Anchor Snubber Issue and Question

FootballFan

Well-Known Member
Jun 20, 2012
3,567
Florida
Boat Info
Marquis 59
Engines
MTU Series 60
I absolutely love the anchor snubber we use. Simple, but easy to use and very effective.

Back Story:

We had anchored out a few nights ago. When we were picking up the anchor the next morning, the swivel on the anchor didn't swivel - the anchor would not spin around the proper orientation. It was upside down. After messing with it a bit I decided that I would continue on until I got to our next stop where I knew we would have the dinghy in the water. It was fully retracted, we were only going a few miles in very smooth water.

Fast forward to later that day with the dinghy in the water. I decided that I would go to the bow of the boat on the dinghy and have my wife lower the anchor a few feet, I would spin it around, then she would retract it.

Now the mistake I made. I should have asked her to remove the snubber from the windlass compartment, I didn't even think about it. Everything is going well. Anchor properly oriented, retracting, but then stopped a few inches from fully up. Windlass would not retract any more, dead.

Ok, you can see where this is headed. The snubber got wrapped between the chain and the windlass.

p1.jpg


p2.jpg


Anchor was secure, we didn't have any anchoring plans until we were back in our slip, so I decided to wait till we were home.

Lowering the anchor a couple of feet was sufficient to pull the snubber line out of the windlass. Windlass then retracted normally and all is good.

Now the question. When I had originally saw what had happened I assumed I would need to replace the line. After untangling the line, other than having rubbed paint off the chain, it doesn't appear to be damaged.

What do you think? Do I need to replace the line?

p3.jpg


p4.jpg



What do you think? Replace the line? or does it look OK?

thanks,
 
Looks slightly frayed to me, and that tends to get worse over time. Personally, I would change it, particularly on a boat where I anchored overnight.

Moreover, if you have to ask, the seed of doubt has already been planted. That's not real good for peace of mind.
 
To me it appears as there plenty of life left on the line. If the part with the red paint is the worst part of the "damage", I'd continue using it and just keep an eye on it from time to time. If it appears more damaged, then replace it. Let's be real here, it's just a snubber, which is an "aid" to the anchor chain. Worst case scenario, even if it goes, your chain will do all the work of holding the boat in place. This is what's you see being done by 99% of boats out there. Not a justification, but a point that it's not a big deal if your windlass will have to carry the load on a rare occasion.

Those lines have a lot of life in them, you'll be surprised how long they last.
 
To me it appears as there plenty of life left on the line. If the part with the red paint is the worst part of the "damage", I'd continue using it and just keep an eye on it from time to time. If it appears more damaged, then replace it. Let's be real here, it's just a snubber, which is an "aid" to the anchor chain. Worst case scenario, even if it goes, your chain will do all the work of holding the boat in place. This is what's you see being done by 99% of boats out there. Not a justification, but a point that it's not a big deal if your windlass will have to carry the load on a rare occasion.

Those lines have a lot of life in them, you'll be surprised how long they last.

Ah I missed that part. Yeah, if its just the snubber, I'd use it to within an inch of its life.
 
I agree the line seems to be ok.
But, the snubber and bow cleats are my primary load carrying element not the windlass. I wouldn't consider a snubber/bridal to be an aid unless the boat has a way to dog off the anchor line/chain.
 
That lines up with my thoughts. I didn't see damage to the fibers.

I have the building blocks for a back up snubber on the boat. Chain hook with rings that I could put together a snubber using lines if I had to during a cruise.
 

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