Mooring strop without fairlead

[lamdar]

Hello,

I just got back from my boat on a swing mooring in Pin mill and realised that I forgot to put the mooring strop through the fairlead. How bad is it without the fairlead? Is it ok to leave until tomorrow to sort it out? I’ll need to wait for the high tide tonight at least to get back to the boat.

 

[Refueler]

Depends on the rope to 'deck edge' contact ... but as long as weather is not severe - it should be ok ... assuming you have suitable sized strop etc.

 

[[70521]]

It is one of those 'how long is a piece of string' questions.

Depends on the quality of the line, the any sharp edges, the strength and direction of the wind, the amount of time you have left it and the rise and fall of the tide.

 

[PabloPicasso]

Chaff is your potential issue here. If its calm and no sharpe edges, and a good quality strop you should be ok.

Go back and check when you can, for peace of mind if nothing else.

 

[nevis768]

Depends on the above as others have mentioned, I'm assuming there is no plastic pipe over your strop or you wouldn't be so worried. Forecast looks ok. If you have no pipe I would add it wither it goes through fairlead or not.

 

[William_H]

I guess it really depends on how thick the strop is. ie how much meat to cope with chafe. Yes it is a worry. Best wishes. ol'will

 

[Neeves]

You omit to mention where you left the mooring strop - on the bow roller being abraded by the edge of the anchor fluke or over the toe rail and not experiencing any real abrasion at all.

I'd be going back first thing this morning, which I think is now.

Jonathan

 

[lamdar]

Thank you very much for your advices! I was mainly worried about the spliced loop coming off the cleat by chance - the boat will be drifting into the sea. The rope was very thick. It just about fits the fairlead. I was so worried that I went back and got a tender from Wolverstone to get it fixed on Sunday.

 

[ylop]

Thank you very much for your advices! I was mainly worried about the spliced loop coming off the cleat by chance - the boat will be drifting into the sea. The rope was very thick. It just about fits the fairlead. I was so worried that I went back and got a tender from Wolverstone to get it fixed on Sunday.

Do you just drop the loop over the cleat and hope? Perhaps I am (or those who taught me were) paranoid but I'd not do that for more than a lunch stop - certainly not leaving the boat.

 

[Tillana]

I tie my morning lines onto the cleat when away for a long time, but I was watching a Tom Cunliffe video the other day and he said dropping onto the cleat is fine. He seems to know his stuff

 

[William_H]

I use 3 strops to the mooring buoy. One down low direct to the eye half way up the prow used for winching boat on to trailer. Takes the primary load. Second is the one used for arival and departure on the mooring cleat on deck and lastly a loop around the base of the bow rail last resort. Yes occasionally one has let go but still dual back up. (and I can see the boat from home) ol'will

 

[ylop]

I tie my morning lines onto the cleat when away for a long time, but I was watching a Tom Cunliffe video the other day and he said dropping onto the cleat is fine. He seems to know his stuff

Are you talking in a marina? I've seen one of Tom's video's doing that in a marina - where you have 4 lines, and the boat is snug against a pontoon and not yawing up and down etc. With a single "eye" from a mooring ball pennant it feels unlikely that it would get enough slack and the rope overcome gravity to bounce off the cleet - but unlikely isn’t good enough for me to sleep!

 

[Refueler]

Mooring lines .... I use looped through on "home pontoon" and Home Port berths - as lines are basically permanent ... but on visited pontoons etc - I use fig 8 both ends - that way I can always let go regardless if needed.

 

[johnalison]

A lot depends on the cleats, and strops. My cleats are fairly substantial and I never have much concern, even when leaving the boat in the marina. When on a swinging mooring I always tied the strops down.

 

[Daydream believer]

I never use the fairleads or bow roller. The edge of the boat is fairly smooth and the line finds the shortest route without kinking round an unnecessary fixed rubbing point such as a fair lead. I do not use protectors on the mooring lines either.
However, my launch is different. I do not like the mooring strops wearing the timber rubbing strip. Hence, I prefer to use the fairleads with protectors and replace the painters annually if needs be
My daughter used to insist putting my squib mooring lines through the fairleads and I had to replace them biannually and a fairlead twice

 

[Refueler]

My Conq38 has raised cleats that allow the bow lines to exit - just touching alloy toerail ... I did initially pass lines fwd and through the fairleads - but as DB says #15 .... chafe !!

You can just make out the fairleads - they are most fwd 'holes' in the alloy rail ...

 

[Refueler]

Here's a better photo showing the line going fwd from cleat ... through fairlead .... used when I first moored boat after buying ..... soon stopped using the fairleads !!

Note the high cleat ....

In previous photo - you can see previous owner also did not use the fairleads ...