Knot to shorten a buoy tether line?
Posted by ChowSaidWhat@reddit | sailing | View on Reddit | 12 comments
I use a 25m length of 4mm line as a tether between my anchor and a surface buoy. Anchoring depths vary between 5-15m. When I'm in shallow water (say 5m), I end up with \~15m of excess line. I use a weight and a small cage to keep the line down, but I'd rather shorten the line properly at the buoy end before dropping it. What knot would you recommend for taking up the slack? Ideally something I can tie/untie quickly and that won't jam on thin line.
Daisy chain? Series of butterfly knots? Something else?
Thanks
SkiMonkey98@reddit
This is just to mark a location right -- nothing to do with actually holding your boat? I would just use a gasket coil
Brave-Entrance7475@reddit
Run the line from point A THRU point B and back to A.
Tie a tight figure 8 knot with each end around the mid Section of the line.
If you slide the two knots apart, the line is long. Together, and its short.
bill9896@reddit
Just skip the anchor buoy. It is a waste of time 99.99% of the time. It adds complications for you and for the boats around you without offering any real-world benefits. Yes, I know the rational of it. I also know that I have anchored thousands of times over the last 20 years and never used one, or needed it. In fact, I can't even remember the last time I saw anybody deploy one. How would you handle safely entering a crowded anchorage at night with a bit of wind chop on the water? Do you really think you could see anchor buoys if everyone had them out there?
ChowSaidWhat@reddit (OP)
Good point. I'm a beginner sailor living in a landlocked country, so for me it's one week of sailing per year. This will be my third trip - so you can imagine the scenarios I've been playing out in my head for the past 6 months...
We anchored off, stern-to the rocks, with a fender marking the lane, and I thought it would also make sense to have a buoy marking where our anchor is. We usually go off-season, so it's not really crowded where we typically sail.
Waterlifer@reddit
Anchor buoys are not thought to be a best practice. They increase the risk of the anchor becoming unset leaving the vessel adrift. They also pose an entanglement risk to other vessels who are unlikely to expect them. In a shared anchorage, they may be fouled by other boats nearby when the wind or tide shifts.
Anyway the answer to your question is an alpine butterfly. Leave as large of a loop as necessary to get the length you want. You can coil up the loop with a bungee or something if you want.
tench745@reddit
As a related story, I know a guy who used to buoy his anchor. Then one day someone in a dinghy came along, saw the buoy, pulled the anchor up with the buoy tether, and stole the anchor. After that, he decided that marking where the expensive piece of metal keeping your boat safe for other people to take wasn't the best idea anymore. Obviously this story is an outlier and many people who choose to buoy their anchors won't have this problem, but I thought it was worth sharing.
StuwyVX220@reddit
I’ve seen power boats use them as mooring buoys and then wonder why they are backing up on the owners boat while both now being adrift
ydbd1969@reddit
Knots that work well under tension to shorten line are the sheet bend or trumpet knot. If there is slack they can untie by themselves. Having more knots in your line weaken the strength. Best to have the correct line length.
TheFluffiestRedditor@reddit
How about something different, put a block/pulley on the anchor and run the line from the buoy, through the block, then back to your boat. Infinitely adjustable this way.
Westar-35@reddit
I’d use a small block on the buoy and the weight on the end of the line to allow it to manage itself. Your anchor buoy is likely more than capable of pulling your anchor out when the tide changes if the line is tied to a specific length. Also remember that the weight on the buoy line effectively makes your anchor less heavy by the same mass as the weight, so keep the weight a small as possible to be effective.
rhbvkleef@reddit
> other edit: never daisy chain line that’s under water…
While I somewhat agree, there are ways to do it safely. And occasionally you'll need to do what you need to do.
Random-Mutant@reddit
Probably a butterfly knot or figure eight on a bight, using a large bight.
Consider putting a chain sinnet into the resulting bight to reduce its size.
Perhaps easier, take a bight of the desired length, throw it into a double figure eight but don’t pull the bight all the way through, just to halfway so you have a quadruple rope bight.