Happy New Year everyone and thank you very much to those who have helped me solve some issues with my new Hunter 25. My boat is moored all season long on a river with both a strong tide and strong winds. I have an issue where it is untwisting mooring pennants. Just had the mooring pull and noticed that it does not have a swivel where it connects under the ball, just a regular shackel. Would the adding of a swivel help this issue, and should I go with two pennants for next season. Also since the mooring cleats on the new Hunter 25 are set so far back should I maybe add some chocks as far to the bow as possible. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I love this boat and hopefully will be able to solve this issue.
New Hunter 25 untwisting mooring lines
- Thread starter Mike16400
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Mooring
Why would you only use one pendent when two gives you twice the security? I had one chafe through last year in only a few days. What a great feeeling to row out and see your boat with one line hanging straight down and the other still tied to the mooring! Always shackle your pendents to the mooring chain, not the ball.
Why would you only use one pendent when two gives you twice the security? I had one chafe through last year in only a few days. What a great feeeling to row out and see your boat with one line hanging straight down and the other still tied to the mooring! Always shackle your pendents to the mooring chain, not the ball.
I agree with adding a swivel and two pennants
Also adding a float to the pennants themselves will keep them from wrapping around the mooring ball when the mooring is empty. I had a mooring on a river and had severe wrapping problems until I added a couple pieces of foam pipe insulation to the pennants. These kept the pennants floating and then they didn't wrap underneath. Be sure to use an oversized swivel- they are a relatively weak link. Regarding chocks- I don't like them. I think it is better to lead the pennants directly over the side. Cleats that are mounted right at the toerail are the best. If your cleats are mounted well inboard, can you remount them on the toerail? The problem with chocks is chafe. But you also have chafe on the pennants at the toerail if the cleats are inboard. If you can't move the cleats or install new cleats on the toerail, I guess I would install chocks, BUT use quality chafing gear and check it all the time.
Also adding a float to the pennants themselves will keep them from wrapping around the mooring ball when the mooring is empty. I had a mooring on a river and had severe wrapping problems until I added a couple pieces of foam pipe insulation to the pennants. These kept the pennants floating and then they didn't wrap underneath. Be sure to use an oversized swivel- they are a relatively weak link. Regarding chocks- I don't like them. I think it is better to lead the pennants directly over the side. Cleats that are mounted right at the toerail are the best. If your cleats are mounted well inboard, can you remount them on the toerail? The problem with chocks is chafe. But you also have chafe on the pennants at the toerail if the cleats are inboard. If you can't move the cleats or install new cleats on the toerail, I guess I would install chocks, BUT use quality chafing gear and check it all the time.
ed
i pick the ball up and put it on the boat. it does not get nasty in the water and eliminate the maintance. I hook the boat on the rode directly to the mooring anchor. It has chain on the bottom then a large swivel. with a single line set up it is no problem. when i leave the mooring i throw the ball in the water then cast off the mooring. twin lines are more difficult. my friend has two lines from the anchor to an upper swivel then two lines from the swivel to the boat. but the swivels are the weakest part so he changes out the swivels often.
i pick the ball up and put it on the boat. it does not get nasty in the water and eliminate the maintance. I hook the boat on the rode directly to the mooring anchor. It has chain on the bottom then a large swivel. with a single line set up it is no problem. when i leave the mooring i throw the ball in the water then cast off the mooring. twin lines are more difficult. my friend has two lines from the anchor to an upper swivel then two lines from the swivel to the boat. but the swivels are the weakest part so he changes out the swivels often.
