Mooring a 268 Sundancer

[tykes]

Does anyone have any suggestions for mooring a 268 Sundancer on a swing mooring.

I recognise that in the USA most people either trail their boats or keep them in a marina however here in the UK marinas can be prohibitively expensive so swing and trot line moorings are common.

My question relates to a suitable mooring set up. My boat has cleats down either side which would be fine for a pontoon mooring but I have nothing on the bow and neither do I have an anchor windlass.

I am contemplating mooring to the bow eye but am wondering if this would be strong enough. i would probably also have a couple of additional lines to the forward cleats for safety.

Other alternative would be to install a decent sized cleat or Samson post on the bow with a bow roller.

Would appreciate thoughts from others who may have done this.

Many thanks.

 

[electricaldoctor]

Well, you have just introduced us to some new terms that are unfamiliar to us over here in the colonies, but I suspect that mooring to the bow eye would be more than sufficient for your purposes.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Swing moorings are actually more common than you might think, here. I do that, myself, at our cabins off the coast of Maine. Installing a bollard/Samson post is a good idea, too - but would require some major reinforcing and possibly skene chocks. You can actually use your existing cleats just the way you are. I assume you're good to go on the ground tackle and float... from your mooring ball, simply attach two (equal length) ropes - one goes the port cleat, one to the starboard. Quick and easy and there is no modification to your boat needed. You can actually use one length of rope of this - just turn it over on itself at the mooring ball connection (often times there's a metal ring there). For what it's worth, I've done (and still do) both ways. The bollard, once installed, is nice - it just takes more effort and money right now.

Your bow eye would be plenty strong enough - it's just a bit of pain to tie off to.

 

[NZ268]

Our 268 sits on a swing mooring down here most of the year. Its not unusual for wind on stormy days to be at 60mph with gusts to 80mph or higher. We have a bow roller, we remove the anchor and the mooring line comes up through the roller and is looped around a substantial cleat. A short piece of rope ensures that the mooring line stays in the bow roller and on the cleat and then ties off on to the anchor, as a backstop should the cleat give way. There are some substantial forces at play on a mooring - It would be very difficult to access the bow eye as you approach a mooring buoy and all the boats around us use the method above. I was a bit nervous leaving the 268 out in the elements at first but after a couple of seasons its fine and I am quite relaxed. A gull sweep works well to keep the birds off the canvas.

 

[electricaldoctor]

A bridle setup as decribed by Dennis sounds like the way to go for you. Just make sure your cleats have good backing plates. A friend of mine had one pull right off his Regal 360 a few years ago.

 

[Henry Boyd]

We've been mooring our 280 for the past nine years using the bow cleats. By rights the pendants should be separate lines attached to the chain using shackles.

Chapmen has an excellent section on this topic.

Henry


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Lazy Daze]

We've been mooring our 280 for the past nine years using the bow cleats. By rights the pendants should be separate lines attached to the chain using shackles.

Agree. Should one give way, you still have another - and one is more than enough to hold the boat.

We've always been in the habit of routinely checking our pendants and they last many, many years. Once the rope cinches down on itself around the mooring ring, the rope doesn't move around the ring so there's no worries about abrasion. But as far as "best practice" goes, Henry is correct.

 

[tykes]

Thank you all for your comments and advice. The bridle setup appears to be the most practical and utilises the existing cleats. Do you think the factory cleats are strong enough or should I reinforce them? Separate pendants makes very good sense.

I agree that accessing the bow eye would be extremely difficult particularly in any weather so I will scrap that idea.

My mooring is at Exmouth and there are some strong tidal currents at times.

Thanks again for the tips.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Do you think the factory cleats are strong enough or should I reinforce them?

Yes - that's why I do it that way. Heck, one cleat is more than sufficient to hold the boat.