Mooring Strop , making fast to the boat.

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jakeroyd

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I will, this year , be moving shortly to a swinging mooring.
I have to provide the mooring strop.

I understand this perfectly but have been thinking about the best way to secure the strop to the boat.

Assuming the strop will be perfectly standard , it will have a thimble eye splice and a big bow shackle at the bouy end and a loop splice at the boat end. Plus of course reinfroced plastic tube to reduce chafe.

Similar to these Jimmy Green ones.
https://www.jimmygreen.co.uk/item/5...-nylon-mooring-strop-with-stainless-steel-eye

My problem is this:-
I have a Hunter Ranger 245 which has nice meaty cleats but they are well forward and not very far aft from the bow roller.
There is also no Samson post etc.

My concern is making fast in a way that aviods chafe and tries to make sure the strop lies fair in the cheeks of the bow roller.

With a 12" loop splice i can imagine the spliced part might lie right in the roller itself.

I have considered having a thimble eye splice at the boat end as well and putting a separate line across from cleat to cleat so the pull then can be fair on the thimble and the roller.

Any reccommendations greatfully considered.

Here's a picture of the bow when anchored which shows the issue very clearly.

TIA

20130617_115828_zps53ce6686.jpg
 
Have you considered ignoring the roller and having a double strop? ie one for each cleat. You may have to put anti chafe strips on the bows but the set up should work well. Several boats around mine have this arrangement.
 
Foeu , yes i have but have not decided if i will do it or not.
The suggested diamter is 20mm , maybe i could have 2 x 14mm ?
 
Just thinking for a moment , if you have two strops do you have two pickup bouys or do you tie them together when the boat is away?
 
jakeroyd said:
Just thinking for a moment , if you have two strops do you have two pickup bouys or do you tie them together when the boat is away?
Click to expand...

No just pick up one strop, secure the boat then retrieve the other one :)
Only necessary to have one pick up buoy, should be easy enough to get the other strop with a decent boat hook. Shepherd's Crook type boat hooks make it easy.
 
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jakeroyd said:
Foeu , yes i have but have not decided if i will do it or not.
The suggested diamter is 20mm , maybe i could have 2 x 14mm ?
Click to expand...

Suggest you have two mooring pendants(strops?) from mooring-one to each cleat,with chafing protection at each cleat eye splice.Also,suggest you use same size rope 20mm for each.This gives you redundancy/back up,in the event one parts off-reqd by some ins.cos.
The cleat splice ,in your case,as in mine,will be the "chafed" portion,which is good,because it is double thickness.
Also suggest you weave 2 short lengths of small (5mm) line into the eye area,for use in closing the throat of eye with a bow knot,when moored,preventing eye from jumping off cleats.
I use 3 strand Poly Prop rope,rather than nylon,cause it floats,negating need for a float,or worrying about the "other" pendant getting into my prop,while picking up.
I bring my bow line back alongside & slip knot it to a stanchion at cockpit.I then slide up to close to bouy,gaff a pendant,run my bow line thru the eye.& cleat the bowline at/near stern.The boat will drift back,the pendant will slide up to the bow cleat,& I can take my time getting up there,dropping the pendant eye over the cleat,& gaffing/securing other pendant.
It's amazing how adaptive old age & arthritis makes one. Cheers / Len
 
I think i understand you Len.
In your process you end up with your bow line through one of the strop end eyes and then taken to say the rear cleat. You then let the tide take the boat away from the bouy letting your eye end slide up the bow end of the boat.

For me i usually when picking up mooring bouys boat hook the bouy over the side of the cockpit rather than the bow , it's just easier.
But like you with two strops one must be wary of the one you are not picking up getting round the prop.
If I have two I am planning to keep them relatively short , say 2.5m max to reduce this risk.

I mwill go as large on diameter as the cleats can take. I will check this the next time i am down but it's about 20mm at a guess.

I have not discarded the idea of a chain strop with two rope tails to take to each cleat.
 
I would suggest just splicing a loop in the biggest 3 strand that will fit on the cleat and the splice will fit on the roller.
The fact that your cleats are close to the roller is good, that avoids the problem I had, where stretch in the part on deck made every little wave cause continuous fretting movement on the cheeks of the roller.
I used some massive heat shrink tubing to cover the part in the roller, but you could use a sewn-on canvas wrap.
It is worth radiusing, smoothing and polishing any edges of the roller sideplates IMHO.
Do you need a swivel?

