alteration to mooring

[ortogo]

I've just bought a new boat, my old boat had a large samson post in the middle of the foredeck, and the mooring chain just ran over the bow roller and a loop at the end of the chain dropped over the post, very simple and straightforward. The new boat has a Lofrans windlass in the middle of the foredeck with the anchor rigged permanently on the bow roller. It has 2 fairleads, one to port and one to starboard, and behind them on the fordeck are 2 good sized cleats. I'm wondering if the best thing to do is to have 2 seperate lengths of chain attached to the swivel at the mooring buoy with each one passing through the fairleads and over the deck cleats, or is there another more suitable way?

 

[Seajet]

ortogo,

how good are the backing pads and bolts for the fairleads and cleats ?

In a perfect world I'd suggest a twin roller, maybe for now if it's not a back-breaking thing take the anchor off and secure it while on the mooring ?

I also have twin foredeck cleats, I belay the chain on one then run the loose end of the chain around the other cleat as a backup ( both have big backing pads of ply and stainless ) and to an eye on the pulpit with a padlock to hopefully deter yobs from setting her adrift; it has been known.

I'm uneasy about twin chains - or backups with rope warps and chains - as in my experience swivels often don't work so result in a tangle; swivels are also the weakest part of the mooring, make it as big as possible and check it often.

 

[oldbilbo]

Much depends on the circumstances of : the size/weight of your boat, the relative shelter from fetch/chop and thus the location, how much room you have from others around/astern.

It is desirable to avoid the hard 'snubbing' which occurs in big wind and heavy 'chop', which causes damage to mooring gear and deck fittings alike - and can even set the boat adrift in conditions when few are likely to assist. You will want to sleep easy at home and on board, secure in the knowledge that your mooring arrangements are 'bombproof' when it blows a bit wild.

Could you use a pair of hefty stretchy >16mm nylon lines as dedicated mooring lines, as large as you can accommodate, each very well protected against chafe, and led through the fairleads onto the mooring buoy? These could be terminated in loops dropped over your foredeck cleats or, better still, made longer so that they are given a round turn around those cleats then taken back to the cockpit where they are again given a round turn around cleats back there... or onto the winches. That both spreads the loads and gives more 'elasticity' when the periodic large loads come on in a gale. These lines can double up as warps for when you go visiting. Such mooring lines could be secured to a short but well-sufficient chain/ring at the mooring buoy.

 

[VicMallows]

I have a chain to one forward cleat, and an octoplait warp to the other, both through a single bow roller. I set up the warp slightly tighter than the chain. It absorbs a great deal of the snatching and certainly makes life on board more pleasant. Both are attached to a massive swivel on the floating mooring. The method is recommended by Chichester Conservancy and I have never had any tangle problems.

Any protruding anchor on a swinging mooring is a problem. I bring mine in, though it's unquestionably a pain. Another option is to hoist it up on the pulpit out of the way.

 

[fireball]

We have a single bow roller too - I tried taking the chain and line through the fair leads, but unless there is a traight pull on them they tend to foul the anchor - so the anchor is removed and placed in the locker leaving the foredeck clear. The lines go through the single roller.

I use a 24mm nylon line to one cleat and a chain to the other.. These connect to a large swivel on top of the mooring buoy - we don't suffer from twisting up as the swivel does its job. It's part of the mooring gear owned by the club and inspected biannually - I do check the gear visually every time we use it as well....

 

[Seajet]

Much depends on the circumstances of : the size/weight of your boat, the relative shelter from fetch/chop and thus the location, how much room you have from others around/astern.

It is desirable to avoid the hard 'snubbing' which occurs in big wind and heavy 'chop', which causes damage to mooring gear and deck fittings alike - and can even set the boat adrift in conditions when few are likely to assist. You will want to sleep easy at home and on board, secure in the knowledge that your mooring arrangements are 'bombproof' when it blows a bit wild.

