Chain Snubbing Bridles

Jimmy Green V-Shaped Anchorplait^® Nylon Chain Snubbing Bridles provide an excellent shock-absorbing solution where the forward deck layout or the stemhead and bow roller design/dimensions are not conducive to successfully deploying a single snubbing line.

Custom Build a chain snubbing bridle to access your mooring cleats via the port and starboard forward fairleads - spliced and whipped by the Jimmy Green Rigging Team to your bespoke requirements.

The bridle will share the load between two cleats with a choice of Chain Hook/Grab/Gripper.

Anchorplait V-shaped bridles share the load between each tail and can subdue any tendency for a yacht or multihull to yaw at anchor by naturally transferring the load to the windward tail as the yacht veers.

It is important to bear in mind that the load will only be shared equally when the yacht or multihull is headed directly into the wind and waves, which may only be a small proportion of the time at anchor.

Jimmy Green V-shaped bridles avoid creating a bottleneck along the centre line through the stem fitting and over the bow roller by utilising the port and starboard mooring cleats and fairleads.

Jimmy Green V-Shaped Anchorplait Nylon 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.
• Anchorplait is far easier to manage in longer lengths than traditional twisted lay ropes, making Anchorplait Snubbing Lines much kinder to hands and simpler to stow
• The beauty of Anchorplait is its manageability, so there is less practicable restriction on the optimum length of the bridle legs
• There are more considerations for multihulls - see below
• The apex of the bridle can be attached to the chain with a rolling hitch or a spliced Chain Hook/Grab/Gripper, which can be retentive
• The two tails should be routed through the forward port and starboard fairleads, with the ends made fast to the port and starboard mooring cleats on the foredeck
• It may be possible to extend the length of the tails, thereby increasing 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 bridle rope diameter 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 can vary with the rope and splice construction) The effects of tying a knot
• Adding a mooring compensator on each tail will increase the elasticity of the bridle - this extra shock absorbing capacity could be utilised to limit 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 to a monohull, but the length of the tails and the angle they create will require 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

Anchorplait^® is a UK-registered Trademark

LIROS Anchorplait^® White Nylon Article 01058JG is manufactured EXCLUSIVELY by LIROS Ropes with Easy Splice Markers for Jimmy Green Marine.

The eight-strand construction, two pairs left hand, two pairs right hand, delivers a balanced performance and no undesirable twist under tension.

Anchorplait is the rope that won't cockle.

In fact, it falls and flakes like a chain.

Anchorplait makes an ideal snubbing line because it will stay supple for the duration of its working life.

LIROS Anchorplait White Nylon Article 01058JG Facts, Features and Plus Factors:

• Jimmy Green Exclusive
• 100% Nylon (Polyamide)
• UV stabilised
• Square braid construction
• Non-kinking
• Balanced braiding
• The eight-strand construction - two pairs left hand, two pairs right hand - ensures a balanced performance and no twist under tension
• Dependable strength
• Excellent durability
• UV and abrasion resistant
• Zero possibility of cockling
• Falls and flakes like a chain
• Excellent weathering and wear resistance properties
• Superb handling, manageable in long lengths
• Excellent Shock Absorbing Elongation, >20% working load stretch
• Remains supple for the duration of its working life
• Splice-able to chain - very strong 1-link splice to chain or flexible 11-link splice to chain
• Available from 10mm up to 20mm diameter

LIROS specify their manufacturer minimum break loads in Deka newtons = DaN

DaN = Deka newtons 1 Deka newton

DaN actually = 1.01971621297793kg (approximately 1.02kg)

LIROS Break Load converted to Kg from DaN at 1:1.02 

Jimmy Green V-Shaped Anchorplait Bridle Splicing - Facts and Features:

• A Jimmy Green V-shaped bridle is based on the Jimmy Green Anchorplait Centre Eye Splice (with or without a thimble/chain hook).
• The bridle is produced from one 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 and 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 three-strand construction.
• Three-Strand Rope Splicing should not be contemplated as a viable solution for creating a V-Bridle

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 replaced if required.