F-P

Yes - having experimented a lot with our hooks on the piling at our mooring, I struggle to see how correctly used hooks on piling in good condition and near the bolts COULD come loose without a good amount of slack in the rope... but then I imagine there is a lot of variation in the hooks and the piling? It isn't really unreasonable, and it's no big deal to just use chains instead so we will. The people I spoke to at the insurer seemed unfamiliar with the hooks, pins and chains. I wondered if they were more used to coastal boats. Might be worth running the scaffold pole arrangement past yours...

I would encourage you to contact them directly or to use chains... the position at the start of my e-mail exchange with them seemed to be that the hooks were not suitable at all.

The insurer has confirmed that mooring "goat" chains are acceptable if used with canal piling. Pins and hooks are only allowed for short term use. So the message is simple. If you don't have mooring rings on your home mooring use chains to piling, not pins or hooks. Always check with your insurer. Not sure what you do if you only have a soft bank mooring.

If it applies to one I imagine it applies to many... but in this case GJW. In other respects I've found them excellent so far but I'm glad I thought to ask this question. If you'll forgive me I don't like to be too specific on the interwebs. More toward the Marple end. Good question, I don't know, I'd rather not find out...

I'd had my doubts as well - I've been tying to the hooks and then taking longer ropes out to the rings but as the site gets more congested I was starting to feel anti social for the long ropes and lazy given the other boats are just on the pins. So I thought I'd check with the insurer...

I've been discussing mooring arrangements four our narrowboat on the Macclesfield canal with the insurer - one of the major names - and I was really surprised when they mailed to tell me the boat would not be insured if we used piling hooks other than "temporarily" at our home mooring. This isn't mentioned in the policy wording, and I thought people should know! On our towpath mooring string the ring spacing doesn't match the boat lengths/positions so most are attached with the hooks, and of course the CRT website for some locations suggests the use of hooks or pins. So I imagine that isn't unusual. The ring spacing isn't great for us either - so I've asked them to clarify if chains are acceptable. If you use hooks you might want to check with your insurer.