Attachment to mooring buoys

[roger]

I'm pretty aghast at the way folk attach their very expensive toys to mooring buoys with a loop of string through the buoy eye. Theres usually not even a round turn. I was made very aware of the wear one night on a cheap warp due to therust on the eye. We've recently had a tragedy in Alderny not unrelated to this and there are better ways of mooring. Dart Harbour insists on a chain attachment on all swinging moorings. We have taken this on board and use a loop of chain at each mooring. Chain moorings are uncomfortable due to snatch in rough conditions butits possible to take the force out of the movement using a rubber snubber arrangement and keeping the chain slack. At least if the snubber goes you still are safe

 

[Mirelle]

Good subject

I don't use chain; I use nylon. with a breaking strain equal to the displacement of the boat, spliced round a heavy thimble and shackled to the riser below the buoy. Plastic heavy duty hose for chafe protection, large soft eye on inboard end, both splices with 5 full tucks and ends seized together with rackings at the end of the tucks.

I did think of using chain, but it is much harder to deal with the pickup buoy if you use chain.

I remember reading somewhere that the type of buoy with the ring on the top is unsafe as the metal often rusts inside the buoy. Thats why I attach it under the buoy (to a swivek of course).

 

[longjohnsilver]

What was the tragedy you refer to in Alderney?

Agree that chain is probably best, wouldn't consider anything else on my own swinging mooring, but as a visitor elsewhere would use rope looped back on itself, doing this should prvent chaffe.

 

[Chris_Robb]

In respect of Visitor moorings - I agree - so many boats have a single line without even a round turn to help resist chafe.

I normally connect 2 lines (13 tons) however in places like Alderney if you do have to ride a north easter - no rope will stand up to the chafe and the only alternaive is either chain or a proper heavy nylon warp with an eyesplice - shackled to the bouy with protection at deck level for chafe.

I lent someone my standby mooring warp and they haven't given it back yet, so I had better make a new one before the summer cruise.

 

[Mirelle]

Oh, Visitor\'s buoys!

They are a bit scarce these days!

We have a couple of fathoms of heavy chain, spliced to the middle of two short lengths of rope. Pass rope through eye on buoy, and bring back aboard, pass through till length of chain is in eye of buoy. Belay both ends of rope.

Will not chafe, but can be slipped pronto.

Worth checking breaking strains of chain.....it is not as strong as one might think. The good news is that it is much easier to
splice rope to big chain. As a working rule, if the diameter of the chain and the rope is the same, it's easy.The reason for the splice is that a shackle might hang up on the buoy ring. Same bit of rope and chain is good for rings on harbour walls, etc.

 

[roger]

The tragedy in Alderney.
Its been in the magazines. Apparently a boat went into Braye and anchored. Because of the weather he was moved by the Harbour master (I think) to a buoy. It was too rough to go ashore. The two on board kept watch but the boat went adrift then onto rocks and one of the two died. The YM showed a picture of the dismasted boat awash and dismasted.
HM said they had examined the mooring. It was OK but the yachts attachment to the buouy had failed. My point essentially is that I've seen recently a lot of boats moored to mooring buoy eyes with just a loop of rope.

 

[Guest]

Ok so I'm still a novice.....but I have this way of tying up to a mooring buoy which has been approved by a much more experienced sailor. I have a hook which I pick up with from my cockpit....then I pull up and figure of 8 the rope round my bow cleat finishing with a locking turn. I then use the bite, taking a round turn through the mooring buoy (taking the tension off the hook) and again figure of 8 and lock off. It's very secure and very easy to let go. No strain on the hook so it's easy to release, but it's there for extra security.

By the way..........some while ago I asked for advice on anchoring single-handed especially under sail..........have now done this more than once (and sailed off too)and....you were right......it IS possible! The most valuable advice was 'there IS time......stay calm!' So thanks for that. Don't have time to look in very often at the moment.....too busy sailing! Hope everyone else is having as good a time as I am........

