Jmc1764
Well-Known Member
Has anyone considered rope for their mooring buoy ? it wont rust like chain ? what's the advantages or disadvantages?
Mooring Buoy, rope or chain ?
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jwfrary
Well-Known Member
Do you mean for the riser or just for the strop?
In the yealm a lot of the risers are large diameter nylon and have been for a long time. Seems to work well.
In the yealm a lot of the risers are large diameter nylon and have been for a long time. Seems to work well.
Stemar
Well-Known Member
Chain wears and corrodes, but it does it at a fairly predicable rate in a given area. Rope can get itself in a twist and be chewed through overnight. The guy who does my mooring doesn't like rope for this reason.
Having said that, a year or so ago, my strop was seriously weakened by corrosion and chain was hard to come by, so I made up a pair of polysteel strops. They worked well, and helped the boat to sit more quietly. Now I've got a cat, the strops are too short - they need another couple of metres each to reduce the loading on both strops and cleats, but the cat sits far better to the bridle than monohulls around me do to a single line.
On balance, I'll be taking my chance with a chain riser and twin polysteel pennants, either of which is strong enough to pick up the boat.
Having said that, a year or so ago, my strop was seriously weakened by corrosion and chain was hard to come by, so I made up a pair of polysteel strops. They worked well, and helped the boat to sit more quietly. Now I've got a cat, the strops are too short - they need another couple of metres each to reduce the loading on both strops and cleats, but the cat sits far better to the bridle than monohulls around me do to a single line.
On balance, I'll be taking my chance with a chain riser and twin polysteel pennants, either of which is strong enough to pick up the boat.
dunedin
Well-Known Member
For the riser, I suspect it depends quite a bit on what the bottom surface is like, in terms of rocks and other obstructions. Plenty of moorings use polysteel rope in some locations.
Equally, a few years back we rode out a F10+ on some boatyard moorings, in a location that shall remain nameless. I had every dish towel on board wrapped round the strop as it came in through the bow roller, as the waves were causing chafing through the strop.
I had assumed the risers were strong chain, but when daylight came there was 5 or so sad boats stranded on the shore. Later walking past them they were all still securely attached to their buoys, but the circa 2 inch diameter risers had all been chafed through at the bottom - either on rocks or metal debris on the seabed.
Equally, a few years back we rode out a F10+ on some boatyard moorings, in a location that shall remain nameless. I had every dish towel on board wrapped round the strop as it came in through the bow roller, as the waves were causing chafing through the strop.
I had assumed the risers were strong chain, but when daylight came there was 5 or so sad boats stranded on the shore. Later walking past them they were all still securely attached to their buoys, but the circa 2 inch diameter risers had all been chafed through at the bottom - either on rocks or metal debris on the seabed.
oldmanofthehills
Well-Known Member
The advantage of chain risers is that they are self sinking so less to foul your prop if you drive over your mooring in error. Of course you could weight the riser about 2m below surface but I have not heard of it being done, there being betters ways.
Our old trot mooring was 14mm or 16mm rope bridles to sinkers 20m apart. I used fishermans weighted rope, They lasted from 1989 to 2019 before I felt the need to renew and quite frankly the old rope seemed still pretty good. On renewing with different rope add half a meter of chain as final part of riser to reduce the snagging risk.
Our new swinging mooring is massive 25mm chain as needs to be able to lift massive mooring block for inspection and accept loading at all states of tide and in all weathers
Our old trot mooring was 14mm or 16mm rope bridles to sinkers 20m apart. I used fishermans weighted rope, They lasted from 1989 to 2019 before I felt the need to renew and quite frankly the old rope seemed still pretty good. On renewing with different rope add half a meter of chain as final part of riser to reduce the snagging risk.
Our new swinging mooring is massive 25mm chain as needs to be able to lift massive mooring block for inspection and accept loading at all states of tide and in all weathers
Birdseye
Well-Known Member
In the rivert, all out moorings have been leaded rope. Each boat has 4 anchors in the mud in the form of an X with the boat at the centre. In my experience ( 30 years?) failures have almost always been with the shackles. I wouldnt hesitate to use rope on a mud bottom but not on rocks
We have certainly done that because the risk with out system wasnt the mooring rope so much as the connector at the centre of the X with its pick up buoy. So I replace this system with a centre connecting rope 6 ft below and fore and aft thwere the 2 mooring lines connected there was a riser to a bouy with a large eye bolt that could be connected to the boat. Some went even further and left boat lines in a horse feed bowl fitted to the top of the mooring buoy. The incentive for all this is a tidal flow through the moorings that maxes out at 5 kn. Picking up a pick up buoy in those flows isnt easy.
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oldmanofthehills
Well-Known Member
Tidal flows can be an issue. I once manage to catch a mooring at Lydney while being pushed by 5kt tide and unable to slow. Boat stood on end and launched dinghy into the black night never to be seen again.
However do you weight the X or just use weighted rope? I only used chain riser last time as plasteel rope turned out to be not heavy enough unlike my old leaded rope
Neeves
Well-Known Member
To offer some dampening in chop and gusty wind you need something to offer some form of snubbing. It is likely your rope will be too beefy to offer any elasticity but chain, or some chain, can offer a dampening effect.
You omit any detail of your location so it is impossible for anyone to be definitive. Seabed type, depth, exposure to wind and seas, size and type of vessel - all need to be factored in - there is no one size fits all.
You cannot ignore the fact that steel will abrade - if you use rope it needs to be attached to 'something' on the seabed that attachment will probably be steel and it will sit on the seabed. The rope might last forever, the thing on the seabed, concrete or anchors, might last for ever - the shackle and swivel will corrode and abrade and the rope needs to be strong enough to lift the 'something' on the seabed for inspection.
Jonathan
You omit any detail of your location so it is impossible for anyone to be definitive. Seabed type, depth, exposure to wind and seas, size and type of vessel - all need to be factored in - there is no one size fits all.
You cannot ignore the fact that steel will abrade - if you use rope it needs to be attached to 'something' on the seabed that attachment will probably be steel and it will sit on the seabed. The rope might last forever, the thing on the seabed, concrete or anchors, might last for ever - the shackle and swivel will corrode and abrade and the rope needs to be strong enough to lift the 'something' on the seabed for inspection.
Jonathan
pandos
Well-Known Member
My mooring riser is rope (33mm polyester?) It is just about the water depth at high tide. Below that is about 10 feet of really heavy anchor chain which lifts in a blow and thus acts as a damper..
The riser was a few feet too long when mooring first laid and it wore through in a few weeks letting my boat go wandering ....(I think it rubbed on the edge of the block)
In the following 16 years never a problem. At low tide springs I can drag the ground chain above the water and check the top few links and change the shackles and riser.
My swivel is just below the Buoy.. and I check this every few weeks when boat in use...
The riser was a few feet too long when mooring first laid and it wore through in a few weeks letting my boat go wandering ....(I think it rubbed on the edge of the block)
In the following 16 years never a problem. At low tide springs I can drag the ground chain above the water and check the top few links and change the shackles and riser.
My swivel is just below the Buoy.. and I check this every few weeks when boat in use...