Any tricks to reducing noise from ropes rubbing against metal?

[Karlsenkystfiske]

I understand that mooring ropes are always going to make some noises. But there is this one just above my head where I sleep that I would love to reduce a bit. Surely there must be some material one can put in between to minimize the noise? I tried with a rag, -didnt work

 

[Stingo]

Lubricate it with dishwashing liquid

 

[Sandy]

A plastic bag, a small amount of washing up liquid may be added to lubricate.

 

[Eleon]

A piece of split water hose has worked for us. Placed around the rope and secured with tape or twine so it doesn't fall off.

 

[V1701]

Good quality mooring lines with rubber snubbers, both of an appropriate size - most of the ones I see are oversized which means they have little effect, or doubled up so they can't do their thing or something. If it's so bad, earplugs...

 

[Stemar]

A bit of plastic pipe of a suitable diameter. For the snubber I used on Jissel, I used a foot of this

It was looking pretty tatty after 10 years' use, but still did the job of protecting the rope and my sleep

 

[eilerts]

I have had this trouble myself, but can't remember what type of line was used, or if there was or was not a snubber on it.
From a theoretical point of view, the noise comes when the rope rubbes against the fairlead or itself when stretching. If you can make the part between the puller and the fairlead not stretch then there will be no movement over the fairlead. In my head, a rubber snubber will take much of the stretch and leave the part over the fairlead more stationary. Or, am I wrong, that it will only postpone it to later in the stretch? Easy to test.

If you want to try lubrication, I suggest paraffin wax

+1 for snubber

 

[Fr J Hackett]

There is a guaranteed solution but it entails work. Change or reengineer tour fairleads for ones with delrin rollers in the horns of the fairlead.

 

[geem]

We find that mooring lines make more noise when they are wrapped around a cleat. If you have bowline on the cleat they do not make any noise. They also reduce the noise at the fairlead as well as there is less movement over it. It took me a long time to realise that!

 

[thinwater]

Ropes may also start to squeak internally, the fibers wear and increase in friction, and the spinning lubricants wash away. The lubes can be rejuvinated (Nicwax), but the longest lasting solution is new ropes.

 

[fredrussell]

Funnily enough had this exact problem last night. I left the offending line in place but took the strain off it with another line from same pontoon cleat to a self tailing winch. Silence!

 

[thinwater]

Polyester vs. nylon can make a difference (polyester will move less, but there may be more pressure).

 

[Blueboatman]

Lots of things you can try there !

For one, take a walk around and see what everyone else is doing ..
Towel wrap can work but you need to wind it round and tape it and then wind a second one the other way, build up layers that can slide a bit one over the other instead of grinding just against the fairlead metal..
Myself I would set up the fore n aft springs to take more weight and set up a weighted breast rope on the port side (?)
And think about hanging some 10kg ( frozen water jug) weight ‘dampers’ on the lines and /or fit anti surge rubbers and springs ..

And perhaps best of all , run a well wrapped anchor chain or 4 part warps( as many as will stay in the fair lead !) from cleat clear of the boats bow and then attach to these a single part rope to the pontoon .
Thus the load/ stretch is now only in the single part rope . And there is more bearing surface on the fairlead.
Sometimes you have to play a bit with more than one option..
eg you might try tieing a bridging rope between the p and st ropes thus encouraging them to a clearer ( fairer!) lead as they exit the fairleads ..

I used to have a pontoon berth athwart the prevailing wind . In a bit of a blow , with gusts hitting the mast and a bit of water surge , measures were definitely required…
In the end as F Hackett says, better fairlead design would help ..

 

[Karlsenkystfiske]

Wow. That was a lot of interesting things you guys. No wonder I love this forum

There is a guaranteed solution but it entails work. Change or reengineer tour fairleads for ones with delrin rollers in the horns of the fairlead.

Wow! That is definitely being written for the day I get to build a new boat! That would have been beautyful! But I guess there must be someone making units one can weld in?

We find that mooring lines make more noise when they are wrapped around a cleat. If you have bowline on the cleat they do not make any noise. They also reduce the noise at the fairlead as well as there is less movement over it. It took me a long time to realise that!

