Mooring webbing/ Ankarolina: what length for bow-tree/ring, and for stern-anchor?

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BelleSerene

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I'm planning to sail up to the Baltic and preparing a couple of the necessaries for a Swedish Rockbum lifestyle. One is webbing mooring lines, best known by the Ankarolina brand. But money's tight and I'm inventive [then why are you asking how to do the job? - Ed.] so I'm looking to buy 50m of seatbelt for £50 and either mount it on a scavenged reel or just dump it in a netting bag. I'll sew the ends securely into a loop and either carabiner round a tree or rock ring or bergskil, or shackle to a few metres of chain on the kedge, which seems to be what the locals do in those sheltered parts.

What length is sensible to take for bow lines, please? - and what length for the stern to a kedge anchor?
 
We've not been to the Baltic yet, but we do carry a shoreline (and occasionally use it here in the Med). It's 100m of 12mm Polysteel, which floats, is dirt cheap and stored on a plastic reel the chandlery was happy to give us for free (those who sell rope are left with lots of empty reels). To stay in the dirt cheap theme, it's stored hanging below the solar panel with a piece of aluminium tube that once was a water broom for an axle. Perfect spot for feeding it out through the center of an aft mooring cleat and rolling back up in place after use. Also keeps it out of direct sun. Takes a bit more space than a fancy Ankarolina, but there's room for it there.

You can see it dangling in the top right corner here (not as neatly spooled up anymore, but still working all the same): https://sdfjkl.org/blog/2017-07-27-biscay/
 
Our answer to the line ashore situation is climbing rope: easy enough to buy discarded climbing rope off fleabay or gumtree, as climber discard it after a time. I've got 2 x 60 ropes (9mm ones) which live in ripstop nylon bags. The rope is stuffed into the bag so it pulls out freely. Bags into the dinghy, make fast ashore and return to boat paying out as you return. 60 is more than enough for the Med. Climbing rope has a lot of stretch, so great for mooring as it absorbs any shock loads encountered.

We use climbing nuts to anchor the shore end in most places: it quick and easy, doesn't expose the rope to chafe and you can often get the ropes into place without leaping out of the dinghy to tie things round trees or rocks.
 
We have 50 meters on the stern anchor.
The webbing is 25mm wide a seat belt is 50mm, think that it would be difficult to handle without a reel.
What is the cost for the proper stuff in UK?
56 m reel is 100 GBP here
 
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A lot of Baltic mooring is bow in, as you have no bow underwater protuberances. If you go stern in your rudder, might, get in the way. Part of the idea is to secure the yacht and step ashore (you see bow passerelles and stern anchor rollers). Bizarelly you see yachts with no bow roller, no anchor on the bow but stern anchor rollers and stern windlass (usually in the transom locker).

Because you are close to shore, a few feet away (and there is no tide) an idea is to secure the yacht completely - so you need maybe 1 stern line, a stern anchor and 2 bow lines. Many places in the Baltic are equiped with steel rings set into the rocks for just this purpose.

Its a bit like Med mooring.

You do not want to be thinking of one shore line, but 3 or 4 - though one can be a stern anchor line. Ultra, the people who make that swishy stainless anchor started off making shore lines and reels, Quick Line, and they sell reels with either dyneema or , I don't recall, nylon? tape.

I second the idea of recycling climbing rope - it is ideal for shore lines

Jonathan
 
There are other ways to do it.
Rope or rope and chain are commonly used.
we have electric winch that uses rope with lead in the core.
30 meter should do in most cases.
The webbing reel is from before stern anchor winch was installed.
 
50mm seat belt is too thick. It will be difficult to manage and thrum badly in any wind. And £50 for 50m isn’t exactly a bargain for stuff which isn’t ideal. How much would 25mm tape cost?
A rope reel might be a better bargain.
We have a reel but only used it once. Anchoring with bows to the shore didn’t seem appealing - much more flies/midges, often loose sunlight sooner, and often very crowded. Meanwhile often plenty of space in the middle to anchor conventionally in peace.
 
Great idea - thanks. I think I’ll cut the seatbelt (it’s already purchased) in half lengthways, heat-seal the edge so it doesn’t fray, and end up with 2 x 50m of inch-wide tape. 50m to lash to stern anchor with a couple of metres of chain, and 50m to serve as either one or two bow lines to the shore: a loop in each end to a couple of trees or bergskils, and the bight made fast on the foredeck.

