Mooring Pennant

[VT Fitz]

Received my helix anchor today. Got my mooring ball last week (great deal on eBay). I'm planning on an all-chain rode between the anchor & ball with between 5:1 to 7:1 scope. Now I'm thinking about pennants.My primary question on pennants is I see all the pre-made ones have a thimble for attaching to the mooring ball & a loop for securing to the bow cleat. However, we trailer-sailors have the trailer retrieval padeye on the bow. Does anyone use that to secure a pennant? It should be strong enough, no? I would actually have a primary pennant & a storm/back-up pennant as well, so I'm thinking the primary would lead to the bow cleat but would consider connecting the secondary to the eye.Also, there isn't a chock to lead the pennant over the bow. Does anyone lead a pennant over the top of the pulpit where the bend is to hold the unstepped mast in place? I guess I would have concerns about whether or not it would damage the pulpit. Obviously, chafe protection is essential, no matter how the pennant is led.As always, any shared experience would be greatly appreciated.Thanks!Kevin Fitzpatricks/v GrasshopperHunter 23.5Brownsville, VT

 

[Bryce22345]

moorings and pennants

heres a good article from INAMAR all about mooring, pennants and the like.Bryce

 

[Paul Akers]

Thank You, Bryce

nm

 

[VT Fitz]

Thanks

Bryce, thanks. You've posted that link before & I downloaded it last fall. It's one of the primary reasons I investigated & went for the helix over a mushroom or deadweight.MML, thank you for sharing your nearly identical experience. I'll actually be mooring in LI Sound off CT in front of a family cottage. Alas, saltwater, so I'll have to recoat with bottom paint. There is plenty of room for swing, so I thought I'd err on the side of extra scope. I'll be in approx 12'-15' of water at high tide with a perfect sand bottom for a helix anchor. The mooring ball already has a swivel built in to the bottom connection. I thought it might be a bad idea to lead over the pulpit. I don't see any obvious chock, unless I'm missing something. There is a channel coming out of the anchor locker, but that wouldn't be useful. I do have concerns about chafe, especially against the pulpit stanchion, regardless of routing. It may be useful to install chocks around either side of the pulpit.I just picked up a heavy duty Yale pennant with a chafe-guard on eBay yesterday. I'm not sure if it will be primary or secondary. I'm actually thinking of custom-making a second one from high strength 3-strand. I enjoy splicing!

 

[Nicky17000]

I have a Hunter 23.5 that I keep on a mooring for the summer. I was a bit concerned about the strength of both the bow cleat and the U bolt but so far, they seem ok. Actually I use two pennants, one to the U bolt and one to the bow cleat.The upper one is slightly longer so the load is primarily on the lower one.I found it better when I added a swivel under the buoy.Last year I made another modification. I attached a short rope to the bow U bolt with a shackle, and at the other end I attached a mooring spring.It acts as a shock absorber. Then I connect the mooring pennant to the spring with a clip. It is easier than to connect directly to the bow becouse I can do it at deck level.When I'm underway, it is stowed in the anchor well.Nicky

 

[VT Fitz]

Follow up for Nicky

Nicky, thanks for sharing your experience. How do you route the pennant from bow cleat over the bow?

 

[Nicky17000]

The rope is just long enough so that when it is not in use, it goes through the hole for the anchor line and the spring rests inside the hatch, with the anchor. It is long enough so that when in use and the wind is calm, it just hangs in the water and not rest on(and scratch)the side of the boat.Nicky

 

[VT Fitz]

Nicky, the other pennant

Your response was referring to how you stow your primary, correct? I was asking about how the secondary pennant is deployed when moored.Thx,Kevin

 

[VT Fitz]

email reply

I received an email from a member who didn't post a reply within this thread. For the sake of the archives, I'm appending it without disclosing the author. Thank you to my anonymous friend for sharing the experience!:Hello Kevin,I saw your forum post and wanted to share my experiences.I have a Hunter 23.5 that I moor on the Hudson River just north of the Tappan Zee Bridge. We have to deal with the current, tides, and strong winds. The first year I put the boat in the water, I purchased a "hard" mooring ball similar to what you described. The first thing I was told by one of the members at our club was that it was going to be a problem. Not wanting to go thru the hassle of returning it and getting something else I put it in the water. By the end of the season, the hull of my boat was all scrapped up from the ball rubbing against it.I don't know what the conditions are like where you are mooring, but the setup I would recommend would be as follows:Anchor (Our club requires a mushroom, mine is 250 lb)1/2" ChainSwivel3/8"ChainSwivelRing (I use a 4" ring )Attached to the ring:  Pennants Line to soft ballThe chain length would depend on the water depth. I am 99% sure that I have 15' of each, and we are in about 12' of water. The heavier chain mainly keeps the anchor on its side.I use two pennants. The first year I attached the second to the u-bolt and found that it was a bit cumbersome to deal with. Next year I had two cleats installed on either side of my anchor locker. It works very well. I now have three at the bow of the boat. There was a post a few years ago that had detailed instructions. The setup on my boat is very clean, and I have found that I don't have any chafe issues, no special hardware, no chafe covers, just two pennants run over either side of the boat. I also have a pickup stick that I attach to the pennants before I cast off. Once I am back to the mooring, I detach the stick and store it on the deck. The rope to the mooring ball is attached about 4' down from the top of the pennant and has enough length that I can pull it up and tie it to the pulpit when we are moored. This setup has worked very well in extremely demanding conditions!