mooring to Buoys

[tckearney]

Hi I am looking at using a swinging mooring this year.   I Have a B42 2000 model.  It has a large piveting bowroller as fitted.  It also has a extra large anchor that will not fit into the anchore locker, so using the bow for a mooring warp is basically out of the question, even if I fitted a  tandem roller.   I was considering using a V shaped mooring Bridle to the deck cleats.  Any advise would really be appreciated.  IE,   do I have a V straight to the mooring buoy?  or a V ending somewhere between the buoy and the cleats? (more like a Y bridle)    If so what sort of lenght should I look for.  Clearance when swinging is not a problem.  Not a great tidal flow but can get bouncy!

[Salty]

On my B36 2002, I used the bow roller fairlead for a single rope up from the buoy, over the bow roller and lead to the starboard bow mooring cleat. In addition I used a separate line from the port forward mooring cleat to a point on the buoy mooring line about half way between the bow roller and the starboard mooring cleat. The rope from the port mooring cleat was wrapped around the buoy mooring rope about three complete turns, and was pulled back towards the port side cleat in order to make a “Y” shaped mooring on deck. This prevented the buoy mooring line from pulling against one side of the bow roller which on my boat was a relatively lightweight structure that got damaged during my first year on that mooring during a strong blow. The bow roller was straightened that winter and was beefed up considerably, but thereafter I had already adopted the “Y” shaped arrangement on deck, and no further damage was experienced.
Other larger boats also using moorings there made similar arrangements, and later the sailing club modified the mooring buoys and began to provide mooring bridles using 3” circumference polysteel (actually a UV stabilised polypropylene) mooring rope which allowed boats to take each end of the bridle to the cleats on port and starboard sides. The anchor I had was lifted out of the bow roller prior to mooring and was laid on deck port side where it was secured to the first pulpit stanchion on that side.
A word of warning regarding leaving your anchor in place, is that considerable chafing can occur during a blow, such that if you haven't taken precautions to prevent such chafe between your anchor and the mooring rope, like moving the anchor out of the way, your pride and joy might end up adrift, or on the putty along with a severed mooring line/bridle.
With proper precautions in place to prevent chafeing of the mooring line, I enjoyed ten seasons on a swinging mooring with no further mishap.

[IslandAlchemy]

Why not just have 2 bridles on the mooring buoy and attach one to each bow cleat.

That's what I do.

[tckearney]

Do you have Fairleads ?

[Salty]

Why not just have 2 bridles on the mooring buoy and attach one to each bow cleat.

That's what I do.

Our moorings were provided, put down and maintained by the yacht club, (Holyhead Sailing Club) and by using the mooring arrangement they provided we were covered by the clubs insurance, anyone using their own bridles were not covered, neither were those who did not take adequate precautions to protect the provided club mooring from chafe. So thats what we used, and it worked a treat.

[quote tckearney - Do you have Fairleads ?]

Yes, standard Bavaria mooring fairleads at bow located each side immediately aft of bow roller fitting where they were too close to the bow roller if the anchor was left in position. In such situation the risk of the anchor chafeing the mooring was real and so the anchor was lifted out and stowed on deck to remove that risk, and was no big deal. Indeed if I was only going out for a few hours of sailing, the anchor was left secured on deck and out of the way ready for when I returned to the mooring. If I intended to anchor somewhere, or was off on a longer trip, the anchor would be returned to the bow roller as soon as possible after unmooring. This took only a matter of minutes, and as I said, it was no big deal, and was despite the fact that most of my sailing was done on my own.

[Rampage]

I kept Rampage on a swinging mooring in the Menai Straits for about 6 months. Initially I used a two legged bridle, one leg through each fairlead to the cleats. I later changed that to a single chain leg, led over the bow roller after getting the bridle into a wonderful tangle. Anchor stowed as per Salty’s method.
If we’d been going to stay longer on the mooring, I’d have fitted a second roller, offset somewhat, to take the chain as shifting the anchor wasn’t a sport I enjoyed. I’d also have used stainless chain for the final part of the leg, so as to avoid the rust stains I got from the chain in use.  Did that with my Hurley 18 and it worked well: much sucking of teeth by the mooring contractor about mixing the chain (stainless and galvanised) but as the stainless was only ever in the water when we were off the mooring, it didn’t cause any problems.