The Knotty Professor: Options for the Bitter End of Your Anchor Rode

[@richardwakelin843]

Hi 👋 slight difference of opinion, I never permanently attach my anchor rhode to my yacht, I have a soft eye, so I can attach a bouy if I need to jettison it. The eye has a cord attached to the vessel, which can easily cut with a knife if & when needed

[@ricardocheing4304]

Thanks Anna, quick question. How do you normally load windlass rode onto the boat? Do you wet the rode and feed it through the top of the windlass and power it down or do you drop the rode into your anchor locker and feed it back out through your windlass from the bottom? Depending on the proper way to load the rode, I believe may influence what choice to make in regards to the bitter end.

[@Darkhorsemarine]

Great question. We recommend soaking the rode for 24 hours before loading the rode into the anchor locker. This soaking allows the nylon fibers to swell and become more dense so the chain wheel can grip it better. In saying that, load the rode tag end into windlass, don’t forget to pass it through the bail of the roller, and then let the windlass feed the anchor locker so that the rope lays naturally in the anchor locker. Last tip, make sure there is 12” of handing chain from the bottom of the deck to the last handing link of chain. This will ensure the windlass has enough gravitational from the depth of the anchor locker. A windlass does a great job pulling ground tackle, but not so well pushing more rode in an anchor locker than it has capacity for. Hope that makes sense.