Bridle Chafing on Bobstay

[F51]

Those of you with longer bowsprits are probably aware of the problem. When anchored, the snubber bridle rubs the bobstay as the boat swings back and forth. I tried slitting a piece of hose and placing it over the bobstay wire, but I couldn't keep it attached. I'm thinking I have to disconnect the bobstay and slip a piece of hose or pvc pipe over the end fitting and slide it up so that it is between the dolphin striker and the sprit. To get over the end fitting, the hose/pipe must be at least 1.25 inches. That seems excessive and sloppy for a 3/8 wire. I would appreciate any ideas. Thanks.

[Hudson Force]

What about the choice of running the snubber line (bridle) through a piece of hose that is long enough to rest on the chain hook and rise above the point where it would chafe against the bobstay?

[Vasco]

The best solution would be to attach the end of the snubber to the bobstay attachment point on the stem of the boat.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Vasco

The best solution would be to attach the end of the snubber to the bobstay attachment point on the stem of the boat.

Yes. Often the bobstay tang has a hole at the bottom through which a shackle can be fitted. That shackle becomes the attachment point for the snubber. It's not difficult to use if you're handy with a boathook. The only downside is that you're limited to 6-8' of snubber.

[model 10]

You can make your snubber as long as you like but it will not be adjustable. Unless you run it through a block at the cranse iron, you do need a boat hook which is a drag.
To bad you don't have mechanical fittings on your bob stay because then you could use a better looking piece of plastic pipe. One soultion is to use a piece of leather and with a baseball stitch it looks pretty nice.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Guy

You can make your snubber as long as you like but it will not be adjustable.

I'm going to disagree. It shouldn't be longer than the distance from the tang to the bottom in the shallowest water in which you will anchor. You want to be able to loop chain on the bitter side of the snubber so that it won't jump off the hook. Ideally, that loop of chain shouldn't be dragging on the bottom.

[model 10]

Originally Posted by Bash

I'm going to disagree. It shouldn't be longer than the distance from the tang to the bottom in the shallowest water in which you will anchor. You want to be able to loop chain on the bitter side of the snubber so that it won't jump off the hook. Ideally, that loop of chain shouldn't be dragging on the bottom.

You are right. I was only thinking of using the block on the Cranse Iron.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by F51

Those of you with longer bowsprits are probably aware of the problem.

Nay.

You have to add an eye fitting below the bobstay fitting and run the anchor snubber via there. And this solves all issues that you have created by adding that romantic thing called bowsprit.

I am not sure why people get themselves bowsprits and other such useless appendages but never look how they were set up on the original boats (caravellas, brigantinnas, fregattas, etceterrras, ;-)

Cheers,
b.

[JPA Cate]

Here's some more opinion for you...

We used an eye at about 8" above the water line to attach the snubber for a few years, and if remembering to take the boat hook with him to the foredeck was ever an issue for him, Jim didn't mention it. It becomes habit, and therefore, easy.

I don't anticipate leather will hold up long to chain chafe, but you could give it a go. But honestly, if you don't want a low-attached snubber, maybe you could retrain yourself to consider the noise that of being safely anchored, instead of an aggravation, and its absence the sign for a quick check above-decks, like for us the wind gen noise is "the sound of cold beer happening," --that one took a little effort, but eventually worked.

Cheers,

Ann

[rebel heart]

I have a rod bobstay on my rather lengthy bowsprit. A piece of pvc pipe over the thing that is wide enough to roll around has worked great. Not to overly plug my website but on the home page you can see it, and here's a blow up:



I didn't need to take my bobstay off either, I cut the pvc down the middle with my fein wood/plastic/metal saw blade and then just forced it on.

It works well.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Here's some more opinion for you...

We used an eye at about 8" above the water line to attach the snubber for a few years, and if remembering to take the boat hook with him to the foredeck was ever an issue for him, Jim didn't mention it. It becomes habit, and therefore, easy.

I don't anticipate leather will hold up long to chain chafe, but you could give it a go. But honestly, if you don't want a low-attached snubber, maybe you could retrain yourself to consider the noise that of being safely anchored, instead of an aggravation, and its absence the sign for a quick check above-decks, like for us the wind gen noise is "the sound of cold beer happening," --that one took a little effort, but eventually worked.

Cheers,

Ann

I put a constrictor knot around the bowsprit sort of mid point and tied a big 3/4" block off. It doesn't really lower the pull all that much but it does absorb most of the lateral movement. Makes the spot where the snubber clears the deck a lot quieter and much less movement in that area.

Garhauer Marine makes reasonably priced and very high quality blocks, especially in the oversized department.

Garhauer Marine Hardware -6277588

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Nay.

You have to add an eye fitting below the bobstay fitting and run the anchor snubber via there. And this solves all issues that you have created by adding that romantic thing called bowsprit.

I am not sure why people get themselves bowsprits and other such useless appendages but never look how they were set up on the original boats (caravellas, brigantinnas, fregattas, etceterrras, ;-)

Cheers,
b.

"Useless" unless you consider the additional sail area without adding weight, which is the entire point of a bowsprit. And on the old ships they had amidships capstans and kept the anchors clear of the rigging because the army of sailors onboard could launch them.

More relevantly though, I know a guy who ripped his cutwater fitting out when making the snubber fast to it. If you add your own fitting that's fair enough, but using an existing rig point designed for one type of load and then using it for another can result in some problems.

[Kettlewell]

I don't have the bowsprit but I installed an eye down near the waterline to attach a snubber to--lowers the angle on the chain and provides a steady ride. I have a bow eye that is big enough to allow we to cow-hitch the anchor snubber to it--no shackle and no noise. I use a rolling hitch to attach the snubber to the chain, so when I pull in the anchor chain the end of the snubber comes up on deck--no boat hook needed. Plus, the rolling hitch won't get knocked off the chain if by chance it drops all the way to the sea floor. However, in any wind at all that portion of the chain rises off the bottom and it is not an issue. I can adjust the length of the snubber by how much line I leave over when tieing on.

[Lagoon4us]

Love our 'Bowsprit' / 'Prodder' handy for hanging the reacher on!!!!

[model 10]

I know it's kind of lame to use the L&L show as an example but they do have some stuff figured out and they seem to be believable to most everyone. I have used the same set-up as they do and the only chafe I get anywhere on the snubber is a tiny bit at the block on the Cranse Iron. I think that could be cured with a block that swivels a little better than the one I use, because the chafe is on the block cheaks. If you use 5/8 line for example, it takes a good sized block to not rub a little when the pull is off to the side. There is no other way to completly avoid chafe even if we are talking about running your snubber through a Hawse Pipe because you still need chafe protection there.