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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2020 7:52:38 GMT
Has anyone ever tried using mooring compensators? These things: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B077K7KJCZ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=AOG896JV0OM61&psc=1They aren't intended for canal use- they are more for offshore/coastal craft that are subject to higher waves and bigger wakes from passing boats, etc. But there have been a couple of places I've moored, and particularly back in August, where it seemed there was a boat passing every 5 minutes- and about half of them were in a hurry. You can lessen the bumping around motion by mooring up pretty tightly, of course- but there are still plenty of times when boats go by at full chat (especially the big heavy boats, or the ones who are really pressing on) and no matter how tightly you moor, your boat is going to get pulled around. And then you have a few moments of minor irritation thinking about the selfish bastards who can't be arsed to do the considerate thing and knock a bit of speed off, etc. Obviously its quickly forgotten- it just is what is. But in certain places (near busy junctions say), and in certain weeks of the year, this minor irritation can feel like its happening every few minutes (I remember Gayton junction being particularly busy with fast boaters in early Sept at weekends), and I was wondering if these 'snubbers' might help to lower my blood pressure, if used at those particular places and times. I think the mooring rope passes through one end, and is wrapped in a few spirals around the middle part before going through the eye on the other end. So the rope is always holding the boat, and the rubber only acts to slow down the boat movement, and to apply the shock more gradually as the rope is becoming taut. The concern, as with quite a few of my ideas for new devices, is that I haven't yet seen a single narrowboat using them. This is usually a sign that's its a rubbish idea. E.g. its possible the rubber pulls the boat back into the bank with a fair bit of elastic force, and you end up being bumped into the bank instead of being jarred when the rope goes taut. So I was wondering- has anyone ever tried them on a canal or river?
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Post by Telemachus on Dec 15, 2020 8:05:18 GMT
Has anyone ever tried using mooring compensators? These things: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B077K7KJCZ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=AOG896JV0OM61&psc=1They aren't intended for canal use- they are more for offshore/coastal craft that are subject to higher waves and bigger wakes from passing boats, etc. But there have been a couple of places I've moored, and particularly back in August, where it seemed there was a boat passing every 5 minutes- and about half of them were in a hurry. You can lessen the bumping around motion by mooring up pretty tightly, of course- but there are still plenty of times when boats go by at full chat (especially the big heavy boats, or the ones who are really pressing on) and no matter how tightly you moor, your boat is going to get pulled around. And then you have a few moments of minor irritation thinking about the selfish bastards who can't be arsed to do the considerate thing and knock a bit of speed off, etc. Obviously its quickly forgotten- it just is what is. But in certain places (near busy junctions say), and in certain weeks of the year, this minor irritation can feel like its happening every few minutes (I remember Gayton junction being particularly busy with fast boaters in early Sept at weekends), and I was wondering if these 'snubbers' might help to lower my blood pressure, if used at those particular places and times. I think the mooring rope passes through one end, and is wrapped in a few spirals around the middle part before going through the eye on the other end. So the rope is always holding the boat, and the rubber only acts to slow down the boat movement, and to apply the shock more gradually as the rope is becoming taut. The concern, as with quite a few of my ideas for new devices, is that I haven't yet seen a single narrowboat using them. This is usually a sign that's its a rubbish idea. E.g. its possible the rubber pulls the boat back into the bank with a fair bit of elastic force, and you end up being bumped into the bank instead of being jarred when the rope goes taut. So I was wondering- has anyone ever tried them on a canal or river? Never tried them but I think anything that allows the boat to move is a bad idea. Better to spend your money on more rope (moor ropes!), chains /stakes and put out springs. That will help the boat remain stationary. Although we donβt live on our boat we do use it a lot. I canβt remember the last time a boat passed us at such a speed it caused us annoyance. If it is happening to you all the time, I suggest that the way you are tying up is sub-optimal.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2020 8:11:29 GMT
Moor tight and relax ... you're on water ... it moves.
Rog
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2020 8:23:22 GMT
Never tried them but I think anything that allows the boat to move is a bad idea. Better to spend your money on more rope (moor ropes!), chains /stakes and put out springs. That will help the boat remain stationary. Although we donβt live on our boat we do use it a lot. I canβt remember the last time a boat passed us at such a speed it caused us annoyance. If it is happening to you all the time, I suggest that the way you are tying up is sub-optimal. No its not all the time- as I said above its a particular time of year, and a few hot spots where for me at least, it becomes an annoyance. I now pull the mooring ropes tight- more taut than most I see around me, but speeding boats will still pull the boat around. So far I've not used springs though, and that sounds like it could be a good solution. I think part of the issue is a personal one of perception, and how annoyed we get get about other people's behaviour. If you cant even remember feeling annoyed at being jarred by boats who don't slow down, that might partly be because you are just a more easy going person, and more tolerant in general. At the other end of the scale there is the hypersensitive woman waving at me to slow down near Braunston, when I was literally at tickover and less than 2mph. The problem is that all ropes will give a bit under the pulling force created by a boat at say 4mph- even if only a couple of inches. When the boat reaches the end of that few inches of travel, there is still going to be a shock as the rope goes taut, although hopefully with springs it will be less. Next time I'm in a very busy spot I'll be sure to give that a try.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2020 8:27:51 GMT
Moor tight and relax ... you're on water ... it moves. Rog Well thanks for that lesson in fluid dyamics Rog, although I cant say its advanced my understanding a huge amount. I do moor tight- very tight- but I'll add springs when in these very busy places, and see how that helps. I'm pretty relaxed most of the time, and I don't come leaping from the rear door shouting at people, as I've seen happen. It is minor irritation after all, but at certain times of year the minor irritation seems to happen a lot.