My mooring in strong tides
Where I've been moored out in the harbor for the past five years, the tide can be as strong as eight knots. Additionally, the sudden storms can be rather taxing on a mooring. I've got 100' of 3/8" galvanized chain leading back to the boat. This leads to a pair of 20' pennants shackled to the chain's end (5/8" Nylon line). I chose not to use a swivel, as it was one less thing to go wrong. I've seen numerous mooring/pennant failures here, and 96% of them were mooring ball failures, where people used the built-in swivel feature of these balls. Even balls without a swivel feature have failed. Thus, I don't use a ball at all. The pair of Nylon pennants create a bridle afront the bow. When properly adjusted, this bridle prevents either single line from chafing across the front edge of the bow as the boat swings from side-to-side, as Hunters tend to do at anchor. Attached to the boat end of one of these pennants, I have another line to a 90" masted mooring buoy. When leaving the mooring, I drop the lines over the side along with the buoy, and recover the buoy upon returning. The lines sink to the bottom and lay there. Another nice feature with two pennants is that you can tie your dinghy off to one which leaves the other free to bring aboard. I learned this lesson the hard way when a storm suddenly broke out as I approached my mooring. It was murder trying to pull the pennant aboard with the wind-blown weight of the dinghy aggressively pulling the line away from me. Now with the mooring buoy, it gets tied to the free line. At least I can get the boat tied-down before dealing with the pennant attached to the dinghy. Yes, the two lines do tend to wrap, but I've given up worrying about this. I used to release one of the lines to undo the wrap, but eventually discovered nature will take its course, with the wrap prompting the boat to pivot in the opposite direction during slack tide. I think the bridle has some part in this prompting. Another hard-learned-lesson was to NOT have an eye-splice on the boat end of the pennants. It sure is easy to slip the eye over the cleat, but try to release it during a heavy blow and you'll never use the eye-splice again. The entire weight of your boat is pulling these lines taunt. Getting enough slack to slip the eye off the cleat is nearly impossible. At the time, I had another boat dragging down upon me and nearly had to cut my pennants. Under such circumstance, it's so much easier to simply release the line. I can't now recall why I couldn't simply motor forward to get the slack, but know at the time there was a reason. I ended up having to attach a block & tackle down the pennant and back to the bow just to get the necessary slack for release. What a pain in the butt that was. Ahh... live and learn. Scott Key West S/V Rubicon
Where I've been moored out in the harbor for the past five years, the tide can be as strong as eight knots. Additionally, the sudden storms can be rather taxing on a mooring. I've got 100' of 3/8" galvanized chain leading back to the boat. This leads to a pair of 20' pennants shackled to the chain's end (5/8" Nylon line). I chose not to use a swivel, as it was one less thing to go wrong. I've seen numerous mooring/pennant failures here, and 96% of them were mooring ball failures, where people used the built-in swivel feature of these balls. Even balls without a swivel feature have failed. Thus, I don't use a ball at all. The pair of Nylon pennants create a bridle afront the bow. When properly adjusted, this bridle prevents either single line from chafing across the front edge of the bow as the boat swings from side-to-side, as Hunters tend to do at anchor. Attached to the boat end of one of these pennants, I have another line to a 90" masted mooring buoy. When leaving the mooring, I drop the lines over the side along with the buoy, and recover the buoy upon returning. The lines sink to the bottom and lay there. Another nice feature with two pennants is that you can tie your dinghy off to one which leaves the other free to bring aboard. I learned this lesson the hard way when a storm suddenly broke out as I approached my mooring. It was murder trying to pull the pennant aboard with the wind-blown weight of the dinghy aggressively pulling the line away from me. Now with the mooring buoy, it gets tied to the free line. At least I can get the boat tied-down before dealing with the pennant attached to the dinghy. Yes, the two lines do tend to wrap, but I've given up worrying about this. I used to release one of the lines to undo the wrap, but eventually discovered nature will take its course, with the wrap prompting the boat to pivot in the opposite direction during slack tide. I think the bridle has some part in this prompting. Another hard-learned-lesson was to NOT have an eye-splice on the boat end of the pennants. It sure is easy to slip the eye over the cleat, but try to release it during a heavy blow and you'll never use the eye-splice again. The entire weight of your boat is pulling these lines taunt. Getting enough slack to slip the eye off the cleat is nearly impossible. At the time, I had another boat dragging down upon me and nearly had to cut my pennants. Under such circumstance, it's so much easier to simply release the line. I can't now recall why I couldn't simply motor forward to get the slack, but know at the time there was a reason. I ended up having to attach a block & tackle down the pennant and back to the bow just to get the necessary slack for release. What a pain in the butt that was. Ahh... live and learn. Scott Key West S/V Rubicon
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