General Info: FP owners: how do you hook up to a mooring ball without chaffing the outside of hulls

[CaptainRivet]

Hi FP owners,
How do you hook up to a mooring ball?

Bought a Lavezzi not long ago and be the first time on a mooring ball.
Hooking up the classic way with a line to/from each cleat and back through the pendant eye, the mooring lines chaff on the outside of both hulls and also damaging the warp the former owner put on the bows.
Looking at other FP cats on the mooring field all have the same problem that both bow cleats are mounted „next“ to the bow seats where the stations prevent from running the mooring lines inwards over the bows.
All the FP charter cats here (Lavezzi;Lucia, Astrea, Lipari..) have chaff marks on both bows from the mooring lines to the mooring balll. That cannot be the solution...

How did you solve this?
Only permanent solution I see is somehow hooking the mooring lines to the eyes for the bridle. But how to do this? If I use a bowline knot I won‘t be able to open it when strong wind or current on the mooring pulled the knot very tight....

[Rapanui]

On our Athena, which is very similar to the Lavezzi, we run the 2 bridle lines to the buoy going across the cross beam and inside the seagull striker whichever side of the pulpit strut is direct. No chafe on hull, no effect on cross beam after nearly 20 years.

[LittleWing77]

Here's a recent thread where bridles for cats were discussed:

Using a Bridle on a Mooring Ball
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ll-248448.html

Hope it's helpful,
LittleWing77

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by Rapanui

On our Athena, which is very similar to the Lavezzi, we run the 2 bridle lines to the buoy going across the cross beam and inside the seagull striker whichever side of the pulpit strut is direct. No chafe on hull, no effect on cross beam after nearly 20 years.

This is what we do with our Mahe as well. It's permanent mooring is a med moor with a mooring ball at the bow and we've never had an issue.

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

Here's a recent thread where bridles for cats were discussed:

Using a Bridle on a Mooring Ball
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ll-248448.html

Hope it's helpful,
LittleWing77

Thank you, i was reading the complete thread but couldn't find a solution to my problem.
Still very helpful and solutions/explanations what not to do on a mooring ball with a cat though. Excluded some of my potential soultions and happy I didn't have to experience the fails that would have happened trying them out

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by redneckrob

This is what we do with our Mahe as well. It's permanent mooring is a med moor with a mooring ball at the bow and we've never had an issue.

Thank you both
What the most extreme condition this setup saw so far?
I don't see an issue with it on mine in/till moderate conditions but
If situation gets worse this setup worries me as this would tranfer a lot of loads on the crossmemember which is not designed for this.
eg Canaries in Corralejo all is fine and suddenly you get 20kn from east (forcasted N till NE where island Lobos protects you) and a steep 2m swell builds up quickly. Just for an hour, then all is normal again. Happens in several places in Canaries. In this conditions you have a lot strain on the lines and forces downwards which in this setup gets transferred on the cross member. Leopard warns explicitly not to do this and puts stickers on the crossmember and a lot red color in the manual...

[Rapanui]

The load on the cross beam is trivial, the force acts on the beam close to where it is anchored to the hull producing a small shearing force on each connection which is designed to take at least half the forestay load plus a margin again in shear. The only issue that should concern is any chafe from an unfair lead on the rope or the rope abrading the anodised aluminium beam. That does not occur with normal yacht ropes unless they have trapped grit or very abrasive constituents.

[moseriw]

Use a crane?

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by CaptainRivet

Thank you, i was reading the complete thread but couldn't find a solution to my problem.
Still very helpful and solutions/explanations what not to do on a mooring ball with a cat though. Excluded some of my potential soultions and happy I didn't have to experience the fails that would have happened trying them out

I'm glad it was somewhat helpful, Rivet.

I knew it didn't specifically answer your question, but thought that the extensive discussion might be of interest.

Fair winds and happy mooring!
LittleWing77

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by moseriw

Use a crane?

A crane, what’s that:confused

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by Rapanui

The load on the cross beam is trivial, the force acts on the beam close to where it is anchored to the hull producing a small shearing force on each connection which is designed to take at least half the forestay load plus a margin again in shear. The only issue that should concern is any chafe from an unfair lead on the rope or the rope abrading the anodised aluminium beam. That does not occur with normal yacht ropes unless they have trapped grit or very abrasive constituents.

Well most of time yes I agree but the occasions where short 2m waves throwing the front up while mooring line limiting/ stopping that movement puts a lot of load on the crossmember...a significant part of the 8t weight (cat plus gear) plus movement momentum force ...wouldn’t call that trivial.
my mooring ripped twice in exactly these conditions: why because cleats are mounted on 9cm thick massiv deck of a 14t longkeeler on my old monohull and the mooring was the weakest link...
But Lavezzi with factory bowsprit have the anchor roller in the middle of the crossmember, so that Must be designed to take significant force downwards...

[Palarran]

Are you not able to tie to the cleat and run the two lines under the seat and then past the crossbeam attachment joint? That is the way mine goes. It does chafe the top of the hull this way a little bit but I usually put a towel under it.

But as of late, I've become lazier and now just use my secondary anchor bow roller. run the line from the cleat next to my windlass out and back. The biggest reason for this is that we had a problem with the mooring ball banging on the hull. I can haul up the pendant and make it tight so the boat is centered over the ball. One line, yes. I think sailors used to anchor with only one line so it should be safe.