I don't much believe in doubling things up, it is no substitute for having rope that is big enough.
IF one rope chafes, the second will follow shortly after, two ropes never share the load, so you get much more chafe than with one fat rope.

Whatever you do, you need to inspect it often and change things at the first sign of chafe.
I would not blindly copy anyone, as a different boat on a different mooring will move differently, you only know you've got it right when the strop looks new at the end of the second season.
 
jakeroyd said:
I think i understand you Len.
In your process you end up with your bow line through one of the strop end eyes and then taken to say the rear cleat. You then let the tide take the boat away from the bouy letting your eye end slide up the bow end of the boat.

For me i usually when picking up mooring bouys boat hook the bouy over the side of the cockpit rather than the bow , it's just easier.
But like you with two strops one must be wary of the one you are not picking up getting round the prop.
If I have two I am planning to keep them relatively short , say 2.5m max to reduce this risk.

I mwill go as large on diameter as the cleats can take. I will check this the next time i am down but it's about 20mm at a guess.

I have not discarded the idea of a chain strop with two rope tails to take to each cleat.
Click to expand...

Yes-you have it. My challenge,locally,is some tidal current plus 15-15kts breeze by late afternoon.
If I gaff from cockpit,I have to really rush the pendant to bow,as boat blows quickly side on & stern to.Good chance to fall overboard,especially single handing,& I'm not that quick anymore-LOL

I would caution that a chain bridle,from cleat to cleat,may end up banging/chafing your stem,during calm winds & slack tide.Strange things have happened,during these conditions,as boat is basically drifting about,looking for something to bump into or chafe against,such as hard shell bouy.

Not sure how much slack & shock absorption are in your mooring itself,especially at high tide.You may want longer pendants(I use 25FT),to allow "shock absorption",if it gets rough.If you use nylon,or other sinking rope,you may want to put a few fishing floats or pool noodles,etc on it,to avoid entanglement by you or others.

Things to consider-all mooring situations differ. Cheers/ Len
 
alahol2 said:
If you do go for the double strops it is worth joining the two together with an Inglefield clip on a short loop of 8mm 3 strand spliced through each loop. Saves them getting tangled, sinking, wrapping round prop etc. http://www.pinbax.com/index.asp?selection=detailed&uid=34353&cg=7&mc=81&cct=4&sc=351
Click to expand...

Funny the names for things. We call them "sister clips" (a bit obscene I know) or for the plastic version some call them flag clips.
Re attaching dinghy I always have a painter long enough that when I am moored the dinghy is behind the boat. Manky auld ali dinghy. so it doesn't bang the topsides.
This also gives a huge target for the man with the boat hook to pick up the painter and so the mooring strop. Always under sail not motor. good luck olewill
 
William_H said:
Funny the names for things. We call them "sister clips" (a bit obscene I know) or for the plastic version some call them flag clips.
Click to expand...

Yep, and the EnZedders cal them 'sister-hooks'. But Inglefield clip is really the correct term. Strictly, these are sister-hooks --

sisterhooks.jpg

Anyone who's read McMullen's "Down Channel" can't help but remember his graphic description of how, having used sister-hooks to attach his jib-sheets and the flogging sail released them, he was nearly dragged overboard by one that caught in his eye....

Mike
 
William_H said:
Funny the names for things. We call them "sister clips" (a bit obscene I know) or for the plastic version some call them flag clips.
Re attaching dinghy I always have a painter long enough that when I am moored the dinghy is behind the boat. Manky auld ali dinghy. so it doesn't bang the topsides.
This also gives a huge target for the man with the boat hook to pick up the painter and so the mooring strop. Always under sail not motor. good luck olewill
Click to expand...

I figure within a 100 yrs or less,English speakers from different parts of the world won't be able to converse-especially on tech topics-so much "local"terminology creeping in. Ha Ha.
Those clips ,or similar,are used by local fishermen & called c-links,brummel clips & sister clips,but Inglefield is new to me-so I googled.Invented by a British sailor called Inglefield! Oh well-we got the message regardless.
http://www.thechandleryonline.com/index.php?cPath=17_526_761

One further comment,brought to mind by alohol2. Another reason I use floating poly pendants,is that sinking ones invariably get wound around the mooring chain,well below the bouy,when I'm off the mooring sailing.
I'm in the mouth of Bay of Fundy,with tidal currents up to 2kt+,in mooring field-changing direction every 6 hrs & with eddy effects.
Again,different tactics for different places. Cheers/ Len
 
I posted this once but it seems to have disappeared...

