Boat getting battered by pontoon!

[bizzard]

Search all the pavements and you'll find tons of elastic bands the postmen drop and weave your own sturdy ones.

[magnetman]

Search the hedgerows and you find loads of bicycle inner tubes !

 

If it's got a hole then cut and tie a knot. That's you weak point for when the floods start. 

 

 

Mooring compensators is what I was thinking of. 

 

Like this 

 

 

https://jimmygreen.com/764-Mooring-Compensators

Edited December 19, 2019 by magnetman

[LadyG]

16 minutes ago, bizzard said:

Search all the pavements and you'll find tons of elastic bands the postmen drop and weave your own sturdy ones.

not nowadays

[Richard10002]

Tight springs and saggy breasts??

[Momac]

47 minutes ago, magnetman said:

 

 

There is a rubber thing available which the rope goes through the ends of then is wrapped around. I think it is designed to fail and automatically extend the length of the rope because of the number of turns taken around the body of the rubber thing. 

 

Not sure what it is called. I've got one but not with me at the moment 

 

 

A  mooring snubber ?

1 hour ago, magnetman said:

.... the term "Pontoon"  refers to a floating unit which moves up and down with water level changes.  

That's correct.

[magnetman]

Of course if you are moored to a floating pontoon and there is considerable depth below it you have to be very confident of its integrity before fixing your boat to it with no weak links. 

 

They do sometimes sink and take boats down with them. 

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11545353/Richmond-restaurant-boat-sinks-after-pontoon-fails.html

[Alan de Enfield]

4 hours ago, magnetman said:

There is a rubber thing available which the rope goes through the ends of then is wrapped around. I think it is designed to fail and automatically extend the length of the rope because of the number of turns taken around the body of the rubber thing. 

They are not designed to 'fail', they are commonly used on lumpy water boats to help absorb the shock when wind and waves snatch at the boat.

There is also a metal 'spring' version which I prefer to the non-stretchy, rubbery stretchy things.

 

 

 

[alan_fincher]

4 hours ago, magnetman said:

I should point out that I assume the term "Pontoon"  refers to a floating unit which moves up and down with water level changes.  One of my boats is moored to a Pontoon and I have secured it from flapping about by using ratchet straps. 

 

A fixed structure is called a Jetty. 

 

I would certainly not advocate strapping a boat to a Jetty with ratchet straps. 

 

However to be fair a lot of people may call a Jetty a Pontoon. Including marinas offering moorings. 

 

 

yes, as far as dictionary definitions go, you are of course correct.~

Hiowever if I had to guess, I would suspect that more than 50% of time that people on here refer to "pontoon", they are actually referring to a fixed rather than a floating structure.

Our current moorings certainly refer to "pontoon", as in "priced by the pontoon", but are actually fixed jettys on stilts, as I suspect is the case in the vast majority of canal based marinas.

 

I don't think OP has necessarily said whether this is on a canal or river, have they, perhaps they could clarify?

[tree monkey]

4 hours ago, LadyG said:

not nowadays

Yes nowadays.

 

[magnetman]

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

They are not designed to 'fail', they are commonly used on lumpy water boats to help absorb the shock when wind and waves snatch at the boat.

There is also a metal 'spring' version which I prefer to the non-stretchy, rubbery stretchy things.

 

 

 

That's interesting. I am aware of the spring type things. But if it's not a weak link why does it have a backup chain? 

 

The rubber one I have which I inherited with one of the boats has several turns of rope around it. The only reason I can see for that considering it is not very stretchy is to immediately provide a longer line when it breaks. Which would be very handy. Obviously. 

Edited December 19, 2019 by magnetman

[Alan de Enfield]

12 minutes ago, magnetman said:

That's interesting. If it's not a weak link why does it have a backup chain? 

 

The rubber one I have which I inherited with one of the boats has several turns of rope around it. The only reason I can see for that considering it is not very stretchy is to provide a longer line when it breaks. Which would be very handy. Obviously. 

In really severe conditions it can off course fail, when that happens you need the 'safety chain' so you at least remain moored up.

 

A few years ago we were moored in St Mary's (IoM) against the harbour wall (about 20 feet higher than the boat). It was a busy Summer and were had boats in front and boats behind, as the evening progressed we all had several boats rafted up to us (Breasted up in canal parlance) so we were probably about 5 boats 'deep' as were the boats in front and behind.

 

In the middle of the night a strange tide and wind swept into the harbour, it banged the boats together bursting fenders, it was so vicious that it snapped every mooring line for the boat connected to the harbour wall - there were several 'rafts' of 5 or 6 boats floating around in the dark.

I and many others were up on our various boats (wearing nothing but 'undies') trying to sort it out, start engines and get some control back.

 

It was an exciting night.

 

 

In calmer times at high tide - we had just had a Road Tanker down to the harbour to refuel as the sailing club didn't have enough stock to let us have 600 litres.

 

 

Edited December 19, 2019 by Alan de Enfield

[Iain_S]

4 hours ago, magnetman said:

(snip)

The rubber one I have which I inherited with one of the boats has several turns of rope around it. The only reason I can see for that considering it is not very stretchy is to immediately provide a longer line when it breaks. Which would be very handy. Obviously. 

If the line just went through the eyes, it wouldn't be able to stretch.

[Detling]

The big inflatable one loved by yogurt pots work well, and if dangled from the handrail roll back and fore with the boat movement and do not rub the paintwork. They may not be 'traditional' but if they work who cares.