Visit our Popular Forums

BlackOak · 31-01-2013, 07:13

I was curious how to rig a snubber on a bobstay boat. My seafarer34 has a bobstay, and I'm not certain if a snubber will work, or what would be the proper way to rig a snubber?

lancelot9898 · 31-01-2013, 08:01

Hey Blackoak,

I enjoy reading your posts on your sailing adventures. There's a pretty good discussion under anchoring and mooring about setting up a bridle. I've got a bobstay on my Tayana 37 and tried to give an explaination of how I rig it. I do like using a bridle rather that just one line since it seems to lessen the movement of the bow back and forth.

tenchiki · 31-01-2013, 21:09

There are 3 main schools of thought that I know of.
1. Shackle a fixed-length snubber to the bobstay fitting low down on the hull. Advantages: increases the effective scope by lowering the attachment to the boat. Disadvantages: hard to adjust, possible to lose the end when retrieving or adjusting the rode.
2. A snatch block at the end of the bowsprit (I helped a friend set this one up). Advantages: more leverage to straighten out a boat that "tacks" around at anchor, Can adjust the amount of scope by either having a long snubber, or letting one run free and running another one (2 snatch blocks make that easier). Disadvantages: the attachment point is usually higher than the deck, causing a decrease in effective scope.
3. Run a bridle through deck chocks like on a boat without a bowsprit/bobstay. May need chafin gear in case it rubs on the bobstay, though.

AnchorageGuy · 01-02-2013, 06:45

We had to deal with this for 17 years on our Mariner 40, Sea Trek. We simply rigged a bridle with chafe gear on the line where it rubbed against the stay and dolphin striker. We used this in up to hurricane conditions. It was never an issue. Chuck

Seafarer24 · 01-02-2013, 06:52

Doesn't anyone fit a length of PVC pipe over their bobstay to act as an anti-chafing roller, similar to what is often seen on side-stays?

BlackOak · 01-02-2013, 07:18

Thanks for all the info. Gonna take this advice and give it a shot. My bobstay is a smooth rod of stainless steel, so chafing isnt really an issue, but cradled up on this mooring ball, I can hear the lines rub up and down on the stay, sometimes sounds like 2 pieces of wood being banged together. The idea of a piece of pvc being a roller is interesting, I have them on my shrouds for my genoa sheets to roll on.