Mooring With a Carabiner

[rajsach]

Is anybody using a carabiner attached to a bridle to hook onto a mooring ball on a transient (overnight) basis.? Mantis sells a bridle system which has a chain hook as well as a carabiner. The carabiner is supposed to used when attaching to a mooring. The SWL for the carabiner is 2000 pounds and the breaking strength is 8000 pounds. Wichard sells a similar carabiner as well. The safe working loads and breaking strength seem to be similar to the chain hook. I'm just trying to figure out if this is a good or safe option. The boat is a leopard 44 catamaran. It is difficult to find good data for loads exerted by a catamaran while on a mooring. ABYC Data is mainly based on boat length of monohulls but not catamarans. They also don't take into account the gross tonnage of the boat or the free board of the catamaran. Most of the data is also based on anchoring so the scope is different which affects the load. Who knows ,it may not matter!
Based on my research it seems like ABYC data is skewed to the high side. The only reference I found specifically for a catamaran was an old Practical Sailor article that calculated the max load at 40knts wind for a lagoon 38 on a mooring. It was 1400 or so pounds.

Basically my question is ...would you use a carabiner attached to a bridle to attach to a mooring ball? Most of the time it's just going to be the wife and myself sailing so I'm looking for a quick and easy system to attach to a mooring ball. Presently we use the traditional method of lines on the port and starboard forward cleat that are fed through the eye of the mooring pennant and doubled back and secured to their respective cleats. I'm looking for a quick and easy shortcut but I want to be safe about it.
There has been some talk about this on the forum in the past but the thread usually drifts towards anchoring. I want to be very clear ...I am not talking about anchoring but rather about using a carabiner at the end of a bridle to attach to a mooring ball.
Thoughts?


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[meridian28]

my concern would be when departing the weather may be such that it could be very difficult to detach.

[rajsach]

True, but why would you depart in such bad weather?


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[tomfl]

Some places (BKH being one) have a rule that only rope can be used on the plastic eye on the line from the mooring ball. No metal of any type is allowed.

[rajsach]

Originally Posted by tomfl

Some places (BKH being one) have a rule that only rope can be used on the plastic eye on the line from the mooring ball. No metal of any type is allowed.

To clarify I want to say that I will only be sailing in and around the Caribbean. My schedule is such that I work two weeks on and two weeks off so no plans to cross oceans or go to far off places just yet. I'm based in Puerto Rico but may leave the boat at different locales in and around the Caribbean and just go back-and-forth to the boat.


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[Kenomac]

Run a rope through the eye and return it to the boat. What could be easier for releasing from the mooring ball the next day? Windy weather or not?

[smac999]

I would be concerned it with corroding over time and becoming jammed stuck. I doubt hinges and locking rings like salt water.

beiners are normally rated in KN. a high end steel 40kn beiner will be of closely equal strength to a 1/2" line. the alum ones are probably more like 25kn.

[UNCIVILIZED]

The aluminum ones don't hold up well around salt water. And to really be secure, you'd want one with a locking gate. Most likely, auto-locking. Which do require a bit of dexterity to open.

So then, in order to detach from the mooring, someone has to make the boat hover, where the mooring ball is within arm's reach of another person hanging over the forward crossbeam. A beam that's likely 5' off of the water, whereas the mooring ball is 2' high.
Not something worth trying in anything but the most benign weather, in my book.

You could possibly connect to the mooring ball with a Sparcraft snap shackle. And rig a remote trip line through the shackle's trigger.
Though, then, the question which arises, is how long until the shackle accidentally gets tripped. By the trip line getting entangled in the mooring line, or on the mooring ball.

So... pretty much, the best bet is to stick with the basic setup of a line/lines through the mooring ball's eye.

[Jim Cate]

The use of a mechanical connector for making the initial connection is valid... the "caribeener on a stick" kind of thing. This can make getting hooked up under difficult conditions much easier, and then one can reeve the proper line to the mooring eye at your leisure.

But IMO using such a thing for longer term usage is asking for trouble. I would not do so.

Jim

[rajsach]

Seems like we have a general consensus
Thanks


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[a64pilot]

I just ordered one of these things
Robship Hook & Moor Boat Hook - Telescopic: 3.7 to 9.8 Feet

It's the current Active Captain defender special, but I've been wanting to try it anyway, being on sale is what decided me. Hope it works as well as it looks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMsyxnryt-s

[Siberianhusky]

From experience, if it's an aluminum carabiner galvanic corrosion between the steel pin/spring and aluminum body. I have a couple that have the nice white fuzz and some pitting.

[Tayana42]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I just ordered one of these things
Robship Hook & Moor Boat Hook - Telescopic: 3.7 to 9.8 Feet

It's the current Active Captain defender special, but I've been wanting to try it anyway, being on sale is what decided me. Hope it works as well as it looks.

I have one and it works pretty neat. Only used it a couple of times so far. It's great for hooking up to a mooring ball that doesn't have a pennant or has one you don't trust. My bow is fairly high so I couldn't reach a mooring ball from on deck without it.


S/V B'Shert

[Tetepare]

For a couple years I used a carabiner to attach to the ring on my dingy. After all, it can't get free, can it? Well, one day I looked back and the dingy was no longer attached! The carabiner had slipped off the ring of the dingy. Given that the painter was under load there should have been absolutely no way this could have happened, but it did.

I say don't do it.

[SVTwilight]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

For a couple years I used a carabiner to attach to the ring on my dingy. After all, it can't get free, can it? Well, one day I looked back and the dingy was no longer attached! The carabiner had slipped off the ring of the dingy. Given that the painter was under load there should have been absolutely no way this could have happened, but it did.

I say don't do it.

I have had the same thing happen. If you must use a carabiner it should be a locking one, that is one that has a small barrel on the gate that threads over the end of the gate to prevent opening. Also, only quality SS will work. AL carabiners wont last anytime in salt H2O