Mooring bridle made of chain!

Zagato said:
Yes it is very unusual for an IF Boat to have such a set up. They don,t even have a chain locker let alone a windlass. Quite a few IF Boat owners have expressed a desire to have the same set up due to the fact, as they have recently explained in their country they tend to moor onto a pontoon in front with a buoy behind so no problem. The pushpit on IF Boats is even designed so you can step through from the bow onto the pontoon. The recent owner was elderly and used a marina both so it worked for him fine, although I still believe the offset actual anchor bow roller to be weak as there's is so much leverage, so I need to check it all out. It maybe ok for anchoring in normal wave action but not the serious tugging/slamming forces you get from passing mobos in Itchenor Reach!! Fortunately I am not launching her until next year and she is 4 hours away from me at the moment so cannot look at anything properly... or at all! I have to say I like simplicity and am not keen on the electric windlass but the fact that he has made a chain locker is a great advantage, I am sure it will work out once I get it sorted. I am very glad he put so much effort into her, 5 year old Beta engine, sails, windlass, teak interior etc etc. Shame I cannot get pictures up, too big on IPad, need an app to reduce the size and photobucket continues to be a PITA. Haven't the time to sort a new picture host before folks offer alternatives. If you go on the Facebook Marieholm Owners IF and 26 site you will see pics of her and the bow roller issue. Herè... https://www.facebook.com/groups/225226329960/
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Your pulpit is what is nicknamed over here - Swedish Pulpit ... for exactly the reason you give ... sto step though onto pontoon or beach etc. (get into Swedish islands and that's the game !).

Your setup is one I have seen many times in Baltic .....
 
Zagato said:
Thanks for Kellie, how do you attach to the mooring buoy swivel?
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I don't have a swivel anywhere, I have a galvanised thimble on the end of the multiplait, and this is shackled to the end of the riser. Obviously use the largest shackle that will fit, and make sure it's certified/tested.
I did used to have a swivel, half way down the riser, but as of this year I'm going without. So far, so good, but it will depend on local conditions and how often you visit your boat.
 
Photobucket !!!!!

I have had a running argument with them since their claimed power out before christmas ... I still cannot access my folders - even though I am a premium subscription member ..............

I now use 'imgur' ..... while still trying to rescue the thousand or so photos on PB ...
 
Yes, Photobucket hopeless... these people hold you to ransom with photos for work and family. Need to dedicate a couple of days to just to transfer them! Go back to the good old days of 35mm and an album! I hate tech and how we have no control over it and how it damages communities, younger generations etc, etc. KISS once again...
 
My biggest problem is that I have had accout with PB for many years - I have all photos - but they are spread over many computers I have had over the years ... so its difficult to collect all up ....

I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place ... don't want to cancel PB - and lose all ... but don't want to pay for a non-working service.
 
The way I avoid snatch (and thus reduce noise, chafe and wear) in this situation is to allow no slack in the mooring bridle at all. In other words take the weight of the mooring buoy onto the boat, under the bow. We pick up the buoy so it is a foot or so above the surface, hanging it under the bow fitting.
In effect, the boat is now attached directly to the bottom of the mooring, and so as the waves pass, the bow rises and falls with the catenary of the mooring rope/chain taking a steady strain - and this gets rid of the snatching.
But I recognise this might be hard to achieve, depending of the bow overhang, and size of the bouy you are attaching to.....
 
Asbo said:
The way I avoid snatch (and thus reduce noise, chafe and wear) in this situation is to allow no slack in the mooring bridle at all. In other words take the weight of the mooring buoy onto the boat, under the bow. We pick up the buoy so it is a foot or so above the surface, hanging it under the bow fitting.
In effect, the boat is now attached directly to the bottom of the mooring, and so as the waves pass, the bow rises and falls with the catenary of the mooring rope/chain taking a steady strain - and this gets rid of the snatching.
But I recognise this might be hard to achieve, depending of the bow overhang, and size of the bouy you are attaching to.....
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We do similar, moor to a vary short strop to the top of the buoy, taking some of the buoy and riser weight.
It gives us a quiet mooring, but if the boat is small and the mooring is heavy, the boat will be noticeably nose down, maybe to the point where the cockpit doesn't drain. We did have to antifoul a little further up the bow.
 
I do have a chain backup on my stern line (which can suffer from excessive loads from passing vessels and storms.) It is spliced into a length of nylon to act as a shock absorber and it runs against a stainless steel fairlead.

It leaves a black residue in the region of the fairlead but it will stop the boat falling over if the stern line were to fail.
 
Zagato said:
I have an IF Boat (26' long 2400KG) with a bow roller to the side specifically for the Bruce anchor. I cannot weld another bow roller on as the mooring chain would foul the anchor. The anchor bow roller is too weak to use for mooring If I take the anchor off (it will need a snubber to use for actual anchoring, as it is quite a long structure. I cannot upload pictures unfortunately but the leverage has already pulled and cracked one side of the deck whilst anchoring by the previous owner. Not a great bespoke design.

One option is to use a bridle for mooring but I would be concerned about just using rope even with some sort of hose protection. Has anybody used chain with protection and can you make a protecting cover for the bow/hull from the bridle. Itchenor Reach in Chichester Harbour can get serious loads tugging and banging down on bow rollers from passing motor boats and RIBs to the point I have seen them bent and even ripped out. My own quite heavy duty bow roller on one of my last boats was bent out of shape with welds pulled out from the passing wash of powered Marina dwellers!! The roller was almost flush with the bow so no leverage involved either. The key to all this Is perhaps not the rope or chain but whatever is protecting it from chaffing. Experienced advice greatly appreciated. Thanks. Oh and no amount of springs and rubber gizmos dampens the force on the moorings... I am probably going to try Bosham mooring next year as they don,t have the motorised traffic that Itchenor Reach has.... why they don,t slow down or look at the trail of destruction behind them even with the 40footers donkeying up and down, yanking on their chains...
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Understand you reaching for chain but you will suffer damage from chain in whatever configuration you choose. I have 38 footer 10 tonnes and use a 16mm chunk of 3 ply nylon formed with loops at the ends to lay on forward cleats. Chain hook in the middle secured with lashing to engage with anchor chain when deployed., Advantages of course - soaks up some of movement and is much quieter below, with no deck damage. Strongly recommended

PWG
 
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