Chain grab hooks

guydickinson

guydickinson

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I have a swinging mooring and sometimes in rough weather the chain really jolts as the bow rises. I wondered if anyone has experience with fitting a slightly stretchy line and fixing it to the chain forward of the bow roller and to the main cleat so that it takes the strain - but that if it failed the chain would again take the strain. Fixing to the chain might be with a chain hook? - or has anyone any other ideas? Do these chain hooks come off v often?!
 
use a longer chain and aheavier heavier chain.

We have avery rough mooring, practically the open sea, north sea at that.

works a treat, the chain never goes tight, it always makes a catenery.

We have avery heavy boat too.
 
have you tried a weight on the chain, about half way down, this will reduce snatching.

We use one on a sliding ring when conditions demand it, also use a chain hook made of stainless steel with a nice deep slot for the link.

Avagoodweekend......
 
I would suggest that it would be far better to pull the chain up as far as you can and attach a shackle through a link to connect chain to rope using thimble and splice on the rope.
The rope should be as long as possible to give the most spring.
The shackle should be the biggest you can fit through the link.

I would advocate rope only, for the last few metres of the riser but this should be duplicated to a different attachment at the bow.

If you want chain onto the boat then make the rope the primary load path with chain as back up.
Many people around here are going to rope all the way from the mooring weight to the boat. This is because moorings are privately owned, not lifted in winter and maintained by diving. Rope lasts much longer than chain.

My boat is a trailer sailer with an eye fitted halfway down the bow I use a big snap shackle to attach a rope from there to the mooring. This removes any chance of chafe of the rope and also minimises any chance of another boat which has come loose chafing the rope.
(boats which come loose around here often entangle in another boats mooring cos they are dragging a big buoy and some chain.)
Boats come loose fairly frequently because the moorings are privately owned, the boats and moorings often neglected and because there are several thousand on swing moorings on one river system.
good luck olewill
 
Assuming you trust the mooring, the simplest thing you can do to alleviate snubbing is to pull the chain up with something strong and pliable. The difference needs to be experienced to be believed. If replaced pretty regularly even poly prop is OK.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Would not use a chain hook of any sort on a mooring, they are prone to coming off.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with that, too.

But a length of nylon rope, rolling hitched to the chain, and led over the bow roller and back to a cleat worked perfectly. The chain was slacked off a a bit and belayed to the samson post.
 
I had the same problem and what I do is, I place the eye of the mooring chain around the sampson post. I then take 14mm rope from side bow cleat through an eye of the chain closer to the bow and across to the opposite side bow cleat. I take some slack on the mooring chain so that there is no strain on the sampson post but the chain is still around it.. I thread the rope through another eye and do exactly the same again so that in effect I have 2 lines of rope taking the strain. The angle and flexing of the rope stops any jarring. I have done this successfully for the past 14 years now.
 
I use just what you describe. My mooring cable has a loop in the end which goes over a cleat on the foredeck. On the opposite cleat, I have a short length of line with a cable hook at the end. I put this on the cable so that the overall effect is a 'Y' with the lower end at the roller and one of the arms being the line with cable hook. I have used this arrangement for many years and it works well.
 
All this complexity!

Just a rolling hitch, and as low down as you can attach it to the chain. To reduce snatching, the longer the rope the better. In extreme, nylon will give you 20% stretch, so a 5m free length give 1m bounce (and then is permanently deformed). All give or take an inch, of course.
 
Absolutey the opposte of complexity! Takes absolutely seconds to do and means that I do not have to use a 'complex' bend or hitch' lower down the chain. In fact I dont have to bend over the bow to attach anything to my chain.
 
There are at least two alternatives to a chain hook on the market that lock the link in place so that it won’t jump out.

The Kong Chain Gripper

10533607_3.jpg



The Wichard Chain Grip

Anchor_chain_grip_cover.jpg



I wouldn’t use these long term on a mooring below the water due to the interaction between stainless steel and a galvanised chain.

I'm on the the same club moorings as you and I place the chain loop round one cleat on the bows and tie the pick-up buoy rope round the other cleat so that it takes half the strain. The rope is attached to the chain (with a shackle) just inboard of the bow roller so the overall effect is to form a Y. Although the length of rope from the shackle to the cleat is rather short, it does provide some damping to the shock loads.
 
Actually that sounds like a really good idea - as I have just that arrangement of sampson posts/cleats. And the rope isn't taking the strain end on so to speak so you would think there is even more potential elasticity or give - bit like a guitar string - sort of?!
 
Used 2 chain hooks last winer on a swinging mooring in a bay. Winds rose to low hurrican level twice. One 1/2 inch spliced line broke in the middle.

The chain hooks were attached at 20 feet down the chain.

Each was replaced with 5/8 double braid dacron/polyester instead of 1/2 inch 3 strand nylon.

(Nylon can melt in the stretching cycles)

No problems with the chain hooks coming out...


BUT a big problem with the 60 pound anchor and 3/4 inch chain mooring being taken while the boat was elsewhere.
 
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