Safety line on mooring

[conolan]

Having suffered two breaks from moorings this year (neither were mine) I'm wondering about a system for a second line that will hold if the swivel goes. I've put a sketch here and wondered if anyone knows whether there is a reason why it wouldn't work.

The idea is that a second line (green) is not tensioned so the loop hangs below the swivel and is loose enough that it can turn as the boat turns. If the swivel breaks, the green line holds because the mooring buoy is bigger than the opening. This would hold long enough until I could come out next weekend and check.

Thoughts on a postcard?

 

[Csail]

More the merrier! I would have two.

 

[Lakesailor]

On the lake on the standard mooring there is a swivel between the sinker chain and the riser so we just shackle warps to the riser. Also if you leave a tail of a few links past the buoy's swivel you can shackle to that as well.
I agree. More the merrier.

 

[homa]

If you are worried about the swivel breaking why not increase the size of the swivel?

 

[pete]

If its only a worn or broken swivel that you are worried about go for one over spec The one on my mooring is 25mm (made from 25mm bar) and is well up to the job, has been on for 7 years and inspected every year, there is obviously wear on it but its still got a few years in it yet. I think it cost around £20 when I bought it from a local rigging company and they told me they are used for the navigation buoys.
It came with a dark blue paint coating on it not galvanised.
Pete

 

[conolan]

I'm aware of two swivels failing this season, and one certainly had the pin drop out, this despite inspection. Certainly I'd buy a bigger swivel, but why not have a safety, if it won't interfere with the mooring?

And while I'm at it, why not have a polyline running along the riser chain as a second safety riser?

In normal life I'm not that cautious, but my boat has gone walkabout twice this season. Lucky both times, no damage. Happened in daylight and was seen in time.

 

[pete]

Over the last 3 years I have converted to fore and aft mooring although I have left the swivel on as if ever I could not pick up the aft mooring I would still be ok but the aft mooring also adds to security.

The swivel I have does not have a rivet The pin appears to be part of the swivel.
http://www.jimmygreen.co.uk/products/thumbs/236MooringSwivel_thumbW.jpg

The problem is if things can get tangled they will.

A couple of years ago I noticed the boat on the next mooring to mine was well down by the bow and on further investigation he had run a line up along side his riser as added security but it had jammed up his swivel and screwed up his riser making it to short (he was an elderly chap and did not get to his boat as often as he would have liked)

Over size everything, check frequently, and get a very large buoy to support it all.


Pete

 

[samwise]

Mooring in Fornells Mallorca this year, we attached our mooring warp througha hard eye on a substantial pick up line attached to the riser. Anyone who tied up on the ring on top of the buoy got ticked off by the moorings supervisor. Going back a bit, my instructor on my coastal skipper course always insisted on having chain from the boat to the buoy. We had to detach the anchor chain from the anchor and loop that through the ring. In the morning we had to undo the thing, shackle and mouse back to the anchor, which was a pain. He never said, but we suspected that he had suffered a chafed warp and a drifting boat at some time that for him had been a salutary lesson

 

[fireball]

We have 2 lines to the swivel on the top of our mooring (chain goes through the mooring buoy). Like others suggest - the swivel is overspecced and inspected throughout the season (I tie the dinghy up there so it doesn't take 5 seconds to check it).

 

[Marmalade]

Elecrolytic corrosion always a bigger problem than rust or simple failure - sailing club with 100+ moorings. put an in line anode in your riser. It hits worst on shackle pin threads and swivel through bolts so upsizing your swivel doesn't help.

Simon

 

[TheBoatman]

I can see the logic but unfortunately in my experience you'll just wind-up the green line.

If breaking swivels is your problem it's because you are loading the swivel up unneccesarily.

My solution would be to get a buoy where the riser chain goes up through its centre and is stopped falling back through the buoy by a large shackle ~ you can then shackle your swivel to it and then attach your mooring bridles.

We have 250+ moorings made up this way and as of yet we haven't lost a boat through shackle/swivel failure ~ we have however lost them because the owners bridles have parted due to lack of maintenance.

Peter.

 

[William_H]

I am not convinced about electrolysis. certainly my boat has been on its mooring for 25 years with to my mind no sign of electrolysis.
Sure the iron wears due to protective rust wearing away with movement.

i don't think I will be trying the safety loop method. By all means and i do duplicate as much of the mooring as possible particularly the above water rope parts. (I wouldn't have chain)

But in the end the swivel is the single item that is critical to the mooring. The ones I use (can buy) have like a shaft with a knob on the end which swivels in a cup. The problem is that the wear is all on the knob and cup. The area of wear is not visible so the only way to test is to check the free play of pressing the knob end away from the cup. This is often difficult with encrustation around it.

Anyway my little boat has gone back onto the mooring just yesterday. I havn't checked the mooring since taking the boat home 6 months ago so that will be priority. For the first sunny day. The water was not too cold yesterday when I checked a friends hull for growth but a wet suit top was nice. olewill

It is a long story, I owed Jim a swim after somehow dropping the boom of my boat into about 10ft of water and he went for swim for it. Just one of those relaunches where everything goes wrong.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

The way I see it, if your main strop parts, the only thing preventing the ring from coming up to the top of the riser and off, is the buoy. In a heavy gust I would expect the buoy to hold your boat for at least 30 seconds before she goes looking for a better place to park.

 

[conolan]

[ QUOTE ]
My solution would be to get a buoy where the riser chain goes up through its centre and is stopped falling back through the buoy by a large shackle ~ you can then shackle your swivel to it and then attach your mooring bridles.


[/ QUOTE ]
So what if I took Peters advice and did this

There would be a shackle at the top holding the buoy in place so it would hold if the swivel broke.

Anyone see disadvantage in having swivel on top of buoy? Obviously easy to inspect and not immersed in water.

 

[Lakesailor]

Have you read This Spec ?


Salient point

"When using a mooring buoy with rod, it is indispensable to moor and sercure the boat directly on the chain and shackle underneath the buoy. The ring on the buoy upper part is only intended to grasp the buoy with a boat hook."

 

[conolan]

Yes, that type wouldn't work. But if the riser was through the buoy, as suggested by TheBoatman, wouldn't it be different?

 

[GMac]

Are you guys talking fresh or salt water here?

 

[conolan]

For me salt. I know someone above referred to a lake.

 

[Lakesailor]

I guess you mean This
It seems that is designed to moor to the top. But inspecting the chain in the tube will be tricky.

 

[TheBoatman]

Conor
Your nearly there.

Firstly you have to remember that the riser and top shackle are or should be " well over spec".

Basically your relying on a riser chain or top shackle failure before you lose your pride and joy. If either of these happen your "green line solution won't help at all!

So to that end you should attach your green line to the swivel but leave it a little loose. If you believe that it is better you could attach your green line to the lower part of the swivel ~ but we don't.

Peter.

As an aside we use "Hippo" buoys, they are constructed so that the centre of the buoy is hollow with a galvanised tube that runs up through them, the tube has a round washer top welded on with a "letter box" slot to let the riser chain through and the whole lot is captivated by the shackle.

Now heres the neat bit!

Go to B&Q and buy a 99p orange bucket ~ cut a hole in the bottom of the bucket that fits under the Hippo washer top ~ when you have finished you'll have your riser running up through the buoy and a bucket secured to the top of the buoy ~ a nice and very convenient place to store your mooring bridles whilst you're away sailing. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif