May 26, 2021
I see and hear a lot of things about anchor snubbers that I disagree with. A snubber is a line attached to a chain anchor rode. It can help with the the following…
1. Absorb shock when the chain gets caught on a rock and there’s a swell or wake.
2. Take the strain off the windlass.
3. Help keep the anchor quiet when it drags over rocks.
4. Help to keep the boat from sailing at anchor.
When it’s deployed like the picture below (and it often is), it does little to protect the chain from shock loading as there isn’t enough line to stretch much. It does protect the windlass from anchor loads, but a good chain-stopper will do that.
We use a snubber that is just shy of the depth of water under the boat, up to about 10 meters. The line we use is pretty light (8-10mm or 3/8″), three strand nylon with lots of stretch. And we don’t always use a snubber.
Many people put out a snubber every time they anchor (’cause that’s what some old curmudgeon told them to do when they learned how to sail). It’s not always necessary and not always advantageous. We put out a snubber only about 20% of the time. We don’t put it out when we’re anchored in sand with light to moderate wind. I like to hear what’s going on with the anchor and I can’t when the snubber is out. Not using a snubber also means less work and I’m all for that!
Take it from a middle-aged curmudgeon (if I live to be 126!). -Rich
