Silent mooring ropes

[JimC]

I'm using 14 mm 3 strand polyester cow hitched onto the deck cleats and the creaking is loud enough to keep me awake at night. Any suggestions for something quieter? I've tried the braided docklines sold by Barry Edwards & others but I found the outer braided cover wore through rather quickly.

 

[Seajet]

Rubber snubbers might help ?

 

[sarabande]

Dilute washing up liquid helps. Keeps the ropes soft, as well.

 

[Seajet]

I hadn't heard that one about mooring lines, but I might be a bit wary; fairy liquid used to be recommended for squeaking fenders when rafted, but I found after a few hours it turns into grinding paste - as my topsides are dark blue and most boats are white, this was a lesson in ' how to become even more unpopular ' !

Judging by that it might become abrasive on mooring lines ?

 

[VicS]

I'm using 14 mm 3 strand polyester cow hitched onto the deck cleats and the creaking is loud enough to keep me awake at night. Any suggestions for something quieter? I've tried the braided docklines sold by Barry Edwards & others but I found the outer braided cover wore through rather quickly.

wrapping something around the rope where it passes through the fairlead may help ........ yesterday's grundies or something like that or a piece of plastic tubing split lengthwise... (bur be aware that over tine it hardens and can cut into the rope )

 

[Angele]

I hadn't heard that one about mooring lines, but I might be a bit wary; fairy liquid used to be recommended for squeaking fenders when rafted, but I found after a few hours it turns into grinding paste - as my topsides are dark blue and most boats are white, this was a lesson in ' how to become even more unpopular ' !

Judging by that it might become abrasive on mooring lines ?

I use washing up liquid on both fenders and mooring lines and it does help reduce squeaking. Only a problem with abrasion if your fenders or topsides are sandy/gritty - washing liquid isn't abrasive by itself, it needs the abrasive medium adding to become so.

The OP could use nylon ropes as they have a good amount of stretch, so would absorb shock loads. https://www.christinedemerchant.com/rope_material_nylon.html

Personally I stick with polyester, and add washing up liquid if required. I've got a snubber, but it rarely gets used.

 

[Seajet]

Angele,

I'm not so sure about that; after a day or two fairy liquid becomes a paste, when I tried it there was no sand or grit around - probably fine for one overnight but not for a few days stormbound.

 

[GHA]

I made up short dyneema strops to go from the samson post to just past the fairleads then into the mooring warps for the bow lines - no stretch through the fairleads so little noise. Though been a while since been tied up in a marina, think they helped quite a bit.

 

[rotrax]

I use eight strand 14mm octoplait.

Very little noise-less than anything else I have tried- but after two seasons it is showing signs of abrasion here and there.

Worth it, IMHO.

And it handles and coils very well.

 

[Seajet]

I made up short dyneema strops to go from the samson post to just past the fairleads then into the mooring warps for the bow lines - no stretch through the fairleads so little noise. Though been a while since been tied up in a marina, think they helped quite a bit.

Surely that's the worst scenario; nylon line stretches so give a little shock absorber / snubber effect, but stuff like Dyneema in a strong tide / wind will be like fastening the boat with an iron bar ?

Might get away with it in a marina but hopeless on a deep water mooring, also vulnerable to chafe no matter how strong it is in tension.

 

[GHA]

Surely that's the worst scenario; nylon line stretches so give a little shock absorber / snubber effect, but stuff like Dyneema in a strong tide / wind will be like fastening the boat with an iron bar ?

Might get away with it in a marina but hopeless on a deep water mooring, also vulnerable to chafe no matter how strong it is in tension.

Don't think you understood - "SHORT strop". So only a couple feet long to just outboard of the fairlead. Then back to nylon/polyester. Means loosing maybe an inch of stretch.
And dyneema is *extremely* resistant to chafe, well marlow d12 max is anyway from testing long term in extreme conditions. That stuff is outrageously strong and tough as old boots from the well 'ard old boot shop.

 

[Graham376]

Surely that's the worst scenario; nylon line stretches so give a little shock absorber / snubber effect, but stuff like Dyneema in a strong tide / wind will be like fastening the boat with an iron bar ?

Might get away with it in a marina but hopeless on a deep water mooring, also vulnerable to chafe no matter how strong it is in tension.

We did this in a marina open to swell. As GHA says, it works well and is only a short tail on the mooring warp. Any non-stretch braided line works and less likely to chafe as that's usually caused by the line stretching in fairleads. We tried the plastic waste tube but it worked its way down the line after a while.

 

[JimC]

I use eight strand 14mm octoplait.

