Caribiner for securing to mooring chain overnight.

[davidpbo]

Is it acceptable to use an appropriately rated steel caribiner with screw gate to attach to a mooring chain for a night or two?

Are they less strong than a shackle?

 

[stevebrassett]

Personally I wouldn't have a problem using one for a night or two. If they would take the shock load of someone falling, then an appropriately sized one should handle a boat.

 

[TQA]

If it is subjected to a shock load you may find you need a spanner plus something to hold the carabiner to undo the screw gate due to deformation.

It is not what it was designed for. .

 

[nigelmercier]

If they would take the shock load of someone falling, then an appropriately sized one should handle a boat.

Because boats and people weigh about the same.

 

[winsbury]

Good quality steel ones are rated up to about 50kn , very unlikely you'd create that much snatch force without breaking something else first. Ali ones vary enormously in quality and design and strengths range from 22kn to 35kn. The biggest problem with ALL climbing carabiners is that they are rated on their long axis, if loaded cross-wise they are considerably weaker; often only 8kn, add to that the considerable amount of motion a boat induces on the equipment and its very likely to come undone. The less obvious problem is that climbing carabiner steel will corrode remarkably quickly in salt water - even ali crabs can suffer as they usually have steel parts. My personal decision ... and bear in mind I'm an ex climber and sell mountaineering equipment for a living now, is not to use climbing carabiners in any salt water immersed situation.

 

[stevebrassett]

Because boats and people weigh about the same.

When was the last time you dropped a boat from a mooring? My point was they are designed to take shock loadings - hence the comment about an appropriately sized one.

 

[macd]

Because boats and people weigh about the same.

I used to do a lot of climbing, and never once saw a yacht fall off a crag, accelerating at 1g or otherwise.

 

[GrahamM376]

Is it acceptable to use an appropriately rated steel caribiner with screw gate to attach to a mooring chain for a night or two? Are they less strong than a shackle?

Why would you want to use a caribiner or a shackle, which can't be undone under tension? Normal method is to pass a line through a link and tie it off as a slip which can, if necessary, be cast off in a hurry at deck level.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Why would you want to use a caribiner or a shackle, which can't be undone under tension? Normal method is to pass a line through a link and tie it off as a slip which can, if necessary, be cast off in a hurry at deck level.

Hopefully you in include a turn of line through the ring and not just passing the line through the ring and back again.

If the latter, it's only a matter of time until the ring saws through the line... It's just not a very seamanlike way of doing things. A round turn reduces the sawing action of the ring and the wear is more than halved.

 

[Robin]

to avoid chafe on mooring buoys with rings we always used a short length of chain with a length of about 14mm line shackled to it or tied to a shackle on the chain so as to form a line we could feed through and back on board the boat, leaving the chain through the ring and ideally with enough chain length to come up onto the bow roller on the boat. I decided on this method after seeing a Co 32 go walkies in Alderney when their line to the visitor buoy chafed thtrough. I had something similar happen on my own boat when I picked up a visitor mooring temporarily at my then club just for about 30 minutes whilst I went ashore to get a new gas cylinder, it was a bit choppy with wind against ide at the time and my piec of line had little chance. My chain/rope combo was used often and was easy to rig and to drop when departing, it survived strong wind over tide stays in places like L'Aberwrac'h,, Perros Guirec ( the outside 'waiting' buoys), Braye harbour, Alderney, Camaret and many other places when we chose to use a visitor buoy rather than anchor which we much preferred

PS added the other end of my line woul attach to the other end of the chain length so it could be pulled into position through the ring and when ready to leave you reverse the process to get to the chain, disconnect from the rope and leave the rope through the ring on it's own for th short time need until you are ready to slip it totally.

 

[davidpbo]

Why would you want to use a caribiner or a shackle, which can't be undone under tension? Normal method is to pass a line through a link and tie it off as a slip which can, if necessary, be cast off in a hurry at deck level.

Chafe.

I would regard the equipment as sacrificial in the event of a rapid departure being necessary.

 

[Alpha22]

I used to do a lot of climbing, and never once saw a yacht fall off a crag, accelerating at 1g or otherwise.

