Chafing Protection

[ebb]

Don't know if chafing gear has been adequately discussed in this Forum?
Pretty sure it should be more than a stiff piece of sundried garden hose.

I've heard that if you value your boat during a hurricane, somebody should stay onboard to let out the line and attached 'gear' every so often to a fresh wear point. (Yah, well sure, I'd like to knoe how to do THAT in a controlled fashion!) I've always had short chaffing gear, but when riding out a storm that body would need a number of feet of fresh gear.

"CRIMINEE, that was a nasty SIX FOOT chaffing gear typhoon, that was."

I've heard that the best gear is canvas or old fire hose. Fire stations always have old fire hose lying around. You wrap it in a roll and seize the ends to the anchor line. Better for the anchor line than garden hose because if the garden hose is tight
HEAT will build up on the Nylon line (or polyester if you go with the Aussies)
with surging and strain and a melt down will happen.


I remember one guy said he used two hoses for the line and another third hose to protect the other two hoses from chafe. He changed out his chafe.

The fatter the chafing gear you need the fatter the chocks you have to have.
Chocks that I see - both in the bows or sterns of Ariels and other small sailboats seem
WAY too small to do the job during a storm.:eek:

Got another prejudice: Anchor line recommended for a boat our weight is probably 3/8", right?
Well, I'm of the persuasion that an anchor line ought to LOOK like an anchor line.
Like my life is a hangin on the line. Like TWO inches anyhow - but I'll compromise on 3/4". 5/8s is probably right. You do hear of the rode being stretched to half its thickness and twice its length! That's if the anchor isn't skipping along the bottom.
I'm thinking these days one should always have onboard ultimate storm gear and learn how to use it. Aside from the anchor (another thread) what is it?

TIPS - COMMENTS - ADVICE - please....

[commanderpete]

Well, I usually believe that if something is worth doing, its worth over-doing.

But, I think the only advantage to oversize lines is that it will take a little longer to chafe through.

A bigger anchor line is going to take up more room and have less stretch. It seems easier to remove tangles on a thinner line--I don't know why.

With bigger docking lines you'll have trouble fitting more than one line on a cleat.

For chafing gear I like the soft fabric ones that have a strip of velcro on the side.

[ebb]

s o f t Fabric? East Coast hurricanes lost their wallop?

Anyway, a beginning place to look: www.starmarinedepot Megafend
Chafing gear in 'silvercrust cowhide or black leather'
1' ($19.95) to 10' ($199.95) (w h e w ! ) Line sizes 3/4" to 1 1/2"
These LOOK like velcroed wraps but that is not mentioned.
And they look kindof namby to me.

Think ForeandAft Marine has a pic of that white hookandloop chafe guard.
And a pic of some leather. Good ole oily latigo is hard to find these days.
It often came in blue grey and with a palm was easy to sew and make look good. There was a nautical leather vendor at a boat show - so maybe THAT'S the ultimate stuff to use. And I bet it's breathable, ie OK to use on Nylon!

[commanderpete]

They got all kinds. Not sure what my brand is

http://www.fisheriessupply.com/online/search.asp/N/0/Ntk/All/Ntt/chafe/Nty/1/D/chafe/act/A02/hideprops/1/Dx/mode+matchallpartial/Ntx/mode+matchallpartial+rel+Inactive/cookietest/1

The Taylor ones are $12 for two 18" long ones. You can even cut them in half.

I also have a set of the rubber tube type ones. But, they're big and want to ride out of the chock unless I tape them to the line.

Hmmmm...leather

[c_amos]

Ebb,

I have a couple of feet of old firehose on my lines right now (have had dock walkers comment on this 'ready for the hurricane are you?').

Part of my resoning behind the pair of cleats outboard on the bow (as described on the hardare plan thread) is to get away from using the chocks on the bow all together. I want the lines to go from the cleats to 'where ever' without bending over any additional points. Stainless strips on top of the rails will be the only dedicated contact point that I picture.

Anchoring will be done with the rode lead over the well attached roller, with as little overhang as can be managed. Storm anchoring will be the same, but with a bridle added from both bow cleats, taken to the rode with a rolling hitch. That way there will be 3 attachemnts to the boat - all with fire hose - and any one strong enough to bear the load.

[ebb]

Hey Craig,
YOU got a plan!

It is eminently worth a couple of photos.
Like the over-the-rail concept (NO chocks)
though I'd imagine a saddle with fore'n'aft end limits so the rode won't, say, get wedged under the roller channel or get pulled aft, in that unlikely scenario. Sudden wind shift - huge wave. But you know Murphy!

Bridle, sharing line load, stabilizing the boat, and the ability of adjusting the bridle for wind and wave is the only way to go. Really want some photos here. Think it's important our concepts are well supported and specific to the A/C.

Would one, eg, also have a substantial eye fitted on the stem near the waterline? What about elastic chain snubbing options. Would we ever go all chain for a big one? Has anybody had the experience of riding out a big one on and Ariel or Commander in exposed water. What gear did you East Coasters use in past hurricanes? Pix?
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>google< Southwinds -June 1999
www.southwindssailing.com/articles/9906/InstantHarbor.shtml
suggests attaching our chafing gear (tubes) to the boat, but provides no photos or diagrams. It certainly would be much better if the line could be handled without encumberances in extreme conditions. With nothing attached to it. If we could just lay the rode - where it goes over the edge of the boat - into a channel, a CRADLE - THAT would be cool.

