Mooring buoy and chain question

[sailorman]

Nylon (polyamide) is the stretchy one, but it does not float

Polypropylene floats but is weaker than Nylon or Terylene (polyester) it is also very susceptible to damage by UV light.

There is lots of useful info and selection guides for ropes on Jimmy Green Marine's website.

https://www.jimmygreen.co.uk/

Nelson was always the favoured mooring strop material on our river

 

[VicS]

Nelson was always the favoured mooring strop material on our river

Which is polyprop.

It's useful that it floats but being weaker means using a larger size than if Nylon were used and one must be aware of further weakening and shorter life due to degradation by UV.

Jimmy Green's website points out a possible downside of using twisted rope on a swinging mooring and recommends a plaited rope. Nelson is twisted, it's also what I use for casual mooring warps.

 

[GrahamM376]

I don't like chain because of noise and damage in wind over tide. Used to use 2 x 24mm nylon which needed replacing every year but have been using 2 x 24mm polyprop for the last 8 years, 4 strand + centre core. Riser is 36mm polyprop octoplait with swivel between riser and ground chain. Current strops are now 3 years old, have lots of exposure to UV and by far outlast nylon which used to polish/burn with stretch over the rollers. One common problem with shackles is that people often select for strength but don't allow for this reducing with wear so use the biggest possible, mine are around 20mm, pins greased and well moused with plastic ties backed up with monyl wire.

 

[Spirit of Glenans]

Personally, I would opt for the rope strop option as described in most of the posts, but if you do decide on chain do not succumb to the temptation to cleat in figure-of-eight hitches as you will require a hacksaw to remove it. Chain should be secured to a cleat in round turns only. For added security you could use the pick-up buoy line cleated figure-of eight over it, or ad a shackle between the tail and the standing part.

 

[Fantasie 19]

The idea of a line from the end of the pickup chain to the pickup buoy is a good one.

Is there any other way?

I shackle my pickup buoy direct to the end of the pickup chain.. so that's one way?

Logically I suppose you want one as strong as the chain or stronger - but it's quite likely that won't actually fit through the links! So go for the biggest one that will fit. Pete

Wise words...

 

[Birdseye]

Having seen the rate at which a rope can fret through ( 19mm in 24 hours of rough weather) I always use a chain. Helps anyway when mussel growth jams the swivel as often happens - a 3 ply rope can then un-ply if you see what I mean.

So at the top of the riser is a support buoy. Chain penant is fastened to the swivel along with the buou. At the end of the penant is a rope eye, a pickup rope and a pick up buoy. I use a rope eye over the cleat because it doesnt leave nasty rust stains and by then its not at risk of wearing through.

 

[fireball]

Having seen the rate at which a rope can fret through ( 19mm in 24 hours of rough weather) I always use a chain. Helps anyway when mussel growth jams the swivel as often happens - a 3 ply rope can then un-ply if you see what I mean.

So at the top of the riser is a support buoy. Chain penant is fastened to the swivel along with the buou. At the end of the penant is a rope eye, a pickup rope and a pick up buoy. I use a rope eye over the cleat because it doesnt leave nasty rust stains and by then its not at risk of wearing through.

Depends where your riser terminates - ours (in chi harbour) came through the buoy and terminated above sea level - with a shackle and swivel that you then attached your top gear to.

If your rope is chaffing through in 24hrs then you haven't protected it - ours lasted 3-4 seasons .... and then we only replaced it because I couldn't re-splice it when replacing the protective sleeve