I'm grateful for the experienced advice and recognise this is a slightly unconventional cheapskate solution - I’m trying to borrow from best practice but do it on a budget. Now for the bow boarding ladder from a folding motorbike loading ramp off eBay, a pair of trolley wheels and a hinging contraption off the bow roller...
 
We carry 50m Ankarolina on the reel and also 100m of floating Sea Steel yellow line which, in Norway, was more useful. The webbing is ok but it has no stretch and is a hazard to other boats passing between you and the shore. A yellow floating line is much more visible and easier to take out to shore.

Once webbing sinks it almost impossible to manoeuvre even with a powerful outboard. Floating line is much easier.

Downside of the floating Sea Steel is it is a pain to store. We store it in a drum but a reel would be best. Clearly the Ankarolina is super easy to store in its reel.
 
BelleSerene said:
Great idea - thanks. I think I’ll cut the seatbelt (it’s already purchased) in half lengthways, heat-seal the edge so it doesn’t fray, and end up with 2 x 50m of inch-wide tape. 50m to lash to stern anchor with a couple of metres of chain, and 50m to serve as either one or two bow lines to the shore: a loop in each end to a couple of trees or bergskils, and the bight made fast on the foredeck.

I'm grateful for the experienced advice and recognise this is a slightly unconventional cheapskate solution - I’m trying to borrow from best practice but do it on a budget. Now for the bow boarding ladder from a folding motorbike loading ramp off eBay, a pair of trolley wheels and a hinging contraption off the bow roller...
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We applaud the idea of economical solutions and lateral thinking, though not sure we would have gone as far as buying seatbelt tape. 4x4 or 4WD bridging products might be worth investigating as might fibreglass grating (look at the Locker website). Another source of tape would be climbing shops.
 
Thanks to all for the inspiration. Several solutions above are better than mine - but I had already bought the 50m seat belt so I built on that idea.

I cut it in two lengthways, giving me 50m for the anchor and 50m for the sum of the two bow lines. I heat-sealed the fray (that's 100m of precise blowtorch work - I don't recommend it) and sewed the ends with a multiple 'W' pattern.

The stern line is attached to me new mate Bruce via 6m of 6mm chain. Bruce puts in a sterling effort for his meagre 10kg of weight - he's at the far end of the yellow tape in the first shot - and I store the tape on a £9 cable reel. A fairlead and cleat tames Bruce's strength as I nuzzle up towards the rock.

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The bow line has a carabiner at each end and goes round a tree, ring or boulder and clips back onto itself. I take it in on now bow cleat before rowing the other end out off the other bow and do the same. The bight sits on the foredeck. Using one length gives me flexibility to do a long and a short bow line where necessary.

IMG_0220.jpg

Unlike a rope, the tape slips quite a lot on the cleat so I find I need to do OOXXXXOOO to make it fast.
 

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We've been in the Baltic for 15 years. We have a 50m Ankoralina (copy) tape on the back attached directly to a kedge, which sits on a bracket on the Pushpit. We also have 2 x 40m and 2 x 20m lines for mooring to trees/rocks and for really long boxes. And a bunch of 10s for pontoons.
We don't have any chain (except for the bower anchor which we don't use). The advantage of the Ankoralina is that you can simply lob the anchor over the back and then it pays itself out as you nudge forward (you have to have the brake setting just right). Once you've got off and dealt with the rock at the front, you just go back and haul in the tape and make fast. Its easy to get up to the rocks with just two of you then.
 
pandroid said:
We've been in the Baltic for 15 years. We have a 50m Ankoralina (copy) tape on the back attached directly to a kedge, which sits on a bracket on the Pushpit. We also have 2 x 40m and 2 x 20m lines for mooring to trees/rocks and for really long boxes. And a bunch of 10s for pontoons.
We don't have any chain (except for the bower anchor which we don't use). The advantage of the Ankoralina is that you can simply lob the anchor over the back and then it pays itself out as you nudge forward (you have to have the brake setting just right). Once you've got off and dealt with the rock at the front, you just go back and haul in the tape and make fast. Its easy to get up to the rocks with just two of you then.
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As far as I remember, the Ankoralina came in two lengths when I bought mine, 35 and 70m. I went for the shorter one and although this has been adequate for most purposes, a dedicated local would do better to have the longer. If it now comes as 50m, that should suffice. I have a Bruce 10Kg anchor on a few metres of heavy chain, so deploying it requires a little care to stop the chain scratching the stern, but after that it looks after itself. The line is also very handy when used with a 'Swedish Hook' on stern buoys, which I have mostly encountered in Germany.
PS. I may have confused the length of my line with the cost at the time in pounds, but my suggestion about the longer length remains valid.
 
