chain claw installed. Niro-Peterson
(www.niro-petersen.de) also makes
stainless devil’s claws (Figure 24-23).
4 .Leave the chain snubbing pendant
permanently in place. When underway,
the free end is simply pulled up over the
bow, through one of the chocks, and
made fast (and held taut) to a bow cleat.Here’s how to use it:
1 .Anchor normally, setting the anchor on
the all-chain rode.
2 .After everything is all set—and at your
convenience—go forward and free the
chain snubbing pendant from the cleatand fasten it to the chain with the chain
claw just forward of the anchor roller
(where it’s easy to reach).
Alternatively, you can simply tie the
chain snubbing pendant to the anchor
chain using a rolling hitch. (Be sure to
tie the rolling hitch in the right direction
to take the load.) Using the rolling hitch,
no fitting would be needed. Also, the
load is spread across several chain links.
(I actually prefer the steeplejack’s hitch.
This is identical to the rolling hitch, but
with an extra round turn made on the
side away from the load.)
3 .Now pay out anchor chain until the load
is taken by the nylon chain-snubbing
pendant. Then pay out a little more
chain so that the chain hangs a bit loose
aft of the pendant’s attachment.What this does:1 .It takes allthe load off the windlass, off
the chain stopper, and off the anchor
roller.
2 .It lowers the angle of pull so the anchor-
chain loads don’t tend to depress the
bow.
3 .Lowering the angle of pull effectively
increases the anchoring scope, which
increases holding power.
4 .The nylon chain-snubbing pendant is
stretchy, so it absorbs shock loads,
which makes the boat ride easier and
reduces the load on the chain and the
anchor.
5 .It avoids any chance of the chain
rubbing against or chafing the stem
(or any bowsprit, projecting anchor
roller, or bobstay, if one is fitted).
6 .If the snubbing pendant parts, you’re
still riding on the chain.I’m not sure why this simple and inexpen-
sive solution isn’t more commonly installed. If
the boat doesn’t have room for chain stoppers
on deck, this nylon pendant snubber is all that
is needed. And even with chain stoppers, this
pendant is a great improvement. Note that a
nylon chain snubber can also be fastened to
a cleat on deck and used to tension the anchor
back down on the anchor roller when stowed.
This will ensure that the anchor doesn’trattle
or come adrift at sea.Chapter 24: Sizing the Anchor and Rode and Selecting Anchor-Handling Gear
Figure 24-22. Devil’s claw (Courtesy Rope,
Inc.)
Figure 24-23. Devil’s claw (Courtesy
Niro Petterson)