Mooring pickup chain/rope

robmcg

robmcg

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Our rented mooring is inspected and certified each year but we have to supply the mooring strop to attach to the boat. The current strop is all chain but was designed for use with our previous boat so is a little bit short for the current boat so can be difficult to get on and off the forward cleat. The chain is also now rusty so stains the deck and my other half finds it difficult to pick up as it is heavy. I would like to swap to a rope strop in an ideal world, one that is sheathed in hose to protect it from possible chafing but am struggling to work out what size we would need. Boat is about 10 tons and 35ft. Do we go 3 strand? Octoplait? What thickness? Supplier suggestions?

Thanks

Rob (who should be working,, but is bored!):eek:
 
robmcg said:
Our rented mooring is inspected and certified each year but we have to supply the mooring strop to attach to the boat. The current strop is all chain but was designed for use with our previous boat so is a little bit short for the current boat so can be difficult to get on and off the forward cleat. The chain is also now rusty so stains the deck and my other half finds it difficult to pick up as it is heavy. I would like to swap to a rope strop in an ideal world, one that is sheathed in hose to protect it from possible chafing but am struggling to work out what size we would need. Boat is about 10 tons and 35ft. Do we go 3 strand? Octoplait? What thickness? Supplier suggestions?

Thanks

Rob (who should be working,, but is bored!):eek:
Click to expand...

I had one made up recently for a slightly smaller boat, but with the option of putting our 30 ton boat on it. It was octoplait, about 22mm, 3m long and with chafe protection stitched in, about £30 from Exeter wire and rope on Marsh Barton industrial estate.

Worth a phone call, they have already made one in stock.
 
I've used three strand polyester.
I prefer heat shrink for anti chafe, it allows bigger rope in the same bow roller.
Size, the biggest that will fit the bow roller and cleat.
35mm?
It's not hard to splice when new.
Port Solent marine superstore or Aladins' cave as was.
 
My own preference is to use chain when I was on a swinging mooring. I had a pick-up buoy on a rope attached to the end of the chain strop of equal length to the strop. When unoccupied, the chain would naturally hang straight down pulling the pick-up buoy in close to the mooring buoy and leaving the chain below the aeation zone, so it didn't rust. Although the chain is heavier, having a decent length of rope on it allows a good hauling position once the pick-up buoy is aboard. I've always used three-strand nylon for moorings, particularly as it is easy to splice in a hard eye and it has good elasticity.

Rob.
 
For some years I used 3-strand about 24mm nylon for double strops, with plastic hose over, for a 35 ft boat in Falmouth. I used to splice/whip up a new pair each second year. About 3 years ago found one strop half-cut through on picking up the mooring: it could only have been a prop, as it was not like that when the mooring was last let go.

Now use a length of 9.5mm chain, and buy new each year to minimise rust marks on deck. Contemplated buying S/S chain till I saw the price, also S/S not ideal for underwater.
 
My only experience of using all chain is different.

I secured my Westerly Konsort to her Beaumaris mooring using chain around the substantial foredeck cleat.

The next morning she washed up on the beach.

Moorings Contractor told me never to secure with chain as it will work loose as the foredeck rises and falls. Only use rope.
 
I now use rope, and have found that floating rope has caused much less bother with tangling round the chain underwater, than the previous nylon octo-plait. There seems to be less choice in floating rope, so I am using HUGE polyprop, protected with firehose. Luckily my bow roller(s) are large and wide.
 
The polyprop flat fire hose [usually blue] is the best anti chafe material you can buy. Recommended by the USA coastguard. I have tried leather and steel reinforced rubber, both wear through. The fire hose is just wrapped around the rope and secured with cable ties and after a full season still looks brand new.
 
what
about using SS chain to go on deck and the rest galvanised?


jwilson said:
For some years I used 3-strand about 24mm nylon for double strops, with plastic hose over, for a 35 ft boat in Falmouth. I used to splice/whip up a new pair each second year. About 3 years ago found one strop half-cut through on picking up the mooring: it could only have been a prop, as it was not like that when the mooring was last let go.

