EFTA01089549.pdf

Chafe Protection in Storms I un Ili t Member in the bottom of the Miell Ilk Highlands. New Jersey. wrote harbor. Helix .Moue wan awhile ago about a near cata- anchors have stroithe he emx•nenced with chafe on his proven, over and -JO' sailboat's mooring line. A gale had over, that they swept through the area with 55.mph winds, have far greater sinking seven boats at his Atlantic High- holding power One of Chip Del Ciiro's lands Yacht Club and beaching eight others. than anchors tors were starting to split, but In all but one of the losses, the cause was a that sit on or the line failed internally from hen. near the surface lack of external abrasion on the liney laded mooring pennant. (Seaworthy, July Chip's boat survised, but barely. He'd used 1993). Another two :VI" nylon pennants, each three Innovation, the Hazelette pennant, was yarn friction) as wen as coos the sky...-. months old, with two feet of clear PVC tub- developed to absorb shock and reduce a fibers. ing to guard against chafe. When the winds boat's sailing back and forth on its pennant. When examined closely. tlw failed rn lei let up briefly. he motored out to the boat to The Hazelette, which is meant to be used pennant sent to Sewtonln In Chip lie inspect the fines: 1 went pale. Both plastic with longer conventional pennants in a Coro had small welds—Windy lumps—.:- host% had smite sheers cracks and both storm, absorbs shock and reduces wear on the ends of wine ul the tailed ',hands lines had chafing failure inside the hoses. the fittings, mooring anchor, and lines which indicated that the law had tail..: Iwo art the three main strands were worn (Seaworthy, October 1996). internally. Funherinow. me broken through turd cud) u few mini strands of the showed no signs of emernof As (or chafe, the two massive hurricanes dent weir still holding If the winds had that had become -turty- over a wide are.: hosted another d0 IlfintileS, my boat would also prompted the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to do a study—"Wear and after mbbing against the chock. Stine). lune been an the rocks' Klupman also noted that with hues Fatigue of Nylon and Polyester Mooring the letter. with one of Chip's chafed pen- Lines"—on why pennants fail. While the examined that had failed inch' Hams enclosed. sat around the Seaworthy study didn't recommend any specific type were typically ••nticro welds" ad the ends • • naives lin stiany months, nal because the of chafe protection, it did gives clues, valu- the failed strands. topic isn't important—it is extremely impor- able clues, as .to what could be done to tant—but because answers have been so reduce mooring line failures. Some of what PVC: A TIivory elusive. Nylon, because it stretches and the study found: Could it be that PVC. bv keeping the lie, absorbs shock, has been the line of choice dry and providing insulation to roam hr.,: lot mooring pennants. And a lot of experi- • Under heavy loads, the constant cycling— . stretching and contracting—builds up heat, in a storm. hastens the Piteed professionals once thought nylon line it is supposed whitened PVC tubing was the answer to due to the frictional interaction between yarns. The line wears internally. rhis is "It sounds mason:dile." say. Sklit.t. chafe; it is Ilexibt rugged. and comes in Backer. one of the authors at the ail xnl ,un ler Nth. With each passing north- especially true of nylon, which can stretch to about 40% of its length vs. only 8% for study. One of Backer's associates. \tn . ,•astei. honest% it I wcaine apparent that Duelling, itte former Assisuan bare. nylon and PVC are vulnerable in a storm, polyester (Dacron)1 MIT Sea Grant. says Ow saner P. mow vubwrable than other types • Polyester Is more abrasion-resistant than increases the eller:Ilse bendaiN roam, vl line and chafe protection. nylon under heavy cycling loads. When the the chock, which has the brnelil polyester and nylon rodes are wet, the dif- reducing heat, but he too worries that Huainan Klopman. a marine surveyor in ference in abrasion resistance is even long run of PVC tubing might also ploy:: Marblehead. Massachusetts. sent Seatuor- greater. water from reaching the stressed mi. tin ,minter chilled nylint pennant that had fibers. been "protected" lry PVC tubing until it part- • Under heavy cycling loads, wet nylon yarn ed in a northeaster. PVC, he said, might be is more abrasion-resistant than dry nylon. Both Backer and Doe lling Nut's's. NJ:L c-a., t K (or nxilinv chafe in mild weather, but it Under light loads, the reverse is true—dry that the best way lo assure a line won : is clearly vulnerable in a storm. nylon yarn outlasts wet nylon. is to use polyester rather than 111111.11t Heat builds up because of friction between the deck cleat out past the chuck isys- Learning from Past Hurricanes the fibers and also because of internal mol- next page). This provides increased ecular friction. In a storm, then, wet nylon protection on deck while also prcivida.. After hundreds of boats dragged their moor- it lg. ashore in Hurricanes Gloria and Bob. would last longer than dry nylon because elasticity absorb shock (Duelling. ts:,‘ to many harbormasters replaced their mush- the water would provide additional lubricity keeps his 38' sailboat on a mooring. sa.