Mooring pennant twisted

[diggergilks]

Hello,
Does anyone know how to keep the pennant attached to a mooring chain from tangling and twisting up in the chain? This is a real problem for us. We've tried both
configurations: one where we attach the pennant to the top of the mooring ball and the other where we shackle the pennant underneath the ball. It doesn't seem to make a difference. The 12 foot long pennant sags in the water and eventually gets wound up in the chain. We have also tried buoying the pennant with corks and small buoys. They only help for a little while until the rope gets a wrap around the chain. We install swivels with every shackle but they don't seem to prevent the twisting either. We are on the Saco River and our mooring field is subject to the tide flowing in and out and the various currents and eddies in the river. We sure would appreciate hearing from anyone who's licked this annoying problem. Our moorings are 2000 to 3000 lb granite blocks with 30 ft of 5/8 inch chain. Thanks for the help.
Randy at Marston's Marina in Saco. If you'd like to send us a note please do
at marstonsmarina@maine.rr.com.

[Thad]

If the wind and currents just didn't clock around and around it wouldn't happen. Fore and aft mooring would stop the problem, and in the river might be a good idea anyway. Otherwise the only thing is regular untwisting.

[Pete Dorr]

try wrapping all of the pennant in a noodle (pool toy)

if it all floats it should not be able to wrap around the chain.

[rbgarr]

Taylor-made makes this weighted 'Sully-Stick', 80" long, which floats vertically. It can keep the mooring line suspended above water so it won't wrap around the bottom of the buoy. It's intended use is as a winter mooring marker which will shed ice sheets by sliding under the ice rather than being caught and carried off. You can lead the pennant through the upper lead without chafe and it won't dent or mar the boat when it knocks against the hull in a tideway (at least in my experience). Or you could pad it somehow.

I like them better than the typical round mooring ball as well because you can often sail right up to the mooring and grab the pennant at about deck level, at least on boats up to about thirty feet. I'd also think that 12' pennants are too long unless you have boats moored that have very high topsides... but what do I know (shrug).

http://i34.tinypic.com/289y839.jpg

[Thorne]

Some excellent previous threads on this with a lot of hardware suggestions. Well worth a search.

I find the internal Wooden Boat Forum search engine to be pretty limited, as it doesn't seem to allow Boolean searches.

I find that the Google Advanced Search ( http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en ) works much better. Just copy and paste the Forum's URL ( http://www.woodenboat.com/forum/ ) into the last field named "Search within a site or domain:", and then put in search strings like "tow dinghy bridle" or whatever.

[Hwyl]

Second the pool toy, or pipe insulation wire tied on.

[Tylerdurden]

I have noodles on mine as the currents where I am in Wiscasset are notorious for that. It works like a charm.

[diggergilks]

Thanks for the ideas. I should have mentioned we used the pool toys as well as
foam pipe insulation. These remedies were short lived and seemed to get in the way of handling the mooring line. We had thought maybe a larger pickup buoy would tend to pull harder on the pennant and keep it from sagging, but that didn't work either. We'll try the Google searches that have been recommended. Thanks again.
Randy

[Willin']

Have you tried putting a toggle (small lobster buoy) about 1/2 way out on the pennant? If the current is the problem the toggle should keep the pennant streaming safely away downstream.

[Bluecometk]

I have had a 40-foot Matthews sedan on a mooring for 30 years in a 5-foot rise and fall with a 3-mph max current, the moring has 40 feet of chain. We just pull the buoy up on deck. The chain has a swivel six or seven feet below the buoy and one at the weight. I put a piece of fire hose over the chain and wired it in place to stop any scuffing from the chain on the hull. In all the years we only had an issue one time and that was because the swivel seized. A couple whacks with a hammer and it broke free. We replaced it the next season we hauled out he mooring.

Hope this helps

Bluecometk

[Boatguy1972]

I'm assuming these are rental moorings at the marina, and not individual moorings? If so, the easist thing to do might be to remove the pennant when the mooring isn't rented.