mooring problem

[LordNelson]

i have a mooring ball with two lines running to my oday 20. i have a problem when there is calm winds as the boat seems to drift next to the ball and one of the lines seems to get over the ball and wrap around the chain. sometimes, both lines wrap around the chain is different directions.originally, i had the lines attached on the top of the ball as the model i am using allows the chain to be run through a pipe to the top of the ball. i installed a swivel below the ball and line connection. i tried attaching the lines below the ball. i even tried using tie wraps to tie the two lines together till closer to the boat, but the tie wraps broke during windy conditions.i know i could eliminate the problem if i used one line, but i like having two lines incase one should fail. (i almost lost a typhoon once when the 1/2 inch nylon chaffed through during a t-storm and a second 3/8 poly chaffed through two of three strands.)what am i doing wrong?

 

[Landsend]

using two lines is what's wrong.

Use a heavy enough line attached to the loop on the top of the ball. You may even try light welded chain.

 

[ED]

i dont understand

It seems to me that my system works a lot better than the ones described and i have no idea why others dont do it.My mooring ball ties into the main mooring line. when i come in i pick up the ball and put it on the deck then tie the mooring line directly to the cleat. I have a stick on the ball so its easy to pick up. The ball stays clean, its on the deck most of the time and i dont have to worry about stuff growing on the ball! Works great, saves maint.

 

[Maine Sail]

Ed it's...

Ed it's because most anchorages require chain to the ball not line! The weigh of the chain acts like a shock absorber in a storm. I doubt I've even moved my 25 feet of USCG bottom chain in the last month as we have not had winds over 30 knots. There is NO WAY I could lift 35 feet of 3/4 inch long link mooring chain (my top chain) onto my deck even if I wanted to in fact to check my swivel and pendants below the buoy I need to use my windlass just to get the damn swivel out of the water. Chain to rope or line is not advised for permanent moorings...See this link on proper mooring configuration:http://www.hamiltonmarine.com/0130.html

 

[Bob]

Kinky dinks

I put kinky dinks, you know, the styrofoam long hollow tubes you use in pools, around my lines. Not only does this make them float, but the boat rubs on these and not on the lines. All kinds of colors too!

 

[higgs]

Maybe this could help

First, I agree with your philosopy of 2 lines.I spent 15 years on a ball in L Mich and never had this problem. My mooring had a pipe running through the center and I attached the lines to the chain on top of the ball. I had probably six inches or more of chain at the top of the ball. I attached a swivel to that and then the lines to the swivel and it worked fine. It seems to me that the extra chain and swivel caused the ball to tilt to one side and perhaps that is why I never had that problem.

 

[LordNelson]

lines too long?

could it be that the nylon lines from the mooring chain to the boat are too long? is there a formula as to how long they should be?

 

[Ed]

pipe insulation

I have tie backed a 4 foot section of foam pipe insulation on my pendants and have never had a problem .

 

[Phil18102]

spliced line

Hi All: This is how I have have my mooring line atached. I attach one line with a thimble spliced to it and a swivel attached to that. the swivel is attached to the chain under the mooring ball. My marina puts a few extra links off the mooring ball for this purpose. Then one line with a chafe guard goes up from there. It is then spliced making two lines both with eyes sliced in the ends. I attach each to a bow cleats on each side of the boat. It looks like a big "Y". I make a new one every other year in the off season. Just make sure the line is rated for the weight of your boat as only one line holds the whole thing. It's easy to splice and gives me something to do in the off season. I hope this helps.

 

[Alan]

Easy fix

Bridle the two lines together and have them split apart just above the water line. You maintain two distinct lines and they will not wrap your mooring ball again.