Could you use a pair of hefty stretchy >16mm nylon lines as dedicated mooring lines, as large as you can accommodate, each very well protected against chafe, and led through the fairleads onto the mooring buoy? These could be terminated in loops dropped over your foredeck cleats or, better still, made longer so that they are given a round turn around those cleats then taken back to the cockpit where they are again given a round turn around cleats back there... or onto the winches. That both spreads the loads and gives more 'elasticity' when the periodic large loads come on in a gale. These lines can double up as warps for when you go visiting. Such mooring lines could be secured to a short but well-sufficient chain/ring at the mooring buoy.

Old Bilbo,

sorry but I have to argue on this one; twin lines means a twisted tangled mess, quite possibly endangering the boat not to mention the inability to padlock boat to mooring as with chain ( I have tried rope strop deep water moorings and was underwhelmed ).

As for taking the strops and using them while cruising, weren't they / it moused onto the mooring ?!

 

[William_H]

I would go for twin rope for the top part of the mooring. Regarding twisting the mooring riser should have a swivel somewhere as even a single chain can twist up without a swivel. If the twin ropes seem to twist as inevitably they will eventually the degree of twist will get the swivel to turn and so limit the twist. Swivels tend to have more friction than force needed to stop ropes twisting at least a little.
So don't worry about the twist. My 2 ropes certainly twist a bit. good luck olewill

 

[Daydream believer]

Just a simple point but make sure you fix each chain or line to the buoy with separate shackles & mouse them
I look after 84 moorings & we regularly get boats go adrift because the shackle has not been moused & comes undone

By the way we have spare deep water moorings -- google www.stlawrencefairwaycommittee.com
Sorry for the add but could not help myself

 

[rivonia]

I don't know how strong the fairleads are but they are generaly not designed to be snatched at. Best answer here is to stow away the anchor and run up on the bowroller.

I have seen too many fairleads ripped out.

 

[vyv_cox]

I don't know how strong the fairleads are but they are generaly not designed to be snatched at. Best answer here is to stow away the anchor and run up on the bowroller.

I have seen too many fairleads ripped out.

That's what I did when I had a mooring. Although my boat has twin rollers it was not possible to use the second with the anchor on the first. It's a hassle to remove and stow the anchor every time but it is the safest arrangement. In our case the anchor would stow in the locker but otherwise it could be left on deck with a suitable chock arrangement.

These days when I pick up a mooring for overnight I haul the anchor up to the top rail of the pulpit to keep it out of the way. Perhaps not advisable for long-term mooring but fine while we are aboard.

 

[fireball]

Old Bilbo,

sorry but I have to argue on this one; twin lines means a twisted tangled mess, quite possibly endangering the boat

Sorry - have to argue with this one - boat(s) on mooring for the last 12 years - always with strop and backup chain via a swivel - can't remember any twists.
It's a club requirement to have minimum 1 warp & separate chain.

 

[oldbilbo]

In relation to the use of one or more nylon 'boat ropes' in the mooring arrangements, I'll only add that several respected ( are there any other kind? ) moorings contractors have emphasized that one should NOT use 3-part laid rope as any twist that does happen tends to unlay it and weakens it considerably. 8-part braided nylon is preferred. as twist does not unlay it... I am advised.

 

[Daydream believer]

In relation to the use of one or more nylon 'boat ropes' in the mooring arrangements, I'll only add that several respected ( are there any other kind? ) moorings contractors have emphasized that one should NOT use 3-part laid rope as any twist that does happen tends to unlay it and weakens it considerably. 8-part braided nylon is preferred. as twist does not unlay it... I am advised.

If you have 2 lines to the eye on the buoy the worse that can happen is that the 2 lines twist round each other
I believe that they will not unlay as you suggest as each rope is protected from doing so by the other rope
However, if one breaks then i can see your point being correct

 

[claymore]

I have the same layout as the OP
I take the anchor off the bow roller and pull the chain mooring strop over the roller. I have 2 octoplait strops, one from each cleat and they are then shackled to the chain via a bit of trawler gear.
The loop in the end of the chain is dropped over the anchor winch but there is no weight on this. I use the rope strop on the pick up buoy to tether us whilst I get the strops shackled on.