Rubber snubbers.

Heigaro

Heigaro

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Just found another rubber snubber broken on my mooring lines. That's the second this winter and these were new in November 2007. I must say I was rather dubious before buying them (4) but the description sounded promising.

Out of interest, I took a walk around the marina yesterday and found five other broken rubber snubbers! These were of various sizes.

If anyone is thinking of buying rubber snubbers I would not recommend them myself.

Has anyone else had similar experiences? Can anyone recommend the steel spring types? /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
How long are your mooring lines from cleat to cleat ... ?

If they are not very long then they can snatch quite a bit - better to route it via a longer route to allow the natural elasticity of the rope to take the strain.
 
There's not much wrong with snubbers if used reasonably. You need one of adequate size and for a permanent berth I'd restrict the coil to one turn instead of the three which is recommended for comfort but which stretches the snubber a lot more.
 
If I'm parked somewhere with a lot of surge, then the lines which take the shunting are nylon, and at least 10m long. That gives 1m of spring . . . far more than you can get from a rubber snubber.

So, stern to, the lines locating the distance the stern can lie from the quay will be taken to the bow of the boat. There will be two, crossed, lines at the stern going as much distance as possible which have about 75cm of slack. They control lateral movement. Similar 'long line' arrangements can be made for most mooring situations.

Lets face it, 1m is much better than the piddling 20cm that springs and rubber snubbers offer . . .
 
Tend to be more common in northern latitudes than farther South. Perhaps UV degradation has something to do with it. A Swede in Fiumicino swore by his!

I must confess my experience has been similar and now use springs.
The squeak problem is easily overcome, by containing the pre-greased spring in a large plastic rainwater pipe.
That also extends their life considerably - the stainless ones are soft and wear quickly (unless lubricated) and the carbon steel ones (most effective) rust badly unless protected.
 
started off with the cheap oblong ones from compass but they failed quickly and were replaced by the expensive long ones with tapered ends again from compass. so far so good with these and our pontoon is fairly exposed.
 
I have the oblong block type that the rope threads through, had them for 3 winters and they are fine. They make an enormous difference to the snatching, when it,s impossible to have long lines. I bought then in Coruna, but have seen the same in Ireland, they were not expensive. I,ve seen a lot of the long ones the rope wraps round broken. The steel jobs I don,t fancy, for one thing they can be 'noisy'. Bill.
 
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The springs work very well indeed..... but they squeak like crazy.... if you are after a good nights sleep, or neighbours that will talk to you, then stick with the rubber!!!!

We've got some of the springs that we fit in severe weather only!

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Regular squirt with WD40 over spring and internal sliders....sleep soundly!!
I do mine each time I go to the boat - just need to remember if you are planning to get hold of them!
 
There are rubber snubbers and rubber snubbers.
Forsheda are very expensive but very good. The design is such that I cannot imagine a Forsheda breaking if it is the right size for the boat/warp.
 
Hi Heigaro and all forumites,
My marina at Portomaso, Malta fit these, as scend is severe in winter in the marina in some wind directions.
No connection, not cheap, made in Italy, no squeak, they do anchor connectors as well. Here is the link, hope you can track them down!

Best Regards Paul
http://www.douglasmarine.com/engl/806s.htm
 
Just so. I have always paid over 20 quid for the best, as used on my swinging mooring (in lively conditions it takes some heavy stick). The first lasted about five years and somehow got cut leading to failure. The second has been going for over 7 years and still looks good. I did think that next time I might buy something from a boat jumble, I guess this post answers my question!
 
When we returned to our boat parked in Barcelona, one of the Forsheda snubbers had bust comprehensively. It was the right size for the boat but must have succumbed to UV degradation and some heavy action after two seasons in the Med. We have now fitted two spring shock absorbers at the bow and so far they have performed valiantly. I put a bit of grease on the slidy bits to stop them squeaking.
 
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There's not much wrong with snubbers if used reasonably. You need one of adequate size and for a permanent berth I'd restrict the coil to one turn instead of the three which is recommended for comfort but which stretches the snubber a lot more.

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I have snubbers that I inherited and not yet used. Can you explain why one turn is better, I, with my engineering hat on think that more turns should mean the weight is more even down the rubber and the stretch should be substantially less. With a single turn, would this not mean more snatching and the chance that the snubber can move or part when the single turn goes tight?

I am not disagreeing, I really don't know, can you explain to me why I am wrong?
 
Agree; three turns will put more "available" warp between the inboard and the outboard ends of the snubber. Under severe extension loading, the rubber component may deform beyond its plastic limits, and internal heat from repeated extension-contraction cycles may weaken the internal mechanical integrity of the material.

There's a helluva lot of energy involved in controlling the kinetics of a moored boat, and I'm not surprised at the apparent failure rate of snubbers (though why anyone makes them with UV susceptible rubber or polymers is beyond me !)
 
Your post prompted me to have a close look at ours, they are perfect, 1 winter in Coruna, 1 Ireland, 1 France. As I said earlier, they are the 'block' type, seem very strong and make a huge difference to the snatching. Bill.
 
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