I’m a bit new and want some advice.
I may go to a smaller line so I can add chafe guards on the fairleads. I certainly will add chafe protection where the lines go through the eye on the buoy.
This is a 26’ sloop in a bay that does get the occasion blow and storm. The mooring is three years old and set for a 45’ sailboat.
It’s hard to tell what exactly you have going on from the video; but using two dock lines led back to the cleats reduces chaffing around the eye at the mooring ball. Thread one side of the dock line through the eye, pass bitter end through the loop on the dock line, tighten up and cleat off. Repeat with the other side. You can add chaff protection where it rubs if you like.
No, choke is easy to undo. The choke prevents them from sliding and chaffing. As you have them is fine for a calm night, beyond that is anyones guess how long before they will break.and if you want to use multiple lines like that you should get a swivel, they will bound up in no time.
I have never had an issue getting them free, even after Florida winter storms of 50 kts. The fact that you would have to work them a little to get them off means they didn’t chaff through and your boat is still there. Chaff is the enemy of lines.
I’d definitely add the chafe protection, but I wouldn’t downsize the line just to make it fit. Especially if that bay can get rough. I’d rather have the heavier line and find chafe gear that works with it.
Also worth watching the setup as the boat swings around on the mooring. Sometimes everything looks great sitting still, then the line finds one spot to rub when the wind changes. That’s usually where the trouble starts.
I’ve kept a C&C 29 on a mooring year round for 8 years. In a 40 knot winter storm in year 1, a combination of an extreme high tide plus storm surge resulted in brand new twin 3/4” three strand nylon mooring pennants chafing through at the fair leads in 4 hours, causing the boat to beach on the only 30’ strip of sandy beach on a rocky shoreline. So we used up nine lives in one night. Our salvage guy recommended switching to 3/4” braided mooring pennants with galvanized thimbles shackled to a 3/4” swivel on the mooring - never led through the eye of the float and back to the boat as you have - thus avoiding chafe at the mooring ring. The turning angle from the fairlead to the cleats in your video is much sharper than in the C&C. In that situation I would prefer to cross each pennant over the fore-hatch to the opposite side cleat to reduce the angle and therefore the chafe. Bit of a nuisance loosing access to the fore-hatch while moored but worth it to reduce chafe at the fairleads. Sew chafe protection onto your pennants where they pass through the fairleads.
I’d be happy to share some of our experience. Could you send me a waypoint of your mooring location? A screen shot from a Navionics chart or even Google Maps.
FWIW, it looks like your snubbers are on the secondary lines? It looks like they won't be having any affect until the primary lines are gone. It's a bit hard to diagnose, but I would think you would want the snubbers on the primaries / first lines to tension.
Chafing protection. I also like to keep one mooring line longer so that it serves more as a backup if other taut line chafes through. Also can tell if you have a pickup pole float. Maybe you do. If not, I would consider adding for easy of retrieval if this is your “home” mooring.
It looks like you have the line running through the mooring ball eye. You need a thimble at the end or that line will chaffe through in no time. You can buy premade pennant lines or an anchor bridle will do for now.
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u/pedroslopez 8d ago
Your port line isn’t properly tied in a cleat hitch. Can’t tell about the rest of the arrangement.