Two bits of mooring rope and a decent old tyre: winter mooring covered

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Jamesuk

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Walking around the marina i found tyres on 3/4 boats as snatch load absorbers. Having left the boat on friday to come back to a 'your main stern line snapped your back up held, no damage'. I was blown away that after 4 years a mooring line snapped in less wind than i have had elsewhere.

I now have 4 tyres taking up 100% of daily load (at rest the load is on the tyres) and in strong winds they do 90% of the work then in te big gusts they are supporter by the normal array of dock lines.

Does anyone else actually travel with these tyres or is it a winter thing?

If only they made them in white !!
 
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Mooring lines

Our club Marina requires boats to use "Foreheda" compensators. They are a rubber snubber type of thing that the line goes thropugh a hole at one end wraps around the body a few times then through a hole in the other end giving some stretch under load like a tire. They are expensive and do not last very long in UV.
The old sytem we used was a heavy c0ounterweight hanging off the jetty. A mooring line is taken to a point half way down the chain so any load lifts the counterweight. This sytem works OK but chain rusts and wears out. Our marina has fixed jetties (not floating) as there is only a small tide change. However often enough to amke boarding the boat tricky.
Tires are cheap but bulky and black.I would persevere with polypropelene rope as it has a lot of inherent stretch but beware it can snap if it has been degraded by UV even though it looks Ok on the outside. Mu7ltiple lines seems to be the safest option. olewill
 
yoda said:
I have seen plenty Of boats using tyres in their lines at Mayflower marina in Plymouth. Will do the same myself next year.

Yoda
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Yes, Mayflower strongly recommend the use of tyres. They consider they are better than any of the (dearer) alternatives. Not very aesthetic though!! I use them through the summer at Mayflower, but take the boat out of the water for the winter.
 
I've found several rubber snubbers in two bits as flotsam which leads me to believe they're not very durable. The metal spring ones creak like anything making sleep impossible. Old tyres (with a backup line) sound ideal - but need checking.
 
Are you allowed to hang weights on the lines?
If I want more 'spring' in a warp I lead it round the bollard/cleat/ring etc and along to another strongpoint, longer = more stretch.
 
William_H said:
Our club Marina requires boats to use "Foreheda" compensators. They are a rubber snubber type of thing that the line goes thropugh a hole at one end wraps around the body a few times then through a hole in the other end giving some stretch under load like a tire. They are expensive and do not last very long in UV.
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Why not make a cover for the compensator? If you make it from sail cover material it'll prolong the life of the expensive component - use old material to save a bit more!
Should only need a few eyelets or perhaps just some velcro & hemming...
 
fireball said:
Why not make a cover for the compensator? If you make it from sail cover material it'll prolong the life of the expensive component - use old material to save a bit more!
Should only need a few eyelets or perhaps just some velcro & hemming...
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How about seat belt pads from Poundworld?
 
Car (or truck) tyres are not allowed here (Agios Nikolaos, Crete). Too often they've ended up on the bottom. A couple of years ago they had the local rescue group come and "clean" the bottom off the marina, it was amazing how many old tyres they pulled out.

Don't use stainless steel springs. SWMBO will love them because they look nice, but they work harden and break quickly. I used to use SS springs on my boat and I'd break at least one every winter. Galvanised steel ones go rusty and look horrible (SWMBO hates them) and it's true that they do squeak more. But my current ones have already done three winters.
 
fisherman said:
Are you allowed to hang weights on the lines?
If I want more 'spring' in a warp I lead it round the bollard/cleat/ring etc and along to another strongpoint, longer = more stretch.
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Movement around the cleat=chafe.....

Weights on the lines can be a good solution.
 
Stern/ bow ropes doubled up with an old fender hung in between them boat moves ropes tighten and in doing so squeezes the fender . Works for us as Liveaboards.
 
fisherman said:
What if you twist two or three inner tubes together, attached with rolling hitches to shorten the warps leaving a slackback?
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That works for me too, 3/4 push bike ones cable tied together, or 2 scooter/m-bike ones ditto, so theres a loop at either end, don't last forever, but you can usually get some from your local tyre fitter/ bike shop for free, if you ask nicely.
 
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