Eye splices in mooring warps.

[Mister E]

For boats in a permanent berth in a marina does the panel think that it is a good idea to have permanent lines with spliced eyes at both ends. All the correct length for that boat on that berth.
Then have others to used elsewhere when needed?

 

[Poignard]

For boats in a permanent berth in a marina does the panel think that it is a good idea to have permanent lines with spliced eyes at both ends. All the correct length for that boat on that berth.
Then have others to used elsewhere when needed?

I don't have a permanent berth anymore but when I did I used to do that. The permanent lines were much thicker than those carried on board and had rubber snubbers.

 

[Stemar]

For boats in a permanent berth in a marina does the panel think that it is a good idea to have permanent lines with spliced eyes at both ends. All the correct length for that boat on that berth.
Then have others to used elsewhere when needed?

It would speed up the mooring process, but you'd still need a "get it ashore in a hurry line". Better, if practicable, would be a spring held up by a post at the end of the finger that the crew could grab from the bow as you come in and drop over a centre or bow cleat.

 

[Daydream believer]

For boats in a permanent berth in a marina does the panel think that it is a good idea to have permanent lines with spliced eyes at both ends. All the correct length for that boat on that berth.
Then have others to used elsewhere when needed?

Of course. My ones are fixed to the pontoon ( otherwise they get stolen) & as a SH sailor I can just step ashore & hook on.
They would never work on other berths as they are thick. In addition it saves the hassle of setting lines before I come into my berth- which I often do at night when I may well be tired. All I do is place fenders.

 

[dunedin]

For boats in a permanent berth in a marina does the panel think that it is a good idea to have permanent lines with spliced eyes at both ends. All the correct length for that boat on that berth.
Then have others to used elsewhere when needed?

Yes for some ropes (especially in our case a spring from stern cleat on pontoon which is held on a pole, and dropped onto the mid cleat of the boat when return).
But I would never leave a boat with key ropes just looped over a cleat, so before leaving thread loops though and then round horns. This needs a degree of slack in the system, so some ropes dont end with loops but are then tensioned and cleated in the normal way. Use red tape to mark correct position.
With entirely loops some would be too slack to hold off the neighbouring boat in a proper gale / storm.

 

[lustyd]

But I would never leave a boat with key ropes just looped over a cleat, so before leaving thread loops though and then round horns.

While I agree and do the same, I can't imagine a scenario where the rope would jump up and over the horns resulting in failure ?

 

[dunedin]

While I agree and do the same, I can't imagine a scenario where the rope would jump up and over the horns resulting in failure ?

Have you seen a boat shunting back and forward on a pontoon in a F10, even in a well sheltered marina? (Or indeed St Peter Port, Guernsey in a NE F7 - where our neighbour’s new Hanse folding cleat broke off)

If you leave a boat afloat all year round for a few decades, you WILL get a few F10 or worse

 

[thinwater]

... Tricky stuff, nylon!

There have been cases of common wire cable-type thimbles (the most common sort) rotating out of nylon JSD bridles at high load (the eyes stretch) and beginning to cut the line. I believe the conventional wisdom is become that only closed thimbles or chafe gear are apropriate for nylon at high load factors. Of course, in most applications high load factors are a really bad idea due to rapid nylon fatigue. But some thing to remember.

 

[emandvee44]

Eyes in mooring ropes stems from the need to be able to release a mooring line when there are several others on the same bollard, ie big ship stuff. I have never seen any commercial vessel without spliced eyes in the mooring ropes.

The shore mooring men pass the eye of the new arrival’s rope up through the eyes of any other ropes on the bollard, and drop it over the bollard. Any of the ropes on the bollard can then be released when required.

Not really required on yachts. On our boat we do not have eyes in any mooring warps, and prepare them as required by the circumstances of the berth.
We have long ropes (25m) for alongside tidal berths, and shorter ones for marina pontoons. Most of the berths in the Western Med. are lazy lines, either to a concrete quay or a floating pontoon, In this case we make an eye (bowline) in the two sternlines, loop them over the stern cleats and pass the end ashore.
However, passing an eye ashore allows you to adjust your distance from the pontoon/quay without going ashore.
Sometimes we use slip ropes, if it is to be a short stay; we can then leave without marinero intervention.

Without straying too far from the original question, sometimes the jetty/quay is too high (even in the Med.) to step ashore, in which case we wait for marineros to moor us and then deploy the pasarelle.

At our permanent berth, it is a floating pontoon with lazy lines , and we have the chain loop(in hose) around the pontoon cleats, stainless spring, then 16mm nylon warp spliced to a stainless thimble and the end made up on the stern cleats.

M.

 

[johnalison]

Without wishing to expose my preferred alongside mooring method to criticism...

can I just comment that when rigging or using a rope for slipping, there's a lot less friction and potential fouling up involved if the shorter end of the rope is let go and pulled through from the longer end. You wouldn't want or need a soft eye in that rope.

Our usual method when visiting is for the looped end to be on our cleat and the line taken ashore and back to be cleated. Before slipping, we shorten the slipping end but reeling it in, pulling on the line with the loop, which stays attached. this leaves a short plain line ready to slip. I suspect that this is what most people do.

As for having loops on your home berth, we have a mixture. The trouble with a loop is that you only have one go at getting it on, whereas with a line you can take a turn round the cleat and adjust as necessary. Our stern line and spring running from the end of the finger are looped. This means that we can put the loop over the centre cleat quickly and motor forwards to tension it and bring the boat into the finger if the wind is behaving badly. Our bow lines are unlooped, partly through laziness and partly to allow some adjustment.