Hi Ian & Charles
As an anchor marker/trip line I would recommend a sinking (nylon) rope with a buoy. a floating line is always asking for trouble. Just go anywhere that there are lobster or crab fishermen to see what it is like. As I believe I mentioned earlier, we also add 1/2 pound lead weight about 2m down the line just to be sure that the top end of the line is vertical.

Ian: please bear in mind that any bent or damaged anchor cannot and will not perform as intended by the manufacturer.
Also: the most common way that anchors are bent is by the skipper powering over the anchor in the ill-conceived notion that this is the best way to break it out of the bottom.

Hi Ian

Thanks so much for the good words. The idea of the yellow polypropylene line is to make it easy and quick to loose the bower. There usually isn 't time to tie on a fender, and I would not want someone else to retrieve my anchor or investigate my fender. The light line makes it inconspicuous and unlikely for another boat to foul in the conditions forcing me to loose the bower.
I don 't trust all the connections necessary for a swivel. One shackle is enough for me. My chain runs through a chain lock, and then under a roller with a square notch that fits the chain, then over a roller at the bow. So it 's always retrieved without a twist by time the anchor is under the bow.

Best wishes,
Charles Starke
s/v Dawnpiper

Hi Ian,
Please see my comments to Charles in prior email with regard to securing ropes and where to find pros & cons of the variations on trip line.
I agree with Alex as to the functionally of even minimally altered anchors: it may be fine, but not an area to fool with.
I would hope that Spade would replace the shaft at a reasonable price. They are one of the few anchors where it is reasonable to buy parts, so I hope they are easy to work with in this area. I was impressed with their response to the rust on my very well used 8 years old Spade last year when they just replaced it. (Early Spades were not well galvanized, a largely cosmetic issue, and they allowed me to keep the old anchor which is now a spare.)
Let us know how this unfolds, if you will.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Posted on Behalf of Dick
Hi Charles,

Thanks for the field report. I am surprised that you had trouble setting your appropriately sized Rocna as that is a function that it usually does superbly. As to the re-setting, this seems to be a problem with Rocnas which rarely, but occasionally, occurs and you are not alone in switching to a Spade.

I applaud your moving up a size as weight in the anchor pays huge dividends in keeping the boat in one place: far more benefit than any downside of adding 11 pounds to the bow.

As to swivels, not only are they contraindicated if they are stainless steel (which, to my evaluation), has no business in a ground tackle system, but they increase complexity and serve no function (see swivel area in Forum for details).

It is wise to have the end-of-chain securing rope emerge onto the deck for being able to quickly cut: make sure that the knot attaching rope (especially as you specify heavy line) to chain is executed in a fashion to not hang up on its way to the deck. I have a visible indication on the chain about 3 meters from the end to make sure I am prepared for the rope to emerge as the chain can be coming out fast in a dump.

As to a polyprop floating line, trip lines and their cousins are a complex subject, again addressed elsewhere in the forum.

My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy