Chafe Protection Ideas

[Ocean Girl]

Chafe is number one enemy to line, during a storm a simple chafe guard can be the one thing that keeps your boat safe.

I just read an idea for a make shift chafe guard i had never heard of and thought this would be a good thread considering half the eastern seaboard is buying up all the chafe gear, someone is probably going to have to get inventive.

Of course the fire hose from the local fire department is great.

Reinforced water hose ( but can heat the line up)

Just read this one, canvas scraps with lots and lots of duct tape.

Any other ideas out there that you have seen work?

Good luck to all,
Erika

[Auspicious]

Rags and zip-ties.

[Maine Sail]

You want chafe protection that can "wet out" and allows the nylon or polyester to stay cooler. Anything that does not allow water in will also allow the pendants to heat up. Heat kills..

I am currently experimenting with Spectra storm pendants and Spectra chafe sleeves. These will attach directly to dual Yale Polydyne pendants that will allow for stretch. I also use un-equal lengths pendants so one takes the load and the back up is brand new. Equal length pendants wear nearly evenly and tend to part at near the same time if chafe has been an issue.

Some of the best chafe sleeves I've found are made by Chafe-Pro..

Feel free to take a look at the article below, and images, of a small storm in Falmouth, ME for some ideas of what to do and what not to do..

And PLEASE remove your ANCHORS from the bow!!!!

Mooring Preparations & Precautions (LINK)




We have over 1200 boats in the Falmouth mooring field and this is what our harbor master just sent out this morning, along with the link above:


"It’s that time of year again, and the threat of Hurricane Irene is looming. I realize that many of you are seasoned mariners who have been through many hurricanes and severe storms so please don’t take offense to this e-mail reminder.

If your boat is small enough to trailer, and you are able to do so, we strongly suggest you do so as it is the safest course of action to keep your boat safe.

If you cannot remove your boat from the anchorage here is a brief, though not all inclusive, list of things to do to help keep your boat safe:


* REMOVE BOW ANCHORS

* Check pennants for wear and consider adding additional lines

* Make sure pennants are not wrapped around mooring chain.

* Install, or inspect, chaff guards on pennants. There are different opinions regarding what type of chaff gear is the best so it’s up to you to decide which is best for you. Studies I have read suggest porous chaff gear such as cordura because unlike plastic tubing the water has a "cooling" effect on the pennant and helps prevent melting. Check with your mooring company or any number of online sites for advice.

* If you have a mushroom mooring be sure your mooring chain is not wrapped around the mushroom stem decreasing your scope and holding power. Mooring ball underwater at high tide is indicative of this. Granite blocks are not immune to this either so be sure to check. If you find you have a chain wrap contact your mooring provider

* Secure or remove loose items, and electronics

* Be sure all sails are secure

Thank you for your diligence in preparing your boat ahead of time not only for your boats protection but for others as well.

I will continue to send e-mail updates as to what we will be doing at Town Landing as the storm draws closer and we are more confident of its track.

Best Regards,

A. Twombley
Falmouth Harbormaster"

[zeehag]

denim bits from legs of levis whenye cut em off make great anti chafe. use with ducttape or string or whatever to affix to the lines....
i used gorilla tape in cedros....lol worked well also.

[Ocean Girl]

Wow, great ideas.
Thanks
Erika

[atoll]

1/2" stainless wire rope strops eliminate chafe wonderfully.

[Ocean Girl]

Mainsail, what kind of chafe was oninoco's? It is black and looks just like chafe- pro. We just bought a ton of it but have never used it before. We already have several yards of fire hose.
I always thought of making a two or even a three layer chafe guard for the big anchor tackle arsenal, especial in a situation where we are not aboard to monitor the chafe. Maybe the chafe-pro, then fire hose ( inside out, so the soft outter coat is butted to the chafe-pro surface) and then a water hose on the outside... ? Heat is a problem but maybe put a water wicking rag around the line at first, draw some water to the high chafe point? Is this crazy talk?
Erika

[Ocean Girl]

Atol, please explain..?
ss straps? How do you rig it?
E

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

Atol, please explain..?
ss straps? How do you rig it?
E

assuming you are on a mooring,attach the mooring lines to the end of the strops either shackled or tied ,lead the strops thru the fairleads and over your cleats or samson post.

i have 2 x20 ft strops with big swaged loops in the end that we also use for putting around coral bommies to create an instant mooring when anchoring in lagoons is difficult or spending extended periods.

have also seen people do the same using chain lead back to the cockpit winches.

