Chain Snubbing Bridles

Jimmy Green V shaped Anchor Chain Snubbing Bridles provide an excellent shock absorbing solution where the forward deck layout or the stem head and bow roller design/dimensions are not conducive to the successful arrangement of a single snubbing line.

Custom Build a chain snubbing bridle to access your mooring cleats via the port and starboard forward fairleads. The bridle will share the load between two cleats with a choice of Chain Hook/Grab/Gripper - spliced and whipped to your own bespoke requirements by the Jimmy Green Rigging Team. Anchor Chain Snubbing Bridles share the load between each tail and can subdue any tendency for a yacht or multihull to yaw at anchor. Please bear in mind that the load is only likely to be shared equally for a small proportion of the time at anchor as the yacht or multihull veers from loading one tail to the other.

Jimmy Green V Shaped Anchorplait Bridle Guide:

• A Jimmy Green snubbing V bridle (twin strop) should be approximately 3 metres to 10 metres in length for each tail - the longer it is, the more it will stretch
• There are more considerations for multihulls, see below
• The apex of the bridle is attached to the chain with a rolling hitch or a spliced chain hook/Grab which can be retentive
• The two tails should be routed through the forward port and starboard fairleads with the ends made off to port and starboard mooring cleats on the foredeck
• It may be possible to extend the length of the tails (and the elasticity) by careful routing (avoiding chafe points) to port and starboard mooring cleats further aft
• N.B. Chain hooks are not designed to fit through the link of a calibrated chain. Locate the chain hook, gripper or grab over one link so that the load is bearing on the outside of the next link (which will be at right angles).
• The strength (diameter) of the bridle should be comparable with your main anchor rode
• Splicing retains far more of the rope strength than tying a knot - knots can reduce the break load by as much as 50% while a professional splice will generally retain approximately 80-85% of the original load capacity (this percentage does vary with the rope and splice construction)
• Adding a mooring compensator on each tail will increase the elasticity of the bridle - this extra shock absorbing capacity could be utilised to reduce the length of the line.
• Adding anti-chafe webbing will protect the lines where they lead through the fairleads, and where they may come into any abrasive contact from there to the mooring cleats.

Jimmy Green Advisory on V Shape and Y Shape Anchorplait Bridles for Multihulls:

The same principles apply as for a monohull, but the length of the tails and the angle they create needs to be given careful consideration due to the extra beam. The maximum angle of deployment must always be set up with caution. The extra tail length required to keep the angle within prudent parameters may result in too large a swinging arc and a general lack of control. For wide span catamarans and trimarans, it will be advisable to use two separate strops shackled together to make the V shape. A further short strop can also be deployed at the apex of the V to make a Y shape.

If you need help to custom build your V bridle online, there are comprehensive step by step instructions available:

Anchor Chain Snubbing V Bridle Custom Build Instructions

LIROS Anchorplait White Nylon Article 01058JG is manufactured EXCLUSIVELY by LIROS Ropes with Easy Splice Markers for Jimmy Green Marine. The 8 strand construction [2 pairs left hand, 2 pairs right hand] gives a balanced performance and no twist under tension. Anchorplait is the rope that won't cockle. In fact, it flakes like chain.

• square braid construction
• non kinking
• balanced braiding
• spliceable to chain
• dependable strength
• excellent durability
• UV and abrasion resistant
• Excellent Shock Absorbing Elongation >20% working load stretch.

LIROS specify their manufacturer minimum break loads in Deka newtons = DaN DaN = Deka newtons 1 Deka newton DaN actually = 1.01971621297793 (approximately 1.02) kg 01058 / 01058JG - 1000 = 2600 daN 01058 / 01058JG - 1200 = 3400 daN 01058 / 01058JG - 1400 = 4500 daN 01058 / 01058JG - 1600 = 5900 daN 01058 / 01058JG - 1800 = 7200 daN 01058 / 01058JG - 2000 = 8200 daN 01058 - 2400 = 11800 daN

LIROS Break Load converted to Kg from DaN at 1:1.02 = 10mm 2652kg ~ 12mm 3468kg ~ 14mm 4590kg ~ 16mm 6018kg ~ 18mm 7344kg - 20mm 8364kg ~ 24mm 12036kg

Jimmy Green V Shaped Anchorplait Bridle Splicing, important features and information:

• A Jimmy Green V shaped bridle is based on the Anchorplait centre eye splice (with or without a thimble/chain hook).
• The bridle consists of a continuous line, made into a soft loop around the eye of a fitting or formed around a hard thimble eye with a brummel locking tuck splice.
• The strength of the bridle is therefore not reliant on a Y Joining Splice i.e. splicing two separate ropes together.
• The maximum angle of deployment must always be set up with caution, but the centre eye splice is much less prone to failure at a wider than optimum angle than any joining splice between two separate ropes.
• It is not possible to successfully put a centre eye splice in a rope of 3 strand construction.

Read the Jimmy Green Guide to taking the shock load off your windlass and chain

Anchor Snubbing Advice 

N.B. Chain hooks are not designed to fit through the link of a calibrated chain. Locate the chain hook, gripper or grab over one link so that the load is bearing on the outside of the next link (which will be at right angles).

Jimmy Green Advisory

Attaching the hook or grab with a shackle may seem a little clunky, but it does mean that the hook can be removed for a mooring application and/or replaced if required.