Forum logic would therefore dictate you are far safer in a yacht on a crag than climbing!!! LOL

 

[webcraft]

Why would you want to use a caribiner or a shackle, which can't be undone under tension? Normal method is to pass a line through a link and tie it off as a slip which can, if necessary, be cast off in a hurry at deck level.

erm . . . only if there's a back-up. Best to take a couple of turns round the link or (better) use a big shackle securely fastened. A slip rope can then be used as a back-up. You can pull the boat into the mooring with the slip line to untie the primary warp, then slip the second line when you want to go.

I've seen a slip line on a mooring chafe through.

- W

 

[GrahamM376]

Hopefully you in include a turn of line through the ring and not just passing the line through the ring and back again. .

I assumed this was known. If staying for more than a night or, if conditions dictated, I would also have a backup line. Lines can be cut in a hurry whereas trying to undo shackles takes time unless calm.

 

[RMC]

I remember a recent warning given by the Fowey Harbour Master about the use of Caribiner clips for mooring - http://www.pbo.co.uk/news/534909/warning-against-carabiner-clips-for-mooring

 

[Goldie]

I've seen a slip line on a mooring chafe through. - W

So have I! I made up a strop from 20mm 3-strand with an eye in one end and with the other end spliced to 1m of 10mm chain and then another strop the same spliced to the other end of the chain. The chain removes the chafe from the rope, it's quick and easy to rig and even quicker to slip. If you rerally want belt and braces then you could always back it up with a rope tied onto the buoy and untied prior to getting ready to slip.

 

[TQA]

The OP was talking about using a screw gate karabiner not a spring loaded one.

The spring loaded ones are notorious for self releasing when slack then loaded.

 

[davidpbo]

The OP was talking about using a screw gate karabiner not a spring loaded one.

The spring loaded ones are notorious for self releasing when slack then loaded.

Correct.
The carbiner I use has a spring loaded clip to close the opening with a screw down collar to lock the clip closed.

I still would not use it without back up overnight or if leaving the boat.

 

[Mudisox]

Why bother to carry another piece of crud [heavy and corroding kit]? If you are on a temporary mooring I presume that you will be staying onboard for at least some of the time. A decent sized rope passed through and an extra turn will do for nearly all occasions. If you were "borrowing" my mooring, I would rather you didn't put a chain through my ring, it will cause more wear on the ring. [of the buoy for those with smutty thoughts]

 

[Robin]

Why bother to carry another piece of crud [heavy and corroding kit]? If you are on a temporary mooring I presume that you will be staying onboard for at least some of the time. A decent sized rope passed through and an extra turn will do for nearly all occasions. If you were "borrowing" my mooring, I would rather you didn't put a chain through my ring, it will cause more wear on the ring. [of the buoy for those with smutty thoughts]

I do not borrow private moorings because IMO that is antisocial, and the chain I kept for the purpose was not cruddy and corroding it was a length of new 10mm galvanised stuff purpose purchased. For the record, as reported I previously had a good sized rope chafe through in very short time whilst I had rowed ashore to change a gas cylinder at the chandlers at Salterns marina , Poole, that was actually right by the mooring, (a visitor buoy provided by LSC, my then YC) that I had picked up, my own YC mooring was the other side of Poole harbour in deeper water . The Co 32 I mentioned that we saw that went walkabout in Braye, Alderney did so before it's crew had even got up to the town shops, but hey the local Alderney economy was no doubt helped by a substantial injection of cash they paid ( Iwas told 200 pounds) the fishing boat crew that returned the boat safely to another mooring. Nothing wrong with proper rope strops, with spliced in hard eyes and shackled to the buoy ring but a simple rope weaved through will chafe through and even if you get away with it short term, the rope will have a worn spot to weaken it for it's next outing. Some aaccidents are avoidable with care and forethought and this is my preferred method which gives me less to worry about and allows me to sleep soundly or to perhapsgo ashore whilst leaving the boat unattended Just my opinion, not intended as a must do for all, only an idea I thought worth passing on.