Now use a length of 9.5mm chain, and buy new each year to minimise rust marks on deck. Contemplated buying S/S chain till I saw the price, also S/S not ideal for underwater.
Click to expand...
 
My preference is for all chain.... with a loop formed to drop over the cleat ( although my own boat has a proper bollard for chain rather than a mooring cleat)
It cannot work loose but even so i always put a lashing round the loop and another round the chain and bow roller.

If you sheath rope in plastic hose be aware that it will eventually harden, and break and can then cut tough the rope.
Lakey has some photos to back this up
 
Have used rope for 20 years on different moorings and not had it chafe through. Have 2 x 24mm 4 strand polyprop + centre core, without sleeves, fed over the rollers. 3 years old and still OK. Have found polyprop outlasts nylon as well as being stronger, would never use chain for several reasons.
 
GrahamM376 said:
Have used rope for 20 years on different moorings and not had it chafe through. Have 2 x 24mm 4 strand polyprop + centre core, without sleeves, fed over the rollers. 3 years old and still OK. Have found polyprop outlasts nylon as well as being stronger, would never use chain for several reasons.
Click to expand...

I think you will find that polypropylene is not as strong, by quite a margin, as nylon. It is also very susceptible to UV damage

Polyester is stronger than polyprop and nylon stronger than polyester

http://www.jimmygreen.co.uk/p/techn...echnical-articles-/rope-breaking-strain-guide
 
Last edited:
I would suggest rope as large as your cleats and roller can take. I would not sheath it unless there is a real sharp spot it runs over. Fairleads are far better. But the advantage of rope is that you can use 2 ropes for safety to different cleats if possible. Rope also will provide some spring effect and is far lighter to pull on board. I have never hada rope fail in this role in 30 years. good luck olewill
 
VicS said:
I think you will find that polypropylene is not as strong, by quite a margin, as nylon. It is also very susceptible to UV damage

Polyester is stronger than polyprop and nylon stronger than polyester

http://www.jimmygreen.co.uk/p/techn...echnical-articles-/rope-breaking-strain-guide
Click to expand...

24mm polysteel 11700 kgs, nylon 12,000kgs but nylon loses 10 - 20% strength when wet. I've also found that nylon is more likely to fail where it passes over rollers or through fairleads, due to friction when stretching wherease polyprop doesn't stretch and shows less wear.

UV doessn't seem to be a problem, polyprop here with lots of UV by far outlasts my nylon strops when in N Wales.

Polysteel mooring risers are also outlasting chain ones.
 
Looking after moorings I am often asked to supply new mooring lines
The best option ( in my view) is to have a floating polypropylene as the initial pick up left slightly long to make easier for initial hook up. being a floating line it does not tangle with the buoy & can be hooked with a boat hook
Then a chain with a rope eye splice in the end. Some owners ask me for the rope eye & some ask for a length of rope so they can fasten to a cleat
I usually whip a 2 ft length of 6mm cord to the set up so that when the loop is placed over the cleat the cord can be used to stop the loop jumping off the cleat in a swell.
The polypropylene line will hang slightly slack & act as a backup if something happens to the main mooring line. I always advise this to be fixed to the buoy with a separate shackle to the main one in case a shackle fails
 
robertj said:
what
about using SS chain to go on deck and the rest galvanised?
Click to expand...
The boat spends quite some time off it's mooring each year, and there is usually a month or so at each end of the season between mooring tackle put on/taken off and mooring used, hence all underwater for significant periods.
 
I found the key to eliminating chafe on my mooring was to move the bow cleat very close to the bow roller.
Previously, there was a big cleat aft of the anchor locker, meaning that 4ft of rope was on deck.
Even with polyester rope, that moves slightly on every wave in the harbour, causing wear on the cheeks of the roller.
A new, bit cleat in front of the anchor locker, now there is only 1ft of loaded rope on deck.
The movement is reduced to a quarter.
The heatshrink now lasts a season.
Regarding three strand unwinding, I had to have a swivel at the buoy end of the strop, as our moorings seem to rotate the same way every tide.
Some time spent smoothing the edges of the bow fitting was probably well spent too.
 
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