Mooring Strop Protection

[Lakesailor]

Every year when it gets stormy I suggest people check their moorings and warn against using plastic pipe to "protect" strops.
UV causes the pipe to go brittle and it breaks, chafing through the mooring line.

Every year people say "No it doesn't, I've never had such a failure"

Today I went out to the moorings to check on a couple of boats before this weeks forecast gales.

Out of 11 boats 2 had the very problem I warn about. One had luckily had the pipe displace so that it wasn't rubbing against the line although it is slightly touching it behind the roller. The boat other had neatly sliced the line off.

 

[Leighb]

Misty's fairleads look particularly vicious!

I think the only thing likely to survive a storm in there would be chain?

They seem to be suitable only for alongside pontoon moorings, on a swinging mooring the rope angle though the fairlead is very awkward, over a bow roller is better, but I agree that plastic goes brittle over time.

Having said that my One Design was moored for many years with twin ropes protected by platsic tube, but they passed through very friendly shaped bronze fairleads.

Using chain is very unfriendly to wooden boats when it is wind against tide and the bow rides up to the buoy and the chain graunches the topsides.

 

[jwilson]

Every year when it gets stormy I suggest people check their moorings and warn against using plastic pipe to "protect" strops.
UV causes the pipe to go brittle and it breaks, chafing through the mooring line.

Every year people say "No it doesn't, I've never had such a failure"

Today I went out to the moorings to check on a couple of boats before this weeks forecast gales.

Out of 11 boats 2 had the very problem I warn about. One had luckily had the pipe displace so that it wasn't rubbing against the line although it is slightly touching it behind the roller. The boat other had neatly sliced the line off.

At least some of the photos look like pipe split lengthwise to go over existing strops, rather than threaded on before strops spliced. Split pipe comes off.

I use threaded on pipe but usually replace both mooring strops (2 x 20mm nylon) and pipes about every three years, and not had a problem, on a mooring that gets a fair bit of swell at times. Admittedly boat is off the mooring quite a lot, and hence strops are underwater then. Also mooring gear removed for 3 months of winter.

 

[Poignard]

What can you do when faced with such stupidity? I don't know what the answer is.

 

[fireball]

I'm one of those who say "I've never had this problem" .. and it's true ... but I would advocate keeping a close eye on mooring strops - protected or not ...

It doesn't seem that the line is a particularly close fit through the pipe - so perhaps this might be a contributory factor in the splitting.
Your second photo shows a significant wear through the tube - without closer inspection it does look like a wear rather than UV crack - and I say this because the tube is clear and not opaque as you'd expect from UV damage... this may well have protected the warp inside and given it a longer life - enough time for the owner to check their lines before the next blow....

 

[davidej]

Very timely warning.

I dont use such tubing , but will it last a season? What if you change it each year? I am talking about the UK not high UV areas like the Med.

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Thats an odd one Lakey. I have been using the same bits of plastic pipe for at least 5 years and they werent new when I started. The pipe is now stiffer and opaque due to UV but has not split and shows no sign of doing so. More to the point the pipes you have photoed have not gone opaque and dont show signs of UV damage on the photos, so I wonder if its down to different qualities of pipe and poor bow roller design. Maybe my pipe is old British stuff and all the chandleries now sell is cheepo pipe from China.

But thanks for the warning anyway. I shall carefully re-inspect the pipe before launch.

Maybe I ought to add that I have seen unpiped strops fret through over 24 hours. And chain direct to the cleat is far too snatchy for my comfort. So last year I used chain ( covered by pipe) over the roller then shackled to a 3/4 inch nylon rope back as far as the sheet winches . As back up, the chain had maybe a foot of spare before it was round the cleat. The 3/4 inch stretched maybe a foot in the worst gusts - worked very well.

 

[fireball]

<snip>And chain direct to the cleat is far too snatchy for my comfort.

