Tried splicing old, but unused, braided anchor line. could not loosen up cover to pull or push core through. Tried using Brion Toss's pull and New England Rope's Push fids to no avail. The cover just wouldn't loosen up despite every trick i could think of or find on the internet over a period of weeks. Line was a remnant from a spool I'd bought and stored in the lazarette for the cruise and on a shelf in the garage afterwards but had never been uncoiled or used. Gave up and used bowlines, monitor the wear points and redo the knots to change the wear points.