A cradle would widen the bearing area on the boat of the anchor rode. The chafing problem, if there was any, would be very different than leading line thru hard edged skene chocks or even pvc pipe.
How much bearing surface would be needed to have the least amount of wear on the line under load? You have a longish easy curved surface leading the line overboard. Still need a minimal sacrifice piece on the rope?

For arguments sake, suppose, an ideal was that the warp leads thru a smooth bugle-ended tube about the same size as the line? The outboard end would be the bugle opening leading back in a big smooth curve to an opening just wide enough to pass the line with a nice soft wrap around it.
This trumpet thingy could be open on top to drop in the line and take it out.

We have such an item already in the anchor roller channels. But they are not really warp friendly, are they? Could chafing gear be designed that would line the channel, not enclosing the warp, that the warp would be just be laid into? The roller has too small a radius to cradle line in all conditions, imco. Maybe designed chafing liner could take that into account. (I can see a stiff but limber kevlar farbic liner that could be seized thru holes in the channel sides!)
(An immediate solution:) Some of this mythical double wall fire hose could be the answer. The line would be led thru the hose and overboard thru the rail chock. The hose could be tied/seized to the cleat where the rode begins maybe tied off at the chock too? At least the gear would stay with the boat. But the line has to be snaked thru the hose.

I agree that the ideal would be
NOT TO ROLL AND SEIZE THE CHAFING GEAR TO THE LINE.
Most conservative weather predictors say we are in the middle of an global extreme weather event that has many years to go.

[c_amos]

Would one, eg, also have a substantial eye fitted on the stem near the waterline?

I really like that set up, but decided on the more conventional set up.

As for stops fore and aft, I plan to mount the cleats mid way between the pulpit mounts. The line would have to be heading nearly directly fore or aft to hit them.

I sanded the fiberglass that I laid over the foredeck tonight. I had to get the bit bolted down as we are getting some wind tonight. When I get the deck presentabel enuf to take a picture of I will set the cleats in place and snap a shot to clear things up.

[ebb]

Gotta see, Craig!
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If the WINDLINE anchor roller channel was mounted on the bow of a boat (ie well supported) and NOT off a bowsprit wouldn't it be possible to run warp thru this convenience?
WINDLINE should have an accessory liner for rope (chain would eat any liner up, I think) that we'd drop in when setting the boat up for a BLOW. Maybe it could slide on from the deck, so it could be removed easy.

Maybe firehose could be tailored to do this. I think that the anchor line as it goes over the bow would like to be supported with a long curved cupping effect. I also think that the line should not be enclosed. We might be sloshing water on the warp to keep it cooled down!

Kanter's 'Star Mooring' article is also on the
cruisenews.net
source site. His must-read article is the one that I groused had no illustrations for chafe gear. In fact, imco, chaffing gear is not examined anywhere I've looked with the attention it deserves! It's mentioned often enough - like we're supposed to know - given the numbers of boats that melt their anchor lines and end up in Dire Straits - but not thoroly, in any way, for the cruising impaired.
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Like we discover garden hose can melt your anchor line.

We discover attached-to-the-line chafing gear is a PITA when we have to adjust it in a blow. It may not be possible to adjust under load. Also when we set up the gear we have only that portion of gear to let out that is between the chock and the cleat or samson post - on many boats not very much. And this also supposes that we have it together befor heavy weather. Supposes we can let it out to 'renew' in controlled manner.

Wrappings of any kind can also cause heat build up.

We discover that the best chafe gear is attached to the cleats/chocks - HOW? Really, how is this done?

We discover that the best way to veer warp is without any gear around it. We can let out and take in without regard to seized-on chafing stuff.
The rope can be observed.
Imco this may be the key. The ability to see the line working means we can forecast problems better.
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The Complete Rigger's Apprentice mentions firehose and diagrams parcelling but only verbalizes and glosses over the chafe problem.
(This book recommends Dacron (as does the Mocna Anchor site) over Nylon for 'mooring' line because nylon looses significant strength when wet and chafes much more readily than dacron. If you go with nylon go with much larger diameter than suggested by the experts for our type of vessel - imco. The elasticity of nylon is good for easing the boat in weather but in extreme conditions can be frightening - the line can stretch thin - in fact the working of nylon under load can build up heat internally and melt fibers - BAM! no more anchor rode. Look into dacron befor you ride out the next hurricane!)
In a BLOW, catenary won't be possible, and some have told that even all chain will get BAR TAUT in the worst conditions. It may be that veering or surging line will not be possible! We'll be depending on the gear we first put in place.

(And ole ebb has discovered KARAC ("Kevlar Anchor Roller Anti-Chafe" liner) what he thinks has a market product niche. Again.:rolleyes: )
Imagine it as a firm but bendy roller-channel insert with a slight hump in the middle and a curled tongue that just covers the roller. It itself is an open channel that hugs the line in such a way that the line can't 'work' - but is loose enough that heat will dissipate.

Anyway, you Arieleers and Commanderians, ONWARD into the fray??
Those are dark clouds on the horizon!