swinging mooring problems with bowsprit

[reginaldvanacker]

Hello all, does anyone have suggestions for the best option how to hold a yacht with bowsprit on a swinging mooring? It is impossible to use rope because of the abrassive influence of the stainless steel wire keeping the bowsprit in place.


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[wrr]

Can the bowsprit be retracted? If not, moor to two lines at the bow to avoid excessive stain on the windward fairlead and cover the bobstay with stong plastic tubing to act as a roller/fender to protect the mooring warps. If the bobstay is subject to repeated deflection, a chain bobstay may be better.

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[Mirelle]

Have bowsprit; have swinging mooring...

Best answer, by far, is to rig the bobstay with a tackle, so that the bobstay starts from a shackle at waterline on the stem, but terminates with a luff tackle, the fall of which is brought inboard. You rig a tricing line to the bobstay, and haul it out of the way when moored to a buoy or anchored. When getting under way you set the botstay up taut again.

This is traditional, and always done aboard boats with good old fashioned long boswprits (like Mirelle!). The fixed part of the bobstay is almost always chain, but the Eminent Victorians rightly inserted a copper or bronze bar about a foot long at the lower end to stop the chain reacting galvanically with the copper. This refinement is now usually omitted.

Boats with short bowsprits don't have this option.

A sleeve of tough hosepipe does not look pretty, but greatly reduces the chafe problem.

A chain strop on the buoy is chafe proof, but tends to chafe the boat! It was the commonest solution at one time - and the chain can of course be covered with hose...

The only other plan is to take the mooring aboard on one bow or other and let the boat ride with a sheer, but she will break sheer if it really comes on to blow so that is not a permanent answer.

<hr width=100% size=1>Que scais-je?

 

[JonA]

A bullrope from buoy to bowsprit end will stop most of the chafe between the chain to buoy and stem after triecing up bobstay. I would never lie to a buoy for long without using chain.
Jonathan

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[Mirelle]

reservation about bullrope

If the mooring is well sheltered, a bullrope is fine. If not, and the boat is exposed to conditions that make her pitch, the bull rope is a recipe for a broken bowsprit.

A lesser objection is that a bull rope is more work to rig and unrig.

<hr width=100% size=1>Que scais-je?

 

[William_H]

Heres an idea which may be completely impractical however ....... If you own the mooring use a small buoy which can be hoisted onto the foredeck. Attatch a stainless steel hook or better still a large snap shackle to the mooring down line and attatch this to your bob stay lower attachment you might need a larger shackle or even add an eye below the bobstay attachment especially for the mooring. This means all load is on the bob stay attachment which should be strong. There is no place to chafe and you still have an alternative additional attachment on the deck cleat. On arrival at the boat from the dinghy disconnect the lower attachment so departure is by release of the buoy and rope from, the deck cleat . On leaving the boat again from the dinghy attach the mooring to the bobstay attachment. My trailer sailer has a eye for a winch which I use for the mooring to avoid chafe. The only problem is that the original eye was not good for sideways loads and eventually fatigued. I now use a larger saddle with bolts through the hull. Regards will

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[Pelican]

My boat has a bowsprit and is on a swinging exposed moorings.....I have a large swivel on top of the buoy and two plastic covered steel cables, port and starboard to samson post. To avoid jerking also have on buoy end two heavy duty rubber snubbers. The plastic covers last about 3 years then I replace the cables. Works for me. Regards.
Pelican

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[andyorr]

When I had a Cornish Shrimper we led the rope strop over the bow roller then clipped the rope to a bow eye near the water line. Worked well. When we approached in the dinghy we unclipped from the bow eye and reversed the process after a sail.

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[Jollyswagman]

There is a simple answer which we use on our Hans Christian 43T. We have a shackle fitted through the fitting which takes the bob stay at the water line, onto this we have a 10mtr length of octoplait with a chain hook at the end. When anchoring vere the chain less 10mts, then hook on the rope & let out the chain until the rope is taking the strain, the boat is then effectively moored via the bobstay fitting. In the event of the rope or shackle failing the chain will resume taking the load through the decki fitting. BUT FIRST MAKE SURE THE BOB STAY FITTING WILL TAKE THE ANCHOR LOAD.

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