I just bought this boat and am concerned about chafe on the mooring lines. I haven't put the boat in the water yet, but it looks like the bow cleats are too far back and the mooring lines would cross the toe rail and wear. Has someone encountered this problem before and brainstormed a solution? We don't get to use the boat every weekend and are concerned about the mooring lines breaking, we moor the boat.
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Based on what Practical Sailor studied, the best cross of chafe protection and cost is good ol' garden hose. Needs to be rubber inside and out. Can be attached to rode...uh...line with zipties. I have the H31, same design style as the 28.5 and I mounted the hoses permanently on the toerail so I can use them for both anchoring and docking/mooring. Looks bad, but very functional. Anybody seen any blue water hose laying around?
Based on what Practical Sailor studied, the best cross of chafe protection and cost is good ol' garden hose. Needs to be rubber inside and out. Can be attached to rode...uh...line with zipties. I have the H31, same design style as the 28.5 and I mounted the hoses permanently on the toerail so I can use them for both anchoring and docking/mooring. Looks bad, but very functional. Anybody seen any blue water hose laying around?
I used hard solid rubber tubing cut to about 1-foot length, of a diameter which stays around the mooring lines snugly without need to secure it further into position. It sits across the aluminum toerails, and has been doing its job for over four years now with no sign of wear.
Chafe guards form West
We have a 93 H28 which has the cleats mounted on the aluminum toe rail so that the mooring lines chafe on the toe rail and across the bow. (The forestay chainplate runs about 18 inches down the front of the bow.) The 28 surfs back an forth a bit with the shoal keel so we put "Perimeter" brand polyester chafe guards from West marine on the lines where they rub on the rail and where they rub across the chainplate on the bow. These chafe guards are very flexible so we can actually get the line with the guard around the back of the cleat. The boat was out at the mooring for the whole summer and during hurricane Floyd. Our marina clocked up to 70 mph winds for several hours and we had sustained winds in excess of 30 mph for about 2 days. The chafe guards held up great. A bigger concern for us was how to protect the lines from the chain connecting the buoy to the anchor. When it is calm the boat drifts around and the mooring lines wrap themselves around the chain. Even though they are connected to a swivel, the chain chafes the lines quite a bit when the wind picks up before the lines untangle. Our marina actually had to replace one of the lines during the hurricane where it had chafed completely through on the chain (And they even moved the chafe guards over to the new line... great marina) So far we haven't thought up a solution for this problem, but we don't live far away so we visit the boat at least once a week to make sure everything is OK... especially before a windy storm is supposed to blow through.
We have a 93 H28 which has the cleats mounted on the aluminum toe rail so that the mooring lines chafe on the toe rail and across the bow. (The forestay chainplate runs about 18 inches down the front of the bow.) The 28 surfs back an forth a bit with the shoal keel so we put "Perimeter" brand polyester chafe guards from West marine on the lines where they rub on the rail and where they rub across the chainplate on the bow. These chafe guards are very flexible so we can actually get the line with the guard around the back of the cleat. The boat was out at the mooring for the whole summer and during hurricane Floyd. Our marina clocked up to 70 mph winds for several hours and we had sustained winds in excess of 30 mph for about 2 days. The chafe guards held up great. A bigger concern for us was how to protect the lines from the chain connecting the buoy to the anchor. When it is calm the boat drifts around and the mooring lines wrap themselves around the chain. Even though they are connected to a swivel, the chain chafes the lines quite a bit when the wind picks up before the lines untangle. Our marina actually had to replace one of the lines during the hurricane where it had chafed completely through on the chain (And they even moved the chafe guards over to the new line... great marina) So far we haven't thought up a solution for this problem, but we don't live far away so we visit the boat at least once a week to make sure everything is OK... especially before a windy storm is supposed to blow through.
cut the toerail
we cut away the vertical portion of the toerail with a electical scroll saw in the vicinity of the cleat (the length of the cleat plus 3 inches beyond each end) to make room for lines. Did it years ago and looks fine. The aluminum toerail cuts easily under the saw. Finish any rough edges with a file.
we cut away the vertical portion of the toerail with a electical scroll saw in the vicinity of the cleat (the length of the cleat plus 3 inches beyond each end) to make room for lines. Did it years ago and looks fine. The aluminum toerail cuts easily under the saw. Finish any rough edges with a file.
mooring line chafing
If you can locate some old firehose at your local station, its the greatest. I used some 1.75 d hose on my 1 inch mooring lines and its virtually indistructable. Bryce S/V Spellbinder H410
If you can locate some old firehose at your local station, its the greatest. I used some 1.75 d hose on my 1 inch mooring lines and its virtually indistructable. Bryce S/V Spellbinder H410
Note for Canadice
One way to keep the mooring lines from tangling on the buoy chain is to enclose the line in the stiffest garden hose you can find for the length of the mooring anchor chain or mooring line, whichever is shorter. That is, the vertical distance from the bottom of the buoy to the top of the mooring anchor OR the length of the mooring line. You can get the stiff hose and cut it longitudinally then fit it around the line. Unsightly? Yeah, maybe, unless you can find some white hose, but the stiffness keeps the line away from the bouy, if it does get twisted somehow, the hose allows the line to slip off the mooring anchor chain easily and is never under pressure. Result? No chafe at all. The rubber hose should last somewhere in the neighborhood of 200-300 years unless left in the sun. I also suspect Bryce's firehose would work well for this purpose also except that it is much heavier and may be much more difficult to install; still works great for the cleats at the bow though!
One way to keep the mooring lines from tangling on the buoy chain is to enclose the line in the stiffest garden hose you can find for the length of the mooring anchor chain or mooring line, whichever is shorter. That is, the vertical distance from the bottom of the buoy to the top of the mooring anchor OR the length of the mooring line. You can get the stiff hose and cut it longitudinally then fit it around the line. Unsightly? Yeah, maybe, unless you can find some white hose, but the stiffness keeps the line away from the bouy, if it does get twisted somehow, the hose allows the line to slip off the mooring anchor chain easily and is never under pressure. Result? No chafe at all. The rubber hose should last somewhere in the neighborhood of 200-300 years unless left in the sun. I also suspect Bryce's firehose would work well for this purpose also except that it is much heavier and may be much more difficult to install; still works great for the cleats at the bow though!
Raise Chocks
Dick: It sounds like your Bow Chocks have not been modified. On the 28.5 a lot of owners have raised the chocks about 1" by installing a wooden teak spacer. This raises the mooring line up high enough to clear the toerail. When I bought my 28.5 this modification had been made by a previous owner. You still need chafe protection as suggested. I use the leather chafe kits available at boating supply stores. Dave McIlveen "Osprey"
Dick: It sounds like your Bow Chocks have not been modified. On the 28.5 a lot of owners have raised the chocks about 1" by installing a wooden teak spacer. This raises the mooring line up high enough to clear the toerail. When I bought my 28.5 this modification had been made by a previous owner. You still need chafe protection as suggested. I use the leather chafe kits available at boating supply stores. Dave McIlveen "Osprey"
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