Mooring inspection

[atelford]

My mooring was put in last season. It wasnt brand new but it couldnt have been in that bad nick either because it was put in by the clubs boatman. I plan to go down and inspect it and maybe replace a few bits before I hook up a Leisure17 to it. Baring in mind im a complete novice in this area can someone tell me what to look for. How to do it and what to replace ? I have a 12 ft tender which is sturdy but also was tempted to lift with a halyard. thoughts anyone ?

 

[EdWingfield]

Haul the bugger up at LW and check for worn parts. Wear can be caused by sand and mud particles, friction of metal on metal, or galvanic action. Replace worn parts. Check that the shackle seizings are intact. Renew if in doubt. Inspect the rope/chain riser. Clean off the weed while you are about it. Scrub clean the buoy and repaint your name/number.

 

[lw395]

Is it drying or deep water?
Wear and tear, corrosion, and practices vary from place to place, so it's useful to ask a few locals what they use and how long it lasts. Apart from shackles working loose, most gear is amply strong when new, so the point of failure is when its corroded away to less than say a quarter of its new size/strength, obviously can't be exact, but if you look it over every 6 months you can get a good idea which bits last 2 years and which bits 10 years.
Chain etc is cheap in boat terms, so if in any doubt, change it!
Some insurance co's, harbour authorities, now want professional inspection, so check this out.
I wouldn't lift with a halyard, my gear is too heavy, I use a block and tackle from the bow roller to get the whole of the riser up for a look, or to change/inspect the buoy or swivel.
Working from the dinghy I can lift the riser 4ft at a time with a 5:1 tackle., then tie it off with another line. Take care, choose a calm day, highly loaded ropes etc can be dangerous, wear gloves mind your fingers.

 

[SAWDOC]

consult your tide tables and go for the lowest low water that suits. Also see the comment on calm day above- itis amazing the difference it makes. I usually just hook my mooring tackle around my tender cleat and haul away. see how it goes if that is not sufficient you may have to do try something else. Is there a diver around who would take a look for you?

 

[William_H]

You do not say in bio where you are. You also don't say how deep it is and if it is subject to large tides.

Around here mooring chains and shackles wear horribly rapidly. They certainly need to be checked every 12 months. It is essential to buy the heaviest chain with largest shackles just to give longer wear time.

Perhaps my experiences are vastly different apparently to UK people. We have very little tide and moorings stay in place and are never lifted.
All inspection is done by diving. Either with SCUBA for deep moorings or snorkel for shallow moorings. MIne is mostly ok for nspection with snorkel and a big gulp of air.

You must pull the chain links apart because the wear is in the pressure area between the links and not easily seen. A link can look good on the outside but be mostly worn through where it contacts the next link. Swivel shackles are similar in that the wear can be hidden. This especially so with the ball in the socket types where they can look perfect but still disconnect through wear. Check the end play.
If there is any change of metal ie stainless steel to iron then expect phenomenal wear/ corrosion so avoid this combination.

Once a chain or shackle has worn and rusted it is very difficult to remove it. The only way is really big bolt cutters. I tend to leave the old chain or shackle in place and parallel the chain or shackle rather than remove the old. If the new is a little longer then the old will wear right through and disconnect. You can not however parallel or double up a swivel so best change it if in any doubt.

Fouling of a mooring and buoy is a big problem here. You can't inspect a mooring if you can't see the components so keep it clean.

You should be able to at least inspect the top part of the mooring with just a mask and snorkel. Wear gloves and pull yourself down the chain. If you are in UK get a wet suit. good luck olewill