Read that thrice and not sure what you mean. Mine are not wrapped. I use the loop at the end of the rope and kind of pull the rest of the rope through the loop of that makes sense?

Ropes may also start to squeak internally, the fibers wear and increase in friction, and the spinning lubricants wash away. The lubes can be rejuvinated (Nicwax), but the longest lasting solution is new ropes.

And by nicwax you mean those bottles they sell to make your clothes water resistant? I have never thought of the lines being lubricated when they were put together!

Funnily enough had this exact problem last night. I left the offending line in place but took the strain off it with another line from same pontoon cleat to a self tailing winch. Silence!

Could you post a picture of your setup please?

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

We find that mooring lines make more noise when they are wrapped around a cleat. If you have bowline on the cleat they do not make any noise. They also reduce the noise at the fairlead as well as there is less movement over it. It took me a long time to realise that!

Normally one end is wrapped around a cleat and the other is either a spliced loop or a bowline loop . The "seamanlike" way of tying up is to put the loops onto the shoreside cleats , (through the hole then over the top!), and belay the other ends onto the cleats on the boat, so that you can adjust all four lines without going ashore. To do otherwise would be to risk the opprobrium and contempt of all the pedants on these fora

 

[Roberto]

Maybe overkill for mooring lines, anyway this is my system for the anchor snubber.

The rope is run inside a first stiff hose (red in the picture) and tied to it; as the rope moves the hose moves. This is all fed inside a second bigger hose (brownish in the photo) which is fixed against the davit, chock or whatever. Firemen hoses.
As the rope stretches it will not rub against anything, it's just the two hoses one against the other: no chafe at all; I never heard any noise even when it rythmycally stretched by a significant amount, in those cases everything is often very wet, otherwise squirt a little of lubricant between the two hoses.

 

[geem]

Normally one end is wrapped around a cleat and the other is either a spliced loop or a bowline loop . The "seamanlike" way of tying up is to put the loops onto the shoreside cleats , (through the hole then over the top!), and belay the other ends onto the cleats on the boat, so that you can adjust all four lines without going ashore. To do otherwise would be to risk the opprobrium and contempt of all the pedants on these fora

We use a snubber at anchor. A splice over the cleat not through and round is totally quiet. Any other way of attachment makes a squeak.
Not being worried about what people think, I adjust any squeaky lines with what ever works. Bowline on the boat end is sometimes the only option or better still a splice

 

[srm]

We had that problem with a set of "yacht" mooring lines that came with the boat, they were always noisy. Changed to different (commercial use) ropes and no problems.

 

[johnalison]

We had that problem with a set of "yacht" mooring lines that came with the boat, they were always noisy. Changed to different (commercial use) ropes and no problems.

The type of line is certainly critical, and lines which were once OK can deteriorate with age while remaining functionally strong. My boat does not have fairleads, which is an advantage, but squeaky lines still happen and are usually dealt with by using snubbers. I have tried washing up liquid but it is only a temporary solution. My impression is that nylon lines, being self-lubricating are better than polyester and I use them for roving dock-lines while using polyester for my home berth.

Good mooring technique also matters, and proper use of long crossed springs, where practicable, will help to reduce boat movement a lot.

 

[Daydream believer]

I would guess that the squeak is caused by rope movement against a part of the boat & the strands of the rope moving within the lay of the rope. Much of this is due to stretch in the rope, in the way it is tied to the cleat & the way it is angled through fairleads.
Surely, the answer would be to reduce turns round the cleat ( a loop perhaps) reduce angles in its run to the shore cleat- ( does one have to go through a fairlead. Just look at where most of the chaffe ocurs) reduce stretch ( say a length of dynema ). I never put my shore lines through the fairleads.

So why not run a short dynema loop , over the cleat, with a single turn over the cleat ears to stop it slipping, over the side of the boat through a hose to reduce chaffe, if you wish, but not necessarily via a fairlead. Then tie the main line to the loop just after it leaves the boat.
It will have sufficient breaking strain & can be checked daily. The shore line tied to the loop can be left with a long tail which can go loosely over the side to the cleat without any tension. Thus if the dynema did fail, the line would take the slack up & the boat would be safe .