Anyone know what this is ?

[mrsmelly]

We always use chains although years ago used nappy pins/piling hooks. Nappy pins work better when inverted but their weak point I found in use is keeping them taught so they dont rattle about or come loose. Chains are easily tightened but if and when they go slack they do not come away from the piling and you remain secure but when ropes slacken nappy pins can come away. Not as much a problem when only ever moored on a little fluctuating ditch but when using commercial waterways and rivers chains are infinately more secure so we always now and for years use chains. I am absolutely in agreement with Alan though that they have a drawback in the kneeling low down aspect and bloomin nettles.

[MtB]

3 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

I am absolutely in agreement with Alan though that they have a drawback in the kneeling low down aspect and bloomin nettles.

 

Hence my long term project to design a piling hook that doesn't fall out with loose lines, and can simply be dropped into place without kneeling in the mud. 

[Machpoint005]

Just now, Mike the Boilerman said:

and can simply be dropped into place

That rather depends on what has grown over the top of the Armco, though!

[rusty69]

Watch this space. Currently in the initial design stage "Rusty's magnetic docking clamps (pat pending)" for all your mooring needs.

 

Kit comprises  four powerful electro-magnets for securing your vessel. Fully deployable from helm position. 

 

Rrp £450

Edited June 12, 2018 by rusty69

[WotEver]

2 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Watch this space. Currently in the initial design stage "Rusty's magnetic docking clamps (pat pending)" for all your mooring needs.

 

Kit comprises  four powerful electro-magnets for securing your vessel. Fully deployable from helm position. 

 

Rrp £450

Then you set them to ‘Repel’ and drift sideways into the centre of the cut, right?

[rusty69]

7 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Then you set them to ‘Repel’ and drift sideways into the centre of the cut, right?

I hadn't thought of that, but yes, could work, thanks. 

 

They could also be used when passing other vessels on "repel", acting as a bowthruster, or "attract" if you like the look of the passing boat.

 

The possibilities are endless. 

 

This time next year, I'll be a squillionaire. 

Edited June 12, 2018 by rusty69

[Dave_P]

1 hour ago, David Schweizer said:

We used piling hooks for years and unlike "nappy Pins" never lost one. When you remove the rope from a piling hook, it falls onto the top of the piling, wheras nappy pins requie two hands to stop them sliding down the back of the piling and into the water. We did have a pair of "nappy pins" with rings and short looped ropes attached to them, so that the looped end could be placed onto a mooring dolly and the pin dropped onto the piling to hold the boat close to the bank before the boat's mooring ropes and hooks could be deployed. A very useful idea learnt from another boater which made mooring a lot easier on a busy waterway.

 

With regard to mooring rope angles it would seem that each boat varies. We had a high bow and found that the boat held best with a rear line almost at right angles, and a forward line at 45 degrees. We always dropped fenders down against the piling and preferred ropes to be tight, which prevented a lot of backwards and forwards movement when other boats passed.

Never remove the rope until you've removed the nappy pin, that way you'll never lose one.

[howardang]

1 hour ago, rusty69 said:

Watch this space. Currently in the initial design stage "Rusty's magnetic docking clamps (pat pending)" for all your mooring needs.

 

Kit comprises  four powerful electro-magnets for securing your vessel. Fully deployable from helm position. 

 

Rrp £450

There are already similar things used in commercial ports for ships, saving time and rope costs. Because the use of magnetic devices plays havoc with magnetic compasses, the commercial ones use vacuum pads, installed on the jetty edge to hold ships alongside. I think they cost a trifle more than your suggested RRP however!

 

Here is a link to a supplier of one such device for interest. There are others. 

 

https://www.porttechnology.org/images/uploads/equipment_brochures/moormaster-automated-mooring-may-2011.pdf

 

 

 

Howard

[RLWP]

2 hours ago, rusty69 said:

Watch this space. Currently in the initial design stage "Rusty's magnetic docking clamps (pat pending)" for all your mooring needs.

 

Kit comprises  four powerful electro-magnets for securing your vessel. Fully deployable from helm position. 

 

Rrp £450

Featured in Waterways World April edition about ten years ago

[rusty69]

1 minute ago, RLWP said:

Featured in Waterways World April edition about ten years ago

Oh. Was it April 1st!

[RLWP]

1 minute ago, rusty69 said:

Oh. Was it April 1st!

How did you guess?

