thejollysinker Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 I'm after a bit of advice from anyone who has had problems with long link chain (12mm) on their mooring. Two weeks ago I changed my knackered short link chain for long link after reading somewhere that it was a better alternative, the reason now being a distant memory.... Anyway, being a tad worried about switching old for new I went down to the boat a couple of days later after work and to my horror found the aft chain bunched up where the links had intertangled and locked together effectively shortening it. It took quite a struggle to break it apart and it left me thinking this particular chain was not fit for purpose. In my mind if it bunched up too much in more than one place then it would put too much pressure on the ground block with possible disastrous consequences? To this end I contacted the business selling this as 'mooring' chain who said they had never heard of this problem before but could offer me a dsicount on some short link.... I wasn't happy with this and told them so and asked for a refund because I felt the chain wasn't suitable for the purpose of mooring a boat. They have since ignored my request. In the meantime, I sourced some short link locally yesterday and plan to change it tomorrow over low water. Has anyone else had problems with long link chain like this? Is short link the best way to go (seems like it... ) Any advice gratefully received, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonC Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 3 minutes ago, thejollysinker said: I'm after a bit of advice from anyone who has had problems with long link chain (12mm) on their mooring. Two weeks ago I changed my knackered short link chain for long link after reading somewhere that it was a better alternative, the reason now being a distant memory.... Anyway, being a tad worried about switching old for new I went down to the boat a couple of days later after work and to my horror found the aft chain bunched up where the links had intertangled and locked together effectively shortening it. It took quite a struggle to break it apart and it left me thinking this particular chain was not fit for purpose. In my mind if it bunched up too much in more than one place then it would put too much pressure on the ground block with possible disastrous consequences? To this end I contacted the business selling this as 'mooring' chain who said they had never heard of this problem before but could offer me a dsicount on some short link.... I wasn't happy with this and told them so and asked for a refund because I felt the chain wasn't suitable for the purpose of mooring a boat. They have since ignored my request. In the meantime, I sourced some short link locally yesterday and plan to change it tomorrow over low water. Has anyone else had problems with long link chain like this? Is short link the best way to go (seems like it... ) Any advice gratefully received, thank you. I’ve no experience with long link but I know that short link stows in an anchor locker and never tangled on itself, well mine hasn’t anyway. thejollysinker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy135 Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 I haven't come across this before but I can see how it would be a major concern as the chain balled up and shortened. If it were me I wouldn't sleep well until it were replaced, so you've done the right thing in replacing it. Why did you need to move away from short link chain? Was there anything intrinsically wrong with it, or just routine replacement? thejollysinker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonC Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 Does the body who controls the moorings set a specification for your tackle? The fairways comity in my village have a fairly strict policy. They supply the tackle at a reasonable price, but insist on lifting it every season to inspect it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejollysinker Posted January 29, 2021 Author Share Posted January 29, 2021 9 minutes ago, Andy135 said: I haven't come across this before but I can see how it would be a major concern as the chain balled up and shortened. If it were me I wouldn't sleep well until it were replaced, so you've done the right thing in replacing it. Why did you need to move away from short link chain? Was there anything intrinsically wrong with it, or just routine replacement? it was just something I read, somewhere online whilst trying to work out what was best and weight equations came into it and I just had one of those moments when I thought aha! long link must be best 😅 is it buggery.... Routine replacement with a hint of senility thrown in 😐 Andy135 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejollysinker Posted January 29, 2021 Author Share Posted January 29, 2021 5 minutes ago, JonC said: Does the body who controls the moorings set a specification for your tackle? The fairways comity in my village have a fairly strict policy. They supply the tackle at a reasonable price, but insist on lifting it every season to inspect it. No, they don't... as it's a mooring that is maintained by myself it's entirely up to me what I do... see reply to Andy135 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonC Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 This is from our fairways pages, If it is of any interest to anyone. We, typically, recommend 8 metres (variable depending on mooring depth) of 19 * 75 c30 or c40 chain attached to a 5 metre length of 25mm multiplait topped off with 1.5 metres of 16 * 100mm C30 chain to a 700mm diam solid buoy. The buoys that we use have a swiveling top ring, thus avoiding the need for swivels under the buoy. The multiplait will have either stainless steel or nylon thimbles each end (I can make these up for owners) Shackles (all galvanized CE certified) would be 2 no 19 *22 at the bottom. One each end of the multiplait & a 16 * 19 one to the buoy. We mouse shackles with cable ties. On the buoy, we recommend a minimum of 2 mooring strops. Some owners use a mix of rope & chain. Some use just 2 ropes. One of the strops must have a pickup buoy. Because dinghies race in the area, strops are limited to 1.5 metres, where practical. Most owners use multiplait for the rope strops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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