johnalison said:
As far as I remember, the Ankoralina came in two lengths when I bought mine, 35 and 70m. .
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The Ankoralina comes/came in 2 lengths, 24m and 56m. (It now also comes in 35m). The Swedes use the shorter one (often 2) as a bow line. The 50 is waaay long enough for a stern anchor - I've never used the full tape. We don't have a 'proper' Ankoralina, we have a stainless clone, which, although it looks nicer, you can take it from me is a pain, which is probably why they don't sell them anymore. The design allows the tape to 'slip off' and jam, hence the necessity to get the brake exactly right.

We don't use a chain on the tape for the very reason that it has to be stored somewhere and doesn't mix with gelcoat. Its never been an issue, and in some cases I've had to take the tape up to the electric bow windlass to trip the ruddy anchor.
 
BelleSerene said:
I'm planning to sail up to the Baltic and preparing a couple of the necessaries for a Swedish Rockbum lifestyle. One is webbing mooring lines, best known by the Ankarolina brand. But money's tight and I'm inventive [then why are you asking how to do the job? - Ed.] so I'm looking to buy 50m of seatbelt for £50 and either mount it on a scavenged reel or just dump it in a netting bag. I'll sew the ends securely into a loop and either carabiner round a tree or rock ring or bergskil, or shackle to a few metres of chain on the kedge, which seems to be what the locals do in those sheltered parts.

What length is sensible to take for bow lines, please? - and what length for the stern to a kedge anchor?
Click to expand...

I've only ever used the Ankarolina for the kedge anchor. Makes it easier to handle than chain or anchor warp, although the skipper of the boat I used to sail on did have about 4-5m of chain on the anchor as well as the Ankarolina.

Just used ordinary warps at the bow. I don't remember them being particularly long. Maybe 20m at max. You get the bow in so close to the rocks that you can scramble ashore and just tie them to a tree or ring set in the rock. You also do the same at most pontoons and docks.

I've done it double handed. One with helm and anchor, one with the two bowlines. It is necessary for the helm to lift the anchor over the pushpit as he brings the boat in. Could be quite awkward single-handing as there can be quite a scramble up the rock when you go ashore which would be made worse if there's a delay getting to the bow and the bow blows off.
 
Ultra Marine offer various length in either Dyneema, which floats, so good for shore lines as they are more visible (but expensive) and polyester. I think they offer 3 lengths, the maximum at 100m (but this from memory).

https://www.ultramarine-anchors.com/ultraline-dyneema

I've seen them (tape reels) used with and without short chain leaders. Chain is good for shore lines if you are tying to rocks, but you could simply carry short lengths of chain, unnecessary to attach to the tape - until you need to. Most (all?) modern anchors will set perfectly well with or without chain.

The tape reels are obviously neat - and expensive - good for single handed sailing - but with crew not really necessary. Coiling rope on drums (as you might electric cable or a hose) works for most (and we neatly coil inside a milk crate) which works for us.

Jonathan
 
For shore lines Acera is worth considering. It is an ultra high molecular weight polyethylene as is Dyneema, but Acera is much cheaper.

Acera is very strong, abrasion resistant, light, UV resistant and floats, which makes handling long lengths very easy. The high strength means relatively small diameters can be used which reduces the storage volume/reel size.

The main drawback in this application is very little stretch. It is also hard to find. Cost wise it is often cheaper than nylon for the same strength, but is more expensive than cheap polypropylene line or second hand climbing rope.
 
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Actually Acera might be worth considering for any application where Dyneema is used

Acera may be what some in the industry call Chineema (Chinese Dyneema). The background is 'mysterious' but DSM who make Dyneema make Dyneema, or the same product as Dyneema, in China, the factory I think is in Qingdao. A dyneema like product has surfaced in a number of areas, I first was introduced to it through very cheap soft shackles. If it is a dyneema clone - then if it was not approved (by DSM) - I would have thought DSM would be onto it like a ton of very hot bricks. The fact is has surfaced and is DNV approved suggests it might be a DSM product. The reason it is hard to find - DSM is protecting their existing sales base.

I am not aware of any defined issues with 'chineema' (nor Acera)

Anything would be more expensive than second hand climbing rope - as you should be able to source it free.

Jonathan
 
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