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Post by Gone on Dec 15, 2020 8:28:51 GMT
Our dog wakes up (actually the problem is he wakes me) if the boat bumps the bank on windy nights. Spring lines work very well, we both sleep through the night.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2020 8:40:55 GMT
I once tried something similar years ago, only the once, never bothered again.π·
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2020 8:44:59 GMT
Sorry, I wasn't being sarcastic ... movement on a boat is unavoidable so try and accept it, once you've done what you can to minimise it.
Rog
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Post by quaysider on Dec 15, 2020 8:47:44 GMT
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Post by Mr Stabby on Dec 15, 2020 8:49:26 GMT
Ratchet straps and goat chains around piling is the way to go here.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2020 8:58:08 GMT
If we're moored in a large pound where the water level doesn't change much we might use a spring. That is two ropes at the bow and two at the stern. At each end, one goes 45 deg forward and the other 45 deg towards the aft. Works really well if you get speeding boats go past.
The only problem is that it's easy to trip on the lines which point inwards when you jump off the boat....as I found out to my cost once!
If the water level is likely to change a lot I'm happy to leave slack, especially in small pounds with leaky locks, or rivers.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2020 9:34:44 GMT
Pink is boat Orange is ropes from stern dollies and tee stud. Blue is an additional rope attached through the foredeck drain hole and led backwards a few feet then secured to the piling or pinned. I agree with Mr Stabby about the ratchet straps but real ones not EIton John Mickey Mouse style straps. The nice thing about using the foredeck drain hole as an attachment point is it is nice and low down so a very nice long spring line can be arranged without a rope getting in the way of getting on and off the boat. A ratchet strap is excellent for this one.
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Post by Isambard Kingdom Brunel on Dec 15, 2020 9:42:35 GMT
Sink it, stops all movement.
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Post by Telemachus on Dec 15, 2020 9:47:14 GMT
Never tried them but I think anything that allows the boat to move is a bad idea. Better to spend your money on more rope (moor ropes!), chains /stakes and put out springs. That will help the boat remain stationary. Although we donβt live on our boat we do use it a lot. I canβt remember the last time a boat passed us at such a speed it caused us annoyance. If it is happening to you all the time, I suggest that the way you are tying up is sub-optimal. No its not all the time- as I said above its a particular time of year, and a few hot spots where for me at least, it becomes an annoyance. I now pull the mooring ropes tight- more taut than most I see around me, but speeding boats will still pull the boat around. So far I've not used springs though, and that sounds like it could be a good solution. I think part of the issue is a personal one of perception, and how annoyed we get get about other people's behaviour. If you cant even remember feeling annoyed at being jarred by boats who don't slow down, that might partly be because you are just a more easy going person, and more tolerant in general. At the other end of the scale there is the hypersensitive woman waving at me to slow down near Braunston, when I was literally at tickover and less than 2mph. The problem is that all ropes will give a bit under the pulling force created by a boat at say 4mph- even if only a couple of inches. When the boat reaches the end of that few inches of travel, there is still going to be a shock as the rope goes taut, although hopefully with springs it will be less. Next time I'm in a very busy spot I'll be sure to give that a try. Itβs also not just about how tight the lines are, itβs about the direction the leave the boat at too. I see a lot of boats with lines at near 90degrees to the boat. When other boats pass, the majority of the force is lengthways (fore and aft) and lines at 90 degrees canβt easily resist a force in that direction. The other thing is the vertical direction of the lines. Hopefully we all know that using a centreline is a really bad idea because it makes the boat tip over, but you do also see a lot of boats with a high counter or bow and very short ropes, so that the line of the pull is at say 45 degrees down. Again, fairly useless to resist the fore/aft pull. As Andrew implies, tying onto something as near the waterline as possible helps a lot. So in summary, fairly long ropes fairly flat (and tight) is the solution. Better still with 4 lines as mentioned previously. Or even 3 lines. We always find that fixed bollards or rings at at the wrong spacing so will typically put 2 lines out at one end (to stop the boat moving fore/aft) and one at the other just to keep that end against the bank. In order to work out how best to moor your boat, DONβT look at how other people do it because in the main they are hopeless. Oh and if you knew me well, you would know that I am definitely not easy going and am easily annoyed, especially by other peopleβs selfishness. But if my boat isnβt being moved or bumped into the bank, even I find it difficult to get annoyed!
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Post by twbm2 on Dec 15, 2020 9:50:26 GMT
One of the factors is the amount of water under the boat. The same hydraulic action - if that's a thing - that makes a breaking wave on the shallows is pulling the water out from under you if you are not moored in reasonable depth. Suspect the best you can do is use springs as suggested to limit the back-and-forth movement.
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