Public Discussion Forum

I have tried 3 gizmos to attach the bridle to the chain, and all have their plusses and minuses. I'm considering trying a soft shackle, and wanted to see if anyone has had experience with them and how well they work on a boat our size.

I've tried:

Wichard chain hook. Compact, easy to use, doesn't come off, but too light for a 110,000 boat in my opinion. I've heard of them bending on a selene although that never happened to me.

Mantus M2 chain hook. Beefy, strong, but it takes 3 hands to attach it to the chain, it doesn't go through the bow roller very well, and the rubber straps need to be replaced frequently.

Mantus M3 chain hook. Seems pretty strong, fairly compact, but the snap shackle doesn't work well making the pin difficult to pull out. The split ring on mine got all bent and I can no longer use it to pull the pin out.

Richard Nye

Untethered, 57-22

https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/MV_Untethered/

Steve Covington re-engineered his Mantus M3 hook for similar problem.

Corey

For the past 26 years I have made my own bridles using an appropriate piece of line, a SS thimble to protect the line from wear where attaches to the snap shackle with a forged SS welded ring which attaches and releases easily from the forged Wichard snap shackle with a clevis pin, the forged Wichard snap shackle attaching to the chain rode through a link of chain. The line is tightened into the thimble with a simple overhand knot which only tightens with increased tension. This design has held through all forces of wind and wave we have experienced, including 75 MPH winds and rolling waves in an unpleasant anchorage. Less expensive than the commercially available products and proven. Might want to replace the line every 7-10 years as I did. See attached photo for my choice. All in for around $350 - $450, including proper three strand anchor line.

The only additions to the above pure Burgess design I added were (1) safety whipping above the SS thimble to make sure it never fell out if the bridle was stretched to extreme limits and (2) some of the used firehose my firefighter clients gave to me to use as chafe protection. Otherwise, I just tied bowlines at the bitter end of each leg of the bridle and project done. Simply hook the bridle to the chain, pull the legs through the hawse pipes and loop the ends over a cleat or Manson post. No part of the designed item ever bent or broke. The hardware is all spec’d as much stronger than the anchor chain itself. Wear in the line due to chafe or age brought about replacement at prudent intervals.

YMMV - Jack

Jack Burgess, Shangri-La 6047