I am a fan of chain rather than rope strops, having seen various incidents such as a chum's boat written off after her rope strop chafed through; it was during a prolonged series of gales and he wasn't able to get out to check her.

Chain avoids any chafe issues to the mooring setup, I use a swivel on top of the buoy to avoid any winding up; the swivel is usually the weakest link so use the largest that can reasonably be fitted.

Another plus for chain I don't think mentioned so far is one can padlock the boat to her mooring, it is not unknown for yob type thieves to set boats adrift out of spite, I have heard of this at various places but obviously could happen anywhere if one is unlucky.

Despite all this - just seamanlike precautions - I'm sure you will enjoy your mooring, it gives a feeling of independence one doesn't get when renting someone else's bit of marina.

Other bonuses are wildlife around, often right at the boat, and approach is usually straightforward no matter what the wind direction and strength.

Do have a decent size tender though, too often I see people with a £100,000 boat skimp and risk their and falilies lives with a cockleshell dinghy.

I have had and worked on my - and others - mooring for 37 years and love it.
 
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FWIW, my technique for picking up my mooring if it's too windy to get to the bow before it blows off is to have a line with a snap shackle led from the cockpit outside everything to the bow, through a block and back to the cockpit where it's cleated off. I grab the pickup buoy and attach the snap shackle to the pickup line then let everything go. The boat sits comfortably to the wind/tide while I sort myself out and get forward. I then pull in the line to get the strop on board and it's job done. It's worked in conditions where I've only been able to heave in in the lulls and it's taken me 20 minutes to get the strop on (I had a real strop on by then :) ) I even tried the mast winch, but gave up because I didn't like the way the mast was bending.

The line doubles as a ready-use preventer, which is its primary function.
 
I
'Ve always kept my boat on a swinging mooring during the sailing season. One point that I'd make is to ensure that your buoy to cleat strop is generously long. One year we were given a shortish strop which was OK when the water was smooth but very nearly impossible to hold onto when the bows were bucking up and down.
Personally I've never seen evidence of chafe caused by the bow roller assembly. I've considered using two strops brought on board via the existing fair leads but the cleats are too close to the fair leads so the splices coincide with them and won't fit into them. My idea was to free up the bow roller for use for the anchor rather than using the anchor well.
 
There should also be some consideration given to the material and construction of the strop. What to use depends, I think, on the design of the mooring.

There are two main types: (1) strop attached below the buoy directly to the swivel, and (2) strop attached to the chain emerging from the top of the buoy.

In case 1 I agree with SeaJet that a chain is best. It leaves some brown streaks but is more secure.
In case 2, I think you want a floating rope so it doesn't tangle with the underwater part of the riser. Seasteel polyprop is excellent and becoming the strop of choice in NW Scotland.

Once one has decided on rope rather than chain, then spare a thought to plaited vs cable laid. Cable laid ropes are easier to splice, but there is a potential issue should the swivel seize up: twist a cable laid rope one way and a splice will just undo! So I prefer 8-plait.
 
In our mooring area you would not be too popular with dinghy sailors if you have long mooring lines.
Also if you get wind against tide the buoy can rub further aft from the bow marking a greater area of hull if not pulled up tight
We recommend that boats have 2 lines, one which is shorter so that from the shore one can see one line hanging in a droop. If one cannot see it one knows one has snapped & you need to get out to it a bit sharpish
Chain is OK but as the reserve to a rope. It does less damage to the bow roller if not under load
I make loads of mooring lines for owners . I do 2 types - chain with a spliced rode loop or 25 mm multiplait with a loop for the deck cleat

I rarely make them longer than 1.5 metres

one point not mentioned so far is that you need to fix the lines independently to the buoy. the number of shackles that come undone each year is about 10% in spite of alleged mousing. If both line fix to one shackle & it lets go then you have wasted your time with 2 lines. A couple of owners have the second line fastened to the bottom of the buoy then to the top in case the centre of the buoy fails - A few do if not maintained but if it is chain it tends to catch the hull
 
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