rope/chain rode

[ebb]

Hmmm,
manila, jute, cotton, sisal, and coir.
But hemp* rope may have been around the longest, and it's probably the strongest.
Loved the smell of manila (Probably the preservative!) Made from banana leaves.
All that vegetable rope and cord had better aroma than the sickly sweet plastic lot.
Wasn't too shabby, was it,
in the great age of sail?

They'll find some natural juice to soak it in (or landfill oil-of-plastic-bag), and it'll become as strong as Spectra.
They'll call it Green Line.
They'll have an 8 strand plait made out of hemp fiber and cellulose.
Dodgers of the next generation will be made from UV resistant linen.

And the sails of our indestructible Ariels and Commanders will be creamy feel good Egyptian cotton again!
__________________________________________________ __________________________________
Remember a PBS documentary. Has to be a classic.
The folks had to get across a steep gorge with raging waters in Peru. The women went out and harvested local grass for several days. Then the whole village had a party. Each person who was going to work on the project had to bring six others. Before long the grass had become twisted and plaited into rope and the gorge had a graceful suspension bridge crossing it.
Just reminded by Pedro here on the ranch, who also saw the film - that the main suspension members were gathered into threes and sewn together.

Trying to point out that natural technology exists or comes into being out of necessity. No archeological record for grass bridges, but don't you think they've been around for tens of thousands of years. Man. the innovator, was never dumb. Stupid probably.
Those Peruvians have been making three strand for millenia! The only thing new with cordage is the application.
__________________________________________________ _________________________________
*(had to look it up....)Hemp is a non-tropical fiber, grows everywhere. It's been around for at least 10,000 years. It's cut the widest swath in political history of any fiber. It was the rigging and the sails and the shirt on the jacktar's back on every ship since ships began sailing. Hemp was more versatile than cotton and wool. It's largest production was around the turn of the century. Then came drip dry nylon.
Have you noticed hemp as a fiber is making a commercial comeback?
Maybe a super hemp can be grown that will rival plastic, or perhaps a synergistic composite of old and petroleum will be our next anchor rode.
google> Ecofibre Industries Limited - Origin and History of Hemp
www.ecofibre.com.au/history.html

[mbd]

Looks like there's a 6 strand anchor rode out by Sampson called Deep Six. They say it "was engineered to bring together the best of two worlds; the firmness of a 3-strand nylon and the flakability of an 8-strand rope".

They've got lots of splicing instructions on their website too.

Curiously, the Rope to Chain splice for the 8 strand anchor rode is missing...

[Bill]

Here's a product that appears associated with this thread:

"The Anchor Saver is an anchor release system for stuck anchors, which varies slightly but significantly from old-style anchor retrieval systems. It utilises a unique Release Bar and Shackle mid-link connection, and is designed to separate the Release Bar from the Shackle, when the sheer pin breaks at a predetermined load. During the release, the attachment point shifts from the anchor Shank-Eye to the Crown-Eye, allowing the Anchor to be freed from the obstruction." See more at:

http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?...efre=y&ntid=30

[ebb]

Hmmmmmm...
When I go to the aussie site the first featured picture shows an anchor shank eye shackled to a stranger fitting attached to a CABLE....?

Further into the site you find that the breakaway pins are actually for the anchor bow shackle.
An unexplained gizmo is connected to a link in the anchor chain. What is it the breaks away under a predetermined load?
Everything is left to the imagnation, nothing is explained, really made clear.
Not to me.
How about an ubertube video?

But suppose your anchor was buried deep in sand.
Suppose your baby was swinging away on the end of her tether and a wave or two came along.
Would you be persuaded that the sudden action won't break the shackle pin
and now with the chain pulling on the 'crown'
meaning puilling on the lower part of the shank near the fluke(s)
the boat would now be dragging her anchor around backwards in a determined way.

Would I leave the boat unattended with this jig on?
Would I nod off as I often do?

What is the 'predetermined' breaking load on that breakaway pin?
We need a bag of these special breakaway pins $$$
and do we also, evidently, have to wire the shackle to the chain ??? (Unexplained wire in photo)


The Manson Supreme has this easy-out option in the long slide in its shank you can screw a regular anchor shackle into. Idea being that if you are anchored in rock or coral you can slide the shackle down to the crown and back the anchor out.
I guess you should rig these conveniences only while onboard and keeping watch.

Haven't read any cruiser wanting to use this Supreme shank-slider. Everyone thinks its patently unsafe!

(Interesting that in the list of anchors the Anchor Saver is recommended for, the aussie Manson Supreme is not mentioned, didn't see it.)

Anyway what's the matter, when setting your anchor, you have the tripping line to the anchor crown attached to a small buoy? Let's everybody know where your anchor is - you too
- whether holding or loose..
imco