could try and describe how to do it here, but there are far better writers than I on the internet that have already made posts with detailed instructions on how to make a splice. A really good one can be found at this link

http://www.boatus.com/boattech/casey/SpliceRope.htm

Just remember that all you're really doing is tucking the strands of line back in on themselves one at a time. You tuck one strand in, pull it snug, then take the next strand and tuck it in over the strand you just tucked and under the next strand,, you just repeat it over and over. I usually make my splices about 6 inches long for a 1/2 " line. A little less for thiner line and a little more for thicker lines. Unless the line is really tight or is old and stiff you can open up the line with your fingers. If it's tight then you'll need a marlinspike or a fid. (A marlinspike is metal, a fid is wood.) Both of them come in different sizes. Both of them are round tapered objects coming to a thin point at the end, and are inserted into the line between the strands to open a hole for the strand to be woven through. (You can use a screwdriver with some success if necessary)...

Thanks for the lesson. I practiced twice on some dock line for my fenders. A big improvement from my old dock lines in pic 1. The eye splice at the end of the anchor line worked out great and was very easy. Just took some time to get around to doing it.

Aaron