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Swing Mooring back-up


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Hello all,

 

I’ve had a couple of great weekends of sailing on my “new” boat. She sails great (though I still need some work). I’ve decided that the furling Genoa is the greatest invention since sliced bread.

 

Just a question on swing moorings… my system seems to be working fine with the stain proof hook suggested by Knot Me. However I’ve been on the mooring in some chop (she’s off Maraetai), and have been surprised at how hard she can pull. In fact, the whole mooring system makes me nervous. It seems like there is very little room for error/failure. Besides my mooring chain, I have my mooring rope line/buoy securely fixed to the boat. But that’s also connected to the swing mooring chain.

 

Maybe I’m just paranoid, but the ol’ “weakest link” adage seems magnified to me when all of the links are sitting in salt water. I have visions of my boat drifting aimlessly in the Hauraki Gulf with the mooring hook & rope line securely attached, but dragging a broken mooring chain.

 

Does anyone have any “backup system” to their swing moorings? I have seen mooring line springs advertised to help reduce the impact of the force on the line. Any thoughts about those systems?

 

Maybe the only solution is regular inspections and the occasional prayer. All advice & opinions are welcome. Good sailing.

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If your mooring is correctly spec'd to the size boat, you should have no worries and it is why you have the yearly or two yearly inspections. The Chain itself (if it is the correct size) acts as the "spring" in the system. The big heavey chain down on the bottom is damn big and heavy and should take most of the weight and may pull tight in only the really big blows and even then, only in big gusts and should slacken off again.

The area of biggest concern is chafe on the mooring rope itself and in big hard blows, should be regularly inspected and if at all possible, the line should run through some plastic hose to protect it.

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I like your new avitar :thumbup:

 

Basically what Wheels said. As you go deeper down the mooring the gear gets progressively bigger. Usually it'll be top rope/chain to 16mm chain to 20 or 24mm chain to 34mm ex-ships stud link chain. That 'bottom chain', the stud link*, more than likely was holding a 250ft container ship just before it went onto your mooring. As the boat loads it up it first has to lift the 16mm then as more load comes on it has to move the 20mm and so on. For it to be banging on the mooring weight the weather will be such that you will go down the beach the next day and hope she's still there, 99.9% of the time they are. An average mooring around Auckland weights about 1500 kilos, some a lot more. I'd almost say you probably don't even need the weight/s on the end as the chains themselves would hold you.

 

But as your beast isn't a monster when talking displacement, if the mooring system is built huge the boat may knot have the power to progressively lift each stage unless the weather is very filthy. You can have too big of a mooring so maybe you have one of those and need to down size it a bit. That's knot always doable as there are minimums for both the local Authority and Insurance companies, mainly for durability. But it is possible to re-jig the lengths to make the boat work the system better. Doing that isn't hugely uncommon.

 

Can you email me the Mooring inspection Cert or the list of how it's made up? Or maybe the mooring number and I have devious ways of sussing how it's built from that. I can suss that to see if you have a monster and if anything can be tweaked.

 

If it's banging on the top chain a lot you could try putting a bit of elasticity in there to soften that bit. It's knot hard or expensive to do. Got a couple of meters of bungy cord? Make a small loop in the top chain so the loads go thru the bungy until the weather is way nasty. Depending on size you may want to put a few lops in the bungy so it doesn't max out in 10kts sort of thing. I'd say try and get around 6" of travel all up. See if that helps at all and if it does I'll tell you a way of making that bungy more durable and tidy as a shock absorber. There are other options but before you spend the coin try that experiment to see if it help your peace of mind and/or the boat. But remember that this will cause the chain to move more so best if you could put the bungy in-between the bow and water so the chain isn't doing the moving on your foredeck.

 

And it could just be a case of 'new boat paranoia' as that is far from uncommon. I have a 60ft ketch on a mooring in Akl for a few months now and I'm still twitchy if it gusts over 10kts. I do know the mooring is build like a brick outhouse, 2 of them combined actually, and the boat is attached with 3 times the usual to that but I hear a gust and start to quiver, even now :)

 

There is a mooring inspection cycle and the length of it is for a very good reason. Over the decades everyone has learnt just how long the gear can last with a high degree of certainty that the boat will still be there when the barge comes to inspect it next time. That length and the gear being used is constantly monitored. It's knot that usual to change timings, but 2 Regions have in the last few years, but it's very common for the word of dodgy gear to spread fast, sometimes in hours, and everyone stays away from it or changes as required. For example none, of the good dudes at least, use chinese made chain as that has proven to last as long as puff pastry. Don't forget the mooring contractor has put his knuts on your chopping block by saying your mooring is good to go for another XXX period. The mooring dudes are small and the 1st place the insurance companies head to reclaim lost boat costs, yet keeping in mind the owners wallet. And the dude who overseas the mooring dudes has been in the game for a long long time and hates grief so isn't shy about bitching to the mooring lads if he sees any issues or any arising.

 

You'll be please to know that mooring failures around Akl are very rear, less than 1% last suss, and most of those that do come off are related to things the boat owner should be keeping an eye on i.e. chafing ropes, which isn't a issue for you as you have a top chain. Actually one of the becoming more common reasons of late is cleats either coming off or a chunk of the deck, complete with the cleat, tearing out. But don't panic, those are almost exclusively AWB imports knot good kiwi made boats like yours.

 

* - while that chain has been rejected for the use on the ship it's sweet as for moorings. More then 10% wear in the seat of the chain and off the ships it must go. But the remaining 90% is still massively strong. Say a 34mm chain, a common size, even after losing 10% still has a break load around 50,000 kilos. Knot to shabby for most moored boats :) The reason the dudes used 'pre-loved' is that it's cheaper for the mooring owner than new chain. Mind you world supply and demand, due to moronic NZers exporting NZ grown technologies overseas, has meant the supply is drying up fast and costs are rising equally as quick.

 

If none of that makes sense email me and I'll draw a picture :thumbup:

And don't forget to fire me the mooring make up and I'll suss for you, no worries.

 

Oh gawd, another novel.

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Which boat is yours Sea hawk?

You should probably pm me with your contact details as I look straight down on her every day and if there's a panic I can call you first before I get my own feet wet.

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BM, that would be a Tracker you are now keeping an eye on ;)

 

Sea Hawk, your mooring is knot small. You could take the bottom 1/2 off it and still knot move I would think :thumbup:

 

Short of a catastrophic component failure, which super exceptionally rare around AKL, she's knot going no where.

 

email coming at ya.

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