[Jerra]

4 hours ago, David Schweizer said:

I think you have demonstrated what I stated very well, removing them requires two hands. I wanted to be able to remove both the rope, and stow the pin quickly at both ends, before the boat had floated across the canal into the bushes.

The point I was making was that there was no chance of the "nappy pin" falling in the water.  Personally I don't find removing them any slower (and often faster) than getting a pin out when it has been well hammered in.

[Ray T]

For what it's worth, I have two lengths of rope with a nappy pin on one end a spliced loop at the other.

One is short and enables me to drop the loop over a dolly and the pin behind the Armco to make sure the boat doesn't escape on any occasion I single hand.

The other is longer and acts as a bow warp. It lies at approx 45 degrees ish to the Armco. The stern of the boat I secure with a "goat" chain. Never had a "nappy pin" come loose. If it does "clonk" I don't notice it.

Edited June 12, 2018 by Ray T

[Sea Dog]

6 hours ago, rusty69 said:

Rrp £450

Blimey, how much?! Do you also make windlasses? At that price it had better have a ratchet!

 

(Anyway, I'm sticking with the goat thing, but I won't bleat on about it).

[rusty69]

4 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Blimey, how much?!

Yeah, but that will include a phone app, so you can un-dock from the comfort of your easy chair. 

 

The docking magnets can also be used on the base of your boat to find hidden treasure on the canal bed,so as you can see, a very reasonable price! 

[Sea Dog]

3 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Yeah, but that will include a phone app, so you can un-dock from the comfort of your easy chair. 

 

The docking magnets can also be used on the base of your boat to find hidden treasure on the canal bed,so as you can see, a very reasonable price! 

Don't forget to add that the magnets can help to trigger the induction loop when you stop at traffic lights.

 

Do you need a marketing officer?

[rusty69]

4 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Do you need a marketing officer

Sounds like an attractive proposition! 

[Dr Bob]

3 hours ago, rusty69 said:

Sounds like an attractive proposition! 

Go on, admit it, you're using an ecofan to power this whole contraption! Can I buy in? The duck wants some shares too!

Edited June 12, 2018 by Dr Bob

[rusty69]

8 hours ago, Dr Bob said:

Go on, admit it, you're using an ecofan to power this whole contraption! Can I buy in? The duck wants some shares too!

Send me a cheque for 20k and you're in. I'll email over to you and Donald 2000000 penny shares. 

[Dr Bob]

2 hours ago, rusty69 said:

Send me a cheque for 20k and you're in. I'll email over to you and Donald 2000000 penny shares. 

Check in the post this morning. Please speed those shares to me.

Just looked at Howard's link above. It claims 'Moormaster' can speed up mooring time by up to 90 minutes. That means I could get to the pub an hour and a half earlier. I think these items are going to fly off the shelf.

[rusty69]

1 hour ago, Dr Bob said:

Check in the post this morning. Please speed those shares to me.

Just looked at Howard's link above. It claims 'Moormaster' can speed up mooring time by up to 90 minutes. That means I could get to the pub an hour and a half earlier. I think these items are going to fly off the shelf.

Shelves are metal, so I doubt it

[cuthound]

4 hours ago, Dr Bob said:

Check in the post this morning. Please speed those shares to me.

Just looked at Howard's link above. It claims 'Moormaster' can speed up mooring time by up to 90 minutes. That means I could get to the pub an hour and a half earlier. I think these items are going to fly off the shelf.

 

Speeds up mooring by 90 minutes eh?

 

I'll have one, it will let me get to the pub 85 minutes before I've finished cruising. Anyone know how it's built in autopilot works? ?

[howardang]

5 hours ago, rusty69 said:

Shelves are metal, so I doubt it

Ah but if you read my post you would see that I was referring to a vacuum system precisely because of the issues with magnets. This system has been up and running for a number of years but only for proper vessels, I'm afraid, not for small craft like ours.?

 

Howard

[rusty69]

3 minutes ago, howardang said:

Ah but if you read my post you would see that I was referring to a vacuum system precisely because of the issues with magnets. This system has been up and running for a number of years but only for proper vessels, I'm afraid, not for small craft like ours.?

 

Howard

Oh well. I'll shelve that idea then! 

[Dr Bob]

1 hour ago, rusty69 said:

Oh well. I'll shelve that idea then! 

Hang on, if its only for proper boats (I think by that Howard means bigger boats), that means it will work more efficiently on smaller boats so maybe we can save more than 90 mins mooring. Percieved value should therefore be higher if our marketing manager does his job properly. Have you given him a job description?