Mooring "Pin" Quality Not What It Used To Be?

[alan_fincher]

Sorry, can't resist quoting this just posted elsewhere....

 

Quote

 

To the elderly couple who zoomed past my boat at top speed and mere inches away after coming out of lock 64 at Hemel Hempstead thirty minutes ago (approx 11.20am): Not only did you snap my mooring pin in half, forcing me to run out to secure my boat, but I also had to run barefoot down the towpath to save another boat that had had its mooring pins pulled out.

Well done. If my bicycle hadn't been stowed away, I would have biked down the towpath to give you a good piece of my mind & it wouldn't have been pleasant.

SLOW DOWN WHEN PASSING OTHER BOATS!

 

Now it is of course quite possibly the "elderly couple" were going to fast, but it doesn't say a lot for the quality of the mooring "pin" in use at the time, does it?

Or had they perhaps used wooden mooring "pins"?

[Rickent]

7 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

Sorry, can't resist quoting this just posted elsewhere....

 

Now it is of course quite possibly the "elderly couple" were going to fast, but it doesn't say a lot for the quality of the mooring "pin" in use at the time, does it?

Or had they perhaps used wooden mooring "pins"?

Or glass pins.

On a serious note, surely metal pins would not snap under the strain of a moored boat.

Edited July 27, 2019 by Rickent

[Keeping Up]

Another possibilty, I have often see people tied to just the welded eye near the top of the mooring pin, without passing the rope around the pin. This weld can easily break (especially if it has been hit with a hammer on a few occasions) with just the gentlest of pulls on the rope. In fact most of my pins are old ones that people have thrown away after they have broken in this way, because they can't use them any more.

[Nightwatch]

I need to file off the burrs that have been created over the years.

[alan_fincher]

12 minutes ago, Keeping Up said:

Another possibilty, I have often see people tied to just the welded eye near the top of the mooring pin, without passing the rope around the pin. This weld can easily break (especially if it has been hit with a hammer on a few occasions) with just the gentlest of pulls on the rope.

But being pedantic, that is hardly "snapping it in half" is it?

 

Poorly described, if that's what they mean.

 

(I've never had one break off in use, but did once break one off by missing the spike with my big hammer,and striking the loop instead, heavily enough to break the weld!).

[Boater Sam]

The loop welded onto the side of a pin often breaks off. Its a welding defect, thin onto too thick and probably tossed into water to cool down causing a brittle weld. Always pass the rope around the pin in the loop.

I've had a few bent by boats surfing past when the pin has been firm, hammered into  a crack in concrete. Devils to straighten again.

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

But being pedantic, that is hardly "snapping it in half" is it?

 

Poorly described, if that's what they mean.

 

(I've never had one break off in use, but did once break one off by missing the spike with my big hammer,and striking the loop instead, heavily enough to break the weld!).

Agreed. The silly loop things snap off, usually after several hammer strikes, but the main body of the pin will bend long before they snap. All of mine have anyway. Even when moored on the busy canals on Grand Prix weekends, if you double pin and keep the ropes tight and correctly positioned you are normally OK. 
Best ones I have are two pieces of that rebar (not rhubarb) stuff that they use in concrete. They are my Bridgewater pins
 

[Theo]

I never bother with the loops even when present.  I put a clove hitch on the pin which provides enough friction to hold the pin on the mooring line if it gets pulled right out and drops in the cut.

 

The last pin that I bought was properly treated and never had its loop bashed but within a week the loop had shaken off!

 

N

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Theo said:

I never bother with the loops even when present.  I put a clove hitch on the pin which provides enough friction to hold the pin on the mooring line if it gets pulled right out and drops in the cut.

 

The last pin that I bought was properly treated and never had its loop bashed but within a week the loop had shaken off!

 

N

I always assumed the loop was for the purpose of passing another pin through so as to double pin it.  I too use a clove hitch for the same reason. 

[bizzard]

I had a clove itch when I had tooth ache.    Rum and cloves is a wonderful winter drink. 

Edited July 27, 2019 by bizzard

[ditchcrawler]

2 hours ago, Keeping Up said:

Another possibilty, I have often see people tied to just the welded eye near the top of the mooring pin, without passing the rope around the pin. This weld can easily break (especially if it has been hit with a hammer on a few occasions) with just the gentlest of pulls on the rope. In fact most of my pins are old ones that people have thrown away after they have broken in this way, because they can't use them any more.

In my case several have just fallen off, I dont tie off to them

[Sea Dog]

2 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

"Well done. If my bicycle hadn't been stowed away, I would have biked down the towpath to give you a good piece of my mind ..."