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

Mainsail, what kind of chafe was oninoco's? It is black and looks just like chafe- pro. We just bought a ton of it but have never used it before. We already have several yards of fire hose.
I always thought of making a two or even a three layer chafe guard for the big anchor tackle arsenal, especial in a situation where we are not aboard to monitor the chafe. Maybe the chafe-pro, then fire hose ( inside out, so the soft outter coat is butted to the chafe-pro surface) and then a water hose on the outside... ? Heat is a problem but maybe put a water wicking rag around the line at first, draw some water to the high chafe point? Is this crazy talk?
Erika

It was single layer Cordura off the roll from Hamilton Marine. It is the same stuff that comes stock on Yale Polydyne pendants. It works okay unless you have a Ginsu for a bow chock and in that case nothing will survive long.... That was the second time Orinoco broke free. He has had the chocks softened some since, from when he told me.

If making my own I use the Taylor Made polyester stuff off the roll and then put the cordura over it making two layers. it's a pretty bomb proof combo unless your chocs are razor sharp.

I have lots of free fire hose, a friend at the boat yard is a volunteer fire fighter, but I won't use it because it creates too much heat and is water proof. The Taylor Made polyester chafe sleeve is actually a little thicker than fire hose and has no coating on it to build up heat. Hamilton sells the 3/4" - 1" white polyester chafe sleeve for $3.99 ft..

The Chafe-Pro sleeves recently won the Practical Sailor shoot out...

[Ocean Girl]

Wow, thanks for the input. I will take a look at my firehose, I removed the inner lining but a lot of adhesive residue is left. Haven't had an issue, worked very well these last three years.
Love your website, I remember my hubby talking about it and I just finally got a look at it. Thanks to you and your great articles we own an infrared temp gun :-).

Another question is attaching said chafe gear. I am always a bit worried that my attachment scheme may in fact cause a weakness. Zip ties are sharp so have always avoided them, though i have yet to hear a complaint about them. I whip a small piece of 1/8 Dacron and run a few half hitches to the line the chafe guard is attached to. I have never had them fail/slip but it do secure top and bottom. Not sure about extreme conditions though, maybe add duct tape to the secure points. I have seen people run a line between the strands to secure but I don't like the look of that, seem another way to weaken the set up.




Cheers, and thanks To everyone for the great advice.
Erika

[sailorboy1]

Another question; my boat doesn't even have chocks and the cleats are directly on the toerail (it's molded as part of the deck). Is there really any chafe issue and if so what do you really do about it?

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

Another question; my boat doesn't even have chocks and the cleats are directly on the toerail (it's molded as part of the deck). Is there really any chafe issue and if so what do you really do about it?

where the lines arttach with the cleats is a potential chafing problem as the lines do move against the cleats. i check mine frequently-in a storm, put levis material or duct tape or leather or something around the lines to keep them intact as they move against the cleat.
another thing i did in sd when we had big winds was to make a loop around mast and tie mooring lines to that via hawse holes . back up in case cleats or bits become destroyed in gusts and surge. my masts are keel stepped, so made a good anchoring point.

[thinwater]

I've been using heavy tubular webbing for many years (20+) and have been very happy with it. It wets out, as Mainesail suggested, it is slippery as can be on the inside, so the rope slides very easily against it, while the webbing remains motionless against any abrasive surface. The result? No wear at all. My dock lines easily go 10 years, without any wear in the chock area. I also use it wear the lines runs over the edge of the dock.

I do sell it off my blog, or you can find your own in climbing stores.

[Ocean Girl]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

Another question; my boat doesn't even have chocks and the cleats are directly on the toerail (it's molded as part of the deck). Is there really any chafe issue and if so what do you really do about it?

Don, like z said the only chafe issue is where it touches the cleat. Our next set of storm lines I was thinking of using thinwaters webbing chafe gear spiced right into the eye of my line, permanent chafe guard.
Google Images

Thinwater, is that tubular webbing the same as jack line webbing?
Thanks,
Erika