• Mull and deaths-eight moorings with helix (good marine nylon line typically already that chocks with sharp edges should .i.s, alit hills which tun be screwed deep into has a finish that helps to reduce yarn-on- be replaced with rounded shocks ) 6 SN7wOrrity Jury. UN,. EFTA01089549 Polyester line may be more chafe-resistant Will the Boat Be There After than nylon but tests have found that It too builds up heat. although far less heal the Storm? Chafe at a Dock Chafe can occur anytime. anywhere. even than nylon, and is subject to internal as The strain on a line in a storm can be when the weather has been fair and the well as external chafe under heavier severe, almost beyond comprehension. boat is kept in a well protected slip. %%liter. storm loads. Is there a material that pro- Joe Schorle, a BOAT/U.S. tects the line from abrasion while also Member in New Jersey keeping II cool Internally? Seaworthy watched the bow of his 38' called several boatyards to see what was sailboat being tossed high in being used. Some are still using PVC while the air by an especially fierce others have returned to leather, even northeaster that came through though leather chafe protection had often the area two years ago. The failed during Gloria and Bob (Seaworthy, boat survived the storm, a feat July 1992). he attributes more to a redun- Jono Billings. who owns a boatyard in dancy in lines—he used four, Jamestown. Rhode Island, says he has $8" braided nylon lines—than been using a canvas-like tubing made by to the short pieces of rubber Perimeter Marine Products to protect the tubing he used for chafe pro- outside of the line from abrasion. Billings tection. '1Wo of the lines that were used had been reduced said he's never had a line fail that was pro- tected with the material, and that Includes to a few strands and two lines that have been through some strong remained intact. He too has This Wisconsin boat which was protected from Lake Michigan northeasters. Aside from protecting the since changed to the polyester only by a bridge, had its mooring line chafe through alter being line from external chafe, the material Perimeter chafe protectors, rocked by a late season storm. The line didn't appear to have wicks water, which helps reduce heal which he feels will do a better any chafe protection. Note the distance from the boars port job of protecting lines. side to the outer piling. Longer nylon docklines stretch more buildup inside the line. And what Is this and can be more vulnerable in a storm (Claim /9708587A). newfangled chafe protection made of? While there are certainly no guarantees in a Polyester, the same material that the MIT wind, and tide will keep the boat in con- storm, the Idea of redundancy, using three stant motion, which means a line that rubs tests found is resistant to chafe. or four mooring lines, is a technique that against a metal stanchion or chuck, even has been used success- slightly, day after day, week after week. will fully by skippers for be vulnerable to external abrasion. Salt centuries. And MIT's crystals and din in the fibers accelerate research makes a strong wear, but any line that rubs against a hard argument for using poly- surface—metal, wood, or fiberglass—will ester lines from the cleat chafe if it isn't protected. through the chock to reduce abrasion failure. With most docklines. a shod piece of As for protecting the chafe protection at potential trouble spots polyester lines from will prevent abrasion and keep the line chafe, using the same healthy. Three things that may warrant material—polyester--is a using polyester line from the cleat to the promising solution. chock and/or adding beefed-up chafe pro. tection on a dockline: longer runs of line. Will all of the lessons over about 12'; lines that pass over sharp learned in Gloria and angles; and boats that are kept in slips that Bob mean that boats will aren't well sheltered. A Simple, Inexpensive Method forOk be better protected in the The longer the line, the more its.•ill stretch. Strengthening Mooring Pennants next category three or which builds up additional heat and four hurricane? As A simple way of providing durability is to make up41?i increases its vulnerability at chafe points. one harbormaster said, of polyester line the same diameter as your eats,, typically a chock. A line attached to a cleat "Whenever we've had a line. According to Norm Doelling (Seaworthy, ARth that is several feet away from the chock is bad storm up here, should be at least six feet long and can usually ' more vulnerable than a line that is secured we've always found out feet long. next to a chock. When the line passes over what doesn't work." Make an eye splice, leaving a large eye about the chafe point at a sharp angle, it is even With the introduction of sure to have at least five, and preferably t more vulnerable. And if the boat Is kept at the helix mooring, splice. The polyester line can be passed an exposed location, the probability of a ilazelette pennant, better ing nylon line in an eye-to-eye fashion,a,s; line failing is that much greater. chafe protection, combi- illustration. This gives a dock or nation nylon/polyester A boat In Wisconsin (above), for example. tures of both types of ropes—nylon' bridles, as well as more kept at a slip that was protected from Lake abrasion resistance. and larger lines, it could Michigan by a bridge, had its mooring line . Doelling said he keeps two p be that after the next hur- chafe through after being rucked b) a late stowed aboardhis boat so that or ricane we may finally get season storm. The line didn't appear to ready to go, should they be,needed.!. a better idea of what have any chafe protection (Claim works. 41970358M). II Seaworthy Jury 2990 7 EFTA01089550