How to: Marine Braid

Spiral rope is ideal for marine braiding.

Working with ropes is an integral part of marine life, as rope lines are used for a variety of tasks from rigging sails to hanging buoys to attaching anchors to the boat. A chain splice is a marine braid that attaches a three-strand rope to an anchor line by weaving its ends through its body. A splice creates a stronger loop in the rope than simply feeding the rope through the chain and tying a knot.

Things You'll Need

• Spiral rope
• Chain
• Awl or screwdriver

Instructions

1. Unwind the braid for at least five full revolutions of a cord. A revolution consists of the length of rope that it takes for each cord to wrap around the cylindrical braid once. Allow the three loose ends to lay flat naturally.

2. Pass the center loose end through the chain being spliced onto, then lay the end atop the rope.

3. Pass the left loose end through the same link from the opposite direction, and lay it down on the left side of the rope.

4. Pass the right loose end through the link from the same direction as the left end and lay it down on the right side of the rope.

5. Pull the loose ends until the point you began unraveling is touching the link.

6. Pass the loose end resting on the rope under one of the still-woven cords just below the link. Use an awl or screwdriver, if needed, to pry the wrapped section up to tuck the cord.

7. Repeat with the remaining loose ends, so each loose end is tucked under the main body of the rope once. Each loose end will be passing under a different of the three woven cords, at approximately the same distance from the link.

8. Repeat the tucks a second time, wrapping each of the loose ends in a perpendicular direction to the wraps on the unwoven section. Tuck each loose end until you can not tuck anymore. There should be between five and seven tucks for the ends.

References

• Animated Knots; Chain Splice