We have two strops on our swinger - 1 x 24mm 3plait line, the other 8mm galvanised chain.
The rope takes all the strain - and due to correct leading it hasn't got any chaff damage - not even to the tube that surrounds it.... however ... should it - or any part of it fail the chain strop will take the load. To my mind that is the way it should be as a minimum. More if you don't get to check your boat often!

 

[FishyInverness]

How about using PVC Layflat instead of the rigid tubing?

 

[NormanS]

How about using PVC Layflat instead of the rigid tubing?

If that's like firehose, then that's what I use.

 

[Poignard]

"Worm and parcel with the lay,
turn and serve the other way"

 

[FishyInverness]

If that's like firehose, then that's what I use.

That's the stuff. Seems to be used a lot in commercial mooring ropes as protective shroud.

 

[Lakesailor]

It may be the bigger Jen has used split pipe, but the smaller Ben didn't.
I think the point is to keep an eye on them.
I know the Ben owner doesn't come down that much.

I first noticed this on a Moody 33 which split it's pipe and cut it's strops in less than 6 months.

The point is. How do you tell if the pipe is good or not, until it has split?

 

[Mudisox]

I use water pipe, as from the watering hose variety, in lovely yellow and it seems to do the job well for more than 2 seasons at least.

 

[alahol2]

To me all of those strops look incredibly thin for use on a mooring. My bow strops, 2 off, are 25mm octoplait that give a lot of warning of chafe before they would ever let go.

 

[fishermantwo]

"Worm and parcel with the lay,
turn and serve the other way"

Yes this is the best way and use a product like this;
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/140609169099?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

The insurance PDF file from Inamar on moorings suggests Urethane-impregnated firehose is the best. The link to this site was posted on here a couple of days ago. This stuff is probably best because its readily available and little skill is required to install.

Inamar reckon this is the most common failure point with moorings, usually with poor layout of the deck gear the culprit. My yacht came off its mooring last year in gale force conditions. I had leather as chafe protector but this wore through and slid up the rope. It was not the bow roller that caused the problem but the sides of the SS bow fitting had a couple of slight abrasion marks from a previous owner parking against a concrete wharf. My mooring is in a strong tidal river and the yacht sails up the mooring in fresh winds. The other vessels that came off moorings in the same storm was from the same problem.

At the moment I have reinforced rubber hose doing the job. Handles UV fine but has a few wear sections.

 

[bikedaft]

we have had that very issue, and the insurance co refused to pay out as it was "wear and tear" on the mooring strop.

now have chain over the bowsprit, and rope onto cleat.

although summer mooring on gareloch, clyde has rope over bow, but i change it every year and the sleeve. its only £35 which semes a bargain to me after the £2000 repair bill many years ago

 

[William_H]

Mooring strop

Yes multiple mooring strops is the best protection. On my little boat there is a saddle/U bolt on the bow down from the deck fitted to attach a hook for winching onto the trailer. This is ideal for attaching a mooring strop. There is nothing to chafe on and the strop is even protected by the bow from any other boat (come loose) chafing on the strop. There is the other normal deck strop which is used for departure and return but normally takes no load. olewill

 

[KREW2]

I keep My boat on a swing mooring, summer only of course. I only use chain, as do most club members, and those that do use rope always have chain as a backup.

 

[Bodach na mara]

All the moorings where I am on the Clyde use a plastic tube over nylon rope. Some are three-strand but I prefer multiplait. My strop is now about 6 years old and the plastic is still good. I have been trying to find out what type of plastic was used but have not succeeded.

I have also seen the result of a failure of a mooring strop inside the tube. That worried me. Considered opinion was that the tube acted to cause heating of the rope and in some way also allowed UV degradation. I think the last bit is a load of balls and the first bit not much better, but the boat did break lose at Fairlie at the end of the first season on the mooring.

I now think that I will consider for next year attaching a length of chain, sufficient to go over the bows and to reach about 2 feet under the water to the end of the strop. It is about 6 feet too short anyway.