Mooring with a bobstay

[robmcg]

Boat has a small bowsprit that has a bobstay. If it was to be moored on a swinging mooring for the season, what strop arrangement is prefered? Chain? Warp?, how best to avoid the strop interfering with the bobstay? Any advice as always gratefully received!

 

[prv]

On Kindred Spirit, I used to slack off the bobstay tackle and tie the bobstay off out of the way when moored or anchored. Obviously not an option if your bowsprit and bobstay are fixed.

Perhaps a plastic sleeve around the stay would be a good idea to let the mooring strop roll past it? Especially if the strop is chain that would otherwise catch a wire bobstay between its links.

Pete

 

[Billjratt]

Don't know your boat, but a split bridle through the eyes (fairleads) either side may be a solution.

 

[VicS]

Boat has a small bowsprit that has a bobstay. If it was to be moored on a swinging mooring for the season, what strop arrangement is prefered? Chain? Warp?, how best to avoid the strop interfering with the bobstay? Any advice as always gratefully received!

You dont say what boat. The Westerly Berwick I crewed for many years had a short bowsprit. The bowroller was on the end and mooring chain and anchor chain went over it.

( Dunno why it had a bowsprit ... it was not a ketch like Searush ... It was fecking nuisance 'cos it served no useful purpose)

 

[Zagato]

I spent ages researching this before I moored mine. There are 101 ways in which people moor with a bowsprit and it seems it depends again in which country you live, wether you can retract your bowsprit of not, whether you are able to or want to access your lower D ring, (via a tender for a snap shackle mooring arrangemnet), some moor from the end of the bowsprit, some trice up the whisker lines etc etc. I discovered soooo many ways of doing it, just do a Google...

It seems to be what ever works for you with a bit of trial and error. After 3 attempts and watching how the boat behaves I now have a chord around the bobstay so it can be pulled up (trice up!) out of the way, I have to do this as the chain was rubbing on the block, I will get rid of the block at some point, it's not needed and just have rope also not wire on the lower part. My bowsprit is not under tension with the jib when moored so bobstay not needed.

I would always have chain even if it's just a back up, rope bridles can chafe through in no time...

 

[prv]

I will get rid of the block at some point, it's not needed

Why do you say that? How else would you put the same tension into it without a tackle? You'll end up with a saggy jib luff if you don't get the bobstay really tight.

Pete

 

[Zagato]

I don't need two blocks to get the tension, one will be fine as per the other Crabbers in our yard!

 

[prv]

I don't need two blocks to get the tension, one will be fine as per the other Crabbers in our yard!

If you say so. I have a double-sheave block at the top end (single sheave and becket at the bottom) and consider that I need all of that, plus sweating it around the cleat using my leg muscles to haul upwards. I bend the bowsprit down slightly, then the jib halyard tension brings it straight again. If I don't tension it up like this, when the sail fills the bowsprit bends up slightly, the stay slackens, and the luff is visibly curved, giving a poor shape to the sail.

If I was determined to remove the lower block, I'd have a tackle running along the deck instead, with a pendant to the chain.

Pete

 

[Zagato]

Could be down to size or rig!! The Bowsprit on a Bermudan is shorter than a Yawl/Gaff 24. There ain't no way mine will do any bending.

 

[prv]

Could be down to size or rig!! The Bowsprit on a Bermudan is shorter than a Yawl/Gaff 24.

That might explain it, yes. In your picture it doesn't look massively shorter, but of course I rarely saw Kindred Spirit from that angle

There ain't no way mine will do any bending.

Not with that weedy tackle there isn't, anyway

Pete

 

[lenseman]

Boat has a small bowsprit that has a bobstay. If it was to be moored on a swinging mooring for the season, what strop arrangement is prefered? Chain? Warp?, how best to avoid the strop interfering with the bobstay? Any advice as always gratefully received!

This is a classic case where the use of anchor kellets, also known as anchor angels/buddies/sentinels can prove extremely useful.

They are not only for stopping the anchor from pulling out, once set, but when fitted correctly to the anchor chain can weight down the chain immediately it leaves the bow roller and will keep it clear from bob-stay and can also stop the chain from running back as the wind/tide turns and damaging the gelcoat on the prow.

At 35lb kellet would be idea in your situation.



.