TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Tying up to a Mooring

Just a reminder that the worst possible way you can tie to a mooring is running a single line from one bow cleat through the pennant and over to the other bow cleat. The dock line will act like a saw over time cutting through the mooring loop. You also have zero redundancy if you chaff through the line. Seeing lots of boats tied on that way this week.
G

What is a 'dock law' ? I agree with the overall advice.

Damn spell correct. Fixed it!

On our December trip it seemed that the majority of boats were tied this way including some very large cats.

Do charter companies instruct on this before their boats leave the marina? Just wondering ....
We always use 2 lines.

I know Voyage carefully demonstrates the proper two line method.

Along the same "line", I recall a post somewhere that suggested using a carabiner to secure the 2 bow lines to the mooring pennant. Might make the process quicker, easier and less stressful. Any thoughts on this? What size carabiner have you used? How much load could the carabiner be subject to?

Thanks,

Peter

We use this one. We use it to secure one of the two lines to the pennant. The other line we loop through the pennant then back to the same cleat.

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|2259973|2260015&id=125770

I chartered a Moorings cat in Raiatea which was set up with a large carabiner on the bridle.

Picking up a mooring in Bora Bora, staff came out in the dinghy to help and hooked us up.

Unhooking the next morning, I found the carabiner with gate open clinging to a few strands of the loop in the mooring pendant.

Apparently, the mooring line was too thick to pass through the carabiner, so the resort staff passed the carabiner through the pendant eye and clipped it to the bridle.

My crew didn't think to mention this, and tension on the bridle pulled the attachment underwater, so I never saw it.

So the side loaded carabiner had unclipped itself overnight and fortunately caught on the mooring rope before we went completely adrift. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

Learned several lessons on that one!

We have that mongo Wishart carabiner too.
It's great for a quick clip.
Working load is over 3,000 lb, which is a lot.

HOWEVER, DO NOT TRUST IT ALL NIGHT.

After 20 years of rock-climbing I can tell you unequivocally that carabiners that do not have gate-locks can unhook themselves from the line/rope/loop.

You can make a gate lock with a 4-5" piece of 1/2" surgical tubing. just slide it over the gate.

Also, as mentioned we don't use the wichard as the sole attachment unless its a quick day stop. At night we alway have two lines.

I got it...makes a lot of sense. Use a carabiner to make attaching the 1st bow line to the pennant easier. Then, for security, run the second or even both bow lines through the pennant at my leisure. Thank you!

Peter