 

[Guest]

A warning about Eye\'s

On most buoys you have a rod with an eye at one end and a swivel at the other, held on by threaded nuts of some kind. The threads are cut after the rod has been galvanised though. Through my own experience ( phone call saying that the boat is on the sea wall and seeing others) NEVER NEVER have only mooring strops attached only to the eye. You MUST attach another beneath the threaded nuts. Even if you pick up someone else's mooring.

My latest rod lasted only 18 months before the threads rusted and the nuts were floating about and the whole mooring is at the mercy of a split pin.

I now have a rope going through the buoy and would never entertain having a rod at all. The other plus is that the metal rod eye does not bang on the bow in wind against tide situations.

 

[Mirelle]

Exactly, see my post below

I don't have an eye at all on my mooring buoy (River Deben, Kyson Fairways C/ttee no 14 - you are very welcome if I am away....) for just that reason. Buoy rope shackled to swivel on top of chain, under buoy, with pickup buoy. I sleep better.

 

[mtb]

Re:Steel cable

I scrounged the cable from a yard crane it's 19 mm and it handles quite easily
although I'm not on a swinging mooring I still have the cables looped re a cable clamp then with a small length of chain and padlock.
The weight of cable is split by having a 5 gallon drum two thirds from the fastened end .

I'm surprised that no one has said they use cable , as you can get stainless and the stength re size is very good .
Mick

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boats
I want a big steel ex trawler / tug v / cheap or swap for tug

 

[brian_neale]

On my old swinging mooring, club rules were that you had two strops from a ring under the buoy, one rope and one chain. In practice, you hung off the rope, but the chain was there as backup.

I used to replace the chain and rope every couple of years, and the riser chain was replaced every three (from memory). One of our biggest problems was seizing the shackles. The recommended approach was to make sure the shackle pin came well through the threaded eye, and then just wallop the end into a mushroom with a big hammer. Hacksaw job to get it off, but they never came undone by themselves...

I used to shackle the chain and rope strops into separate links of the riser chain (two sacrificial shackles!) so no reliance on a single shackle. The shackle at the bottom of the riser was so enormous that failure was unlikely.

The biggest problems were badly-seized shackles coming undone, and owners who felt that the best use for worn-out sheets was as mooring strops. For the sake of a few quid for a decent piece of rope...

 

[Guest]

Agree 100%

Almost exactly the same approach with me, although I have 2m of 3/8" chain and 4m of nylon - lets you secure the boat quickly and then arrange the chain so it is well away from your topsides. Slips easily and could be abandoned without concern as still a very cheap option.

Gives me total peace of mind - also very practical for lasooing bouys.

Humperdinck

Email: HJ@Seacracker.org
Website: www.seacracker.org

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the offer

Hope to come your way soon.....

By the way :-

A few year's back I wandered into E.Y.E. close to Levington Marina (Orwell/suffolk) that solely deals with chain and mooring gear etc. Mostly for large boats/ships but they are happy to deal with us yotties.. Their tel no: is 01473 659666 ( get them to fax you a price list).

Their prices, gear and advice are fantastic ! So good that I now renew my riser and shackels (BS STANDARD) every year as it so cheap to do so . They also do rope. This year I renewed my anchor chain for half the price of ads in mags - dipped to Din standard plus a certificate.

 

[Mirelle]

That\'s where mine comes from

(1" ground chain, 3/4" riser, 1" s/s swivels, anodes every 3ft...)

He started the business because he was looking to lay his own mooring and could not find a source!

 

[chippie]

Re: That\'s where mine comes from

Do your ss swivels last any longer than galv in practice?
My swivels are changed every three years to comply with our local inspection regime and the swivels havent worn out but are often frozen solid .

 

[Mirelle]

Re: That\'s where mine comes from

Dunno; first time I have tried them - will let you know in three years' time! But certainly they are recommended round here (in EYE country!)

 

[halcyon]

Re: That\'s where mine comes from

We use galv swivels on a 3 year replacement system, and have never had a problem with them


Brian