Very little noise-less than anything else I have tried- but after two seasons it is showing signs of abrasion here and there.

Worth it, IMHO.

And it handles and coils very well.

I have that for my anchor rode. I'll try it for mooring to the pontoon. I can well believe it's quieter than 3 strand. Only problem is it takes me an hour or more of intense concentration, often involving a false start or two, to splice a loop in it. Bowlines may have to do.

 

[colind3782]

I slip a short length of clear hose over the mooring lines where they pass through the fairleads and around the rings on the dock. No issues and I can see if there is any chafe at all.

 

[Seajet]

Don't think you understood - "SHORT strop". So only a couple feet long to just outboard of the fairlead. Then back to nylon/polyester. Means loosing maybe an inch of stretch.
And dyneema is *extremely* resistant to chafe, well marlow d12 max is anyway from testing long term in extreme conditions. That stuff is outrageously strong and tough as old boots from the well 'ard old boot shop.

I've only used a mooring for 40 years so what would I know ?

ANY sort or rope is vulnerable to chafe - even with plastic tubing which is another subject - and a short scope is usually a recipe for an unpleasant time at a mooring.

 

[GHA]

We did this in a marina open to swell. As GHA says, it works well and is only a short tail on the mooring warp. Any non-stretch braided line works and less likely to chafe as that's usually caused by the line stretching in fairleads. We tried the plastic waste tube but it worked its way down the line after a while.

You wouldn't think this would be strong enough to lift a transit van!

This one was a spring, intentionally a little longer so it spent a winter rubbing against a stainless bracket holding the toe rail. Was a little fluffy afterwards but hardly any visible structural damage though a magnifying glass. Means more room through the fairlead as well for other lines.

 

[Graham376]

I've only used a mooring for 40 years so what would I know ?

ANY sort or rope is vulnerable to chafe - even with plastic tubing which is another subject - and a short scope is usually a recipe for an unpleasant time at a mooring.

It seems you have missed the point, GHA and I are talking about short tails, NOT short scope. The stretching of line through a fairlead or over a bow roller is waht creates the noise and does the damage.

With only 25 years on moorings, for strops I've found that polysteel (no stretch) outlasts stretchy nylon by a couple of years. The 19mm chain from riser to concrete block acts as a snubber.

 

[lw395]

If you want to lubricate a rope, wax polish is far better than fairy liquid.
Our boat has u-bolts in the toe rail for the spinnaker guys. If I cow-hitch the springs to these, it's a direct line with no fairlead to rub on.
Another thing might be worth a try, low-friction self adhesive tape on the fairlead?

 

[maby]

My wife makes her own snubbed mooring lines by weaving in shock cord and that seems to be a good solution. Get a decent 3 ply rope which is suitable as a mooring line for your boat and a yard or two of medium thickness shock core. Cut the shock cord into three equal lengths then, using a fid or suitable tool, weave it into the lay of the rope. I don't have any pictures here, so you'll have to use some imagination - leave enough rope to attach to your cleat on the boat and get past the fairlead, then slip one end of the shock cord under one of the plies of the rope. Work your way along the rope weaving the shock cord in, going over one ply and under the next - all in a straight line along the rope. Then turn it through a third of a turn and weave in another length of shock cord, then do it all over again with the third length. Tidy up the ends of the shock cord, then whip or tape over them to keep everything neat and in place. The result is a very strong snubbed line - the shock cord slightly expands the lay of the rope and when the rope is placed under load, the rubber of the cord is compressed, allowing the rope to stretch by a fraction of an inch. The impact on the strength of the rope is minimal and it remains a general purpose line unlike lines which have those great big lumps of rubber hooked onto them. You can adjust the amount of give in the rope by adjusting the length and thickness of shock cord that you weave in.

These days, my wife can do one from scratch in about ten minutes. We have shown other people how to do it and we've seen others make more decorative versions with more complex weaving patterns - personally, I think life is too short for that - the approach above takes the jerk off your cleat, greatly reduces the noise and does it all in ten minutes at an extra expense of a couple of pounds over the price of a basic mooring line.

 

[Ian_Edwards]

+1 for 8 strand multiplait nylon.

I have both 3 strand black polyester and 14mm nylon multiplait.

The 3 strand squeaks as the load comes on and off the rope, the multiplait is silent.

The oldest nylon multiplait I have is 12 years old, getting a bit stiff and frayed around the edges but still fully serviceable (a bit like me)

It also has very good shock loading characteristics, but if space is tight, I pretension the mooring lines, especially the springs.