I don't know who you were quoting Alan, but I'd advise them not to do the above as they appear to have lost most it already!  Hopefully they feel better for the rant.

 

[Mike Todd]

I have long assumed that the purpose of the ring was to act as a security device in case the pin is pulled out. I know from experience that a clove hitch around the pin is not sufficient to avoid losing it. I cannot imagine that typing just to the ring would be a good idea. I did have a ring fall off a couple of weeks back as I was hammering the pin into the ground - and no, I did not miss the top of the pin and hit the ring!

[Detling]

Maybe if the OP wasn't moored on the end of the lock landing the speeding boat would had time to get on the plane thereby reducing the wake. Seriously how does a canal boat speed out of a lock it takes several tens of yards to get to tickover speed, let alone speeding.

[bizzard]

30 minutes ago, Detling said:

Maybe if the OP wasn't moored on the end of the lock landing the speeding boat would had time to get on the plane thereby reducing the wake. Seriously how does a canal boat speed out of a lock it takes several tens of yards to get to tickover speed, let alone speeding.

Locks are deep especially going up of course. You can accelerate very quickly out of them.

[Mike Todd]

1 minute ago, bizzard said:

Locks are deep especially going up of course. You can accelerate very quickly out of them.

Depends on size of lock and boat - but a narrowboat out of a narrow lock aint going to be fast on account off the width, not depth.

[bizzard]

40 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

Depends on size of lock and boat - but a narrowboat out of a narrow lock aint going to be fast on account off the width, not depth.

Never found much difference, and you get the extra push from the prop slipstream hitting the gates behind, and probably more so in the confines of a narrow lock.

Edited July 27, 2019 by bizzard

[Neil2]

40 minutes ago, bizzard said:

Locks are deep especially going up of course. You can accelerate very quickly out of them.

 

26 minutes ago, bizzard said:

Never found much difference, and you get the extra push from the prop slipstream hitting the gates behind.

 

I think we now know the identity of the speeding boater...

 

.

[bizzard]

1 minute ago, Neil2 said:

 

 

I think we now know the identity of the speeding boater...

 

.

Too far away. We're stuck on our moorings on the Stort at the moment healing over, short of water. Lock 2 Twyford lock chained up until further notice.

[bizzard]

If there's a strong crosswind and your exiting down from the calm shelter of the lock to open up and nip out sharpish to save getting suddenly blown onto the lee bank when clear of the lock.

[Theo]

2 hours ago, Mike Todd said:

I have long assumed that the purpose of the ring was to act as a security device in case the pin is pulled out. I know from experience that a clove hitch around the pin is not sufficient to avoid losing it. I cannot imagine that typing just to the ring would be a good idea. I did have a ring fall off a couple of weeks back as I was hammering the pin into the ground - and no, I did not miss the top of the pin and hit the ring!

If you are talking about a loose ring then I would guess that those would last a good long time.  I am talking about the welded trywrangly thing.

 

N

1 hour ago, bizzard said:

Never found much difference, and you get the extra push from the prop slipstream hitting the gates behind, and probably more so in the confines of a narrow lock.

I think that there might be some faulty physics there, Mr Bizzard

[Chewbacka]

3 hours ago, catweasel said:

I always assumed the loop was for the purpose of passing another pin through so as to double pin it.  I too use a clove hitch for the same reason. 

I thought the loop was to stop the rope sliding off the top of the pin if it was pulled towards the boat.  

[Theo]

6 minutes ago, Chewbacka said:

I thought the loop was to stop the rope sliding off the top of the pin if it was pulled towards the boat.  

And I though that the loop was to pass the rope through so that when the pin pulled out from the ground you didn't lose it in the cut

[Nightwatch]

Nah! The ring is there so you can twirl then like six shooters and plop then back into your purpose made leather holster belt. 

[CompairHolman]

5 hours ago, Boater Sam said:

The loop welded onto the side of a pin often breaks off. Its a welding defect, thin onto too thick and probably tossed into water to cool down causing a brittle weld. Always pass the rope around the pin in the loop.

I've had a few bent by boats surfing past when the pin has been firm, hammered into  a crack in concrete. Devils to straighten again.

Its not strictly speaking a defect, its the nature of welding , welded parts will often fracture at the ( HAZ ) heat affected zone under a heavy vibration load like hammering, they are just made in small quantities with the cheapest methods, and people want cheap chandlery not a forged one piece mooring pin.  

 

 

 

 

Edited July 27, 2019 by CompairHolman