Rate my rope mooring riser...

[Captain Crisp]

Hi, my mooring has a very thick seaweedy rope as its riser (see image). I pulled it up on a low tide and it looks pretty intact, but how am I supposed to know? I asked the owners how/whether they service them, but they haven't got back to me...
Any thoughts...?
Crisp

 

[[159032]]

Possibly the only way to be sure is to renew it. Assurances that is has been OK don't take into account that each year it is older and we seem to get higher and more sustained windspeeds these days.

 

[Kelpie]

Rope is cheap... swap it out if you have any doubts.

 

[alahol2]

Depends on what it is and how big. My riser is 36mm Polysteel octoplait and the growth looks somewhat similar to yours.
If I scrape off the growth, the polysteel is good as new.
What really needs checking is the attachment of the strops and the attachment of the riser to the block/ground chain/anchor.
Look for signs of wear. Polysteel seems very resistant to chafe and each time I check mine they look exceeding good.

 

[FlyingGoose]

if you pay some one for the mooring they need to give you the insurance of that it is serviced and able to take your boat, if you change anything or touch the mooring in any way you might become liable to damage to the mooring and the problem if you have you done it right , keep banging onto the owner and ask when it was last inspected,
If you are worried keep banging onto them for an answer, if not forthcoming then I suspect their maintenance is poor. and it is your thoughts and boat that matter

 

[Poignard]

Hi, my mooring has a very thick seaweedy rope as its riser (see image). I pulled it up on a low tide and it looks pretty intact, but how am I supposed to know? I asked the owners how/whether they service them, but they haven't got back to me...
Any thoughts...?
CrispView attachment 98975

You could draw the attention of the mooring provider to the case of Shearing v. Torquay District Council where it was held that the Council, which rented out the mooring to the owner of the yacht "Quercus", was liable in tort when the yacht sank as a result of the failure of the mooring tackle.

 

[Graham376]

Depends on what it is and how big. My riser is 36mm Polysteel octoplait and the growth looks somewhat similar to yours.
If I scrape off the growth, the polysteel is good as new.
What really needs checking is the attachment of the strops and the attachment of the riser to the block/ground chain/anchor.
Look for signs of wear. Polysteel seems very resistant to chafe and each time I check mine they look exceeding good.

Mine is 36mm Polysteel octoplait as well, far better than chain.

Unlike 3 strand, octoplait splices won't undo if the swivel jams. Important to use decent thimble such as the US Federal ones as many rope risers fail when the cheap thin thimble rusts away and the shackle wears through the rope, neighbour had one fail here for that reason a couple of weeks ago. U.S. FEDERAL THIMBLE

 

[Rocksteadee]

Take loads of dated photos, send these to the owner of the mooring. Keep records of all emails, communication etc. And possibly inform them that for your own insurance you are also inform your insurance company

 

[Stemar]

as many rope risers fail when the cheap thin thimble rusts away

I was talking to the guy who maintains my mooring recently and he prefers chain because he's seen too many strops fail when the thimble wears away, and it will happen to a good one too, quite possibly in less time than it will take for a chain to wear/corrode

 

[Graham376]

Take loads of dated photos, send these to the owner of the mooring. Keep records of all emails, communication etc. And possibly inform them that for your own insurance you are also inform your insurance company

You have to be careful here. There's obviously a need to have the mooring inspected and serviced but it would be foolhardy to advise insurers that you have worries about it, they would most likely refuse cover if it failed. If it did fail and correspondence came to light that you had consider it unsafe, wave goodbye to any claim.

 

[Graham376]

I was talking to the guy who maintains my mooring recently and he prefers chain because he's seen too many strops fail when the thimble wears away, and it will happen to a good one too, quite possibly in less time than it will take for a chain to wear/corrode

Tackle varies from one area to another. There's a big difference between where we are now, in a sheltered lagoon with a big spring around 3m range and more exposed Conwy estuary where we used to be, with 10m tides and around 5kts through the moorings. Rope risers are the norm here, mostly 30mm 4 strand polysteel with heavy thimbals.

Yes, there's an occasional riser failure, including one that I'm having sorted on Saturday, along with a couple of ground chain replacements and three others to inspect but, I've also seen chain risers fail. Expensive business and nightmare bureaucracy here, four commercial divers plus supervisor, licence from Capitania and charge for Policia Maritima presence during dive.

 

[alahol2]

I was talking to the guy who maintains my mooring recently and he prefers chain because he's seen too many strops fail when the thimble wears away, and it will happen to a good one too, quite possibly in less time than it will take for a chain to wear/corrode

I have tried on my mooring to remove as much metalwork as feasible. The riser (36mm polysteel) has a long eye spliced at top and bottom. The lower end of the riser is cow hitched to the ground chain with lashings to ensure it doesn't move relative to the chain. The strops are each cow hitched to the upper eye splice on the riser. Maybe I've been lucky but in the last 5 years, since laying, I've seen no deterioration in any part. Even the strops are the original with no wear evident. The mooring is fore and aft so 2 risers, 4 strops.

 

[Rocksteadee]

You have to be careful here. There's obviously a need to have the mooring inspected and serviced but it would be foolhardy to advise insurers that you have worries about it, they would most likely refuse cover if it failed. If it did fail and correspondence came to light that you had consider it unsafe, wave goodbye to any claim.

Point taken