Preventing chafe

[Pirx]

The marina at Stranraer is turning out to be a bit bouncy and I am worrying about chafing mooring lines.

Two suggestions have been larger diameter mooring lines and polythene pipes, or both.

Any thoughts ?

 

[geem]

The marina at Stranraer is turning out to be a bit bouncy and I am worrying about chafing mooring lines.

Two suggestions have been larger diameter mooring lines and polythene pipes, or both.

Any thoughts ?

Double the lines, add chafe protection. Tie a line from bow through bottom eye of fenders then to stern. Stops fenders bouncing out

 

[coveman]

I found this useful and easy to apply - Spiroll Rope Protection | Rope Protector

 

[neil_s]

For the chain strop to my swinging mooring, I made a sleeve from industrial tarpaulin - the stuff lorry sides are made from - just cut a rectangle, fold it over and run it through the sewing machine. This seems to cut out any wear in the rope tail.

 

[eddystone]

My mooring strops have flexible plastic pipes for their whole length (don't know it they are polythene) up to the splice at each end and I can recommend this - however, even the polythene need to be protected from sharp edges e.g. the end of a toe rail.

 

[Goldie]

There’s something like Tubular Webbing Anti-Chafe for rope and chain

Or

You could make similar from old car seatbelts or old fire hose.

 

[RJJ]

if you take the sting out of the movement with rubber compensators or steel springs, then the rope doesn't move as much and the peak load (which I believe causes most of the chafe) is reduced.

Also, and at risk of teaching you to suck eggs, if you wind your OXO very firmly onto the cleat at every turn, there's less opportunity for it to move around.

 

[fisherman]

The marina at Stranraer is turning out to be a bit bouncy and I am worrying about chafing mooring lines.

Two suggestions have been larger diameter mooring lines and polythene pipes, or both.

Any thoughts ?

Boat end, or cleat end? Or both...

 

[Roberto]

If you have a lot of stretch, this works well: the rope is tied to the inner red hose, the outer brown hose does not move: as the rope stretches, it brings the inner red hose with itself, friction exists only between the two hoses.

 

[fisherman]

In 'A Manual of Seamanship' extra master Graham Danton has a towrope protected with sheet copper and canvas. Course, you all carry sheet copper....

I like the hose within a hose.

 

[thinwater]

There’s something like Tubular Webbing Anti-Chafe for rope and chain

Or

You could make similar from old car seatbelts or old fire hose.

This is tubular climbing webbing, and is MUCH cheaper from climbing sources or Amazon. A s climber, I have been using this on my boat for 35 years. It's the real deal.

 

[Pirx]

Thank you everyone, really helpful: this forum is wonderful for rapid useful answers.

 

[Laminar Flow]

The best chafe protection is decommissioned fire hose. Check at your local fire hall! Unfortunately our department has clued into it and is now charging by the foot.

 

[Zing]

Dyneema is the dogs bollocks:
Marlow Dyneema Chafe Sleeve

 

[Neeves]

You don't define in any detail what causes the chafe - what is the mooring line rubbing on that causes the damage. If the damage is side to side - dyneema will also wear, its abrasion resistant along the length of the fibres - not across the fibres.

You need stretchy mooring lines so you need to accept the lines will move. Dyneema offers some protection but it would be better if the dyneema remains stationary and the mooring line moves freely inside the dyneema sleeve - then the dyneema is unlikely to abrade the mooring line. Most attempts at removing chafe are short term - as the chafe protection is left to move - and it will eventually wear out or through - though Dyneema if used correctly is excellent.

If the movement is back and forth - then a simple stationary flexible piece of hose pipe with the mooring line threaded through will minimise chafe - and its cheap.

The trick is making the dyneema sleeve, or hose pipe, stationary at the point (or area) where the line abrades and allowing the mooring line to move freely inside the 'tube'.


You could spend the next few evenings making yourself some hybrid ropes - splice dyneema to your choice of mooring line. The mooring line will provide the stretch and the dyneema you will judiciously position to accept the place of wear - noting the wear needs to be along the fibres for dyneema (not across the fibres).

You mentioned one suggesting is bigger mooring warps - they will have reduced stretch and may result in a different sort of damage from increased snatch loads. Adding springs or rubber compensators, see RJJ's post, would be the solution to the new problem.

Jonathan

 

[Pirx]

Neeves, thank you so much for taking the trouble to type all that: very helpful.

 

[Neeves]

Neeves, thank you so much for taking the trouble to type all that: very helpful.

You are more than welcome.

Jonathan

 

[fisherman]

You mentioned one suggesting is bigger mooring warps - they will have reduced stretch and may result in a different sort of damage from increased snatch loads.

Jonathan

Yep! Had 4in dia braided in one of the notorious Porthleven storms. Took the hatch coaming out of the deck, and another time a ring out of the quay. Excessive weather though.