Storm Mooring: One Mooring Pendant or Two?

[MHBsailor]

Now that Fall is approaching it's time to start thinking about storm moorings again. I was intrigued by this article https://marinehowto.com/mooring-pendant ... s-musings/ (that I saw someone post in one of the CD forums last year) where the author recommends two unequal length mooring pendants. However, on my Typhoon Senior, there is only room on the foredeck horn cleat to use one pendant (I'm using a new 16-foot 5/8-in Yale Maxi-Moor II pendant).

I see two potential alternatives:

1) Installing two bow chocks, or
2) Using one pendant and a Dyneema safety line

Re option #1, I'm concerned that if they aren't each installed with a strong backing plate, they could be ripped out, and it doesn't look like access would be easy. Having said that, I'm not sure how strong the internal backing plate in the deck for the single factory-installed horn cleat is either.

Re Option #2, where would the Dyneema safety line be connected? I've heard that some owners will wrap it around the base of the mast but I'm not sure that would be a good idea, as the geometry would be way off resulting in (I imagine) lots of unconventional motions.

Curious where others are in their evolution on this important topic. Cheers!

JD

[s2sailorlis]

What size pennant are you using? On my CD22 I too have the single horn but it easily accommodated two, 5/8”, pennants. I too have read about using 2 unequal length pennants as well. I’d probably add a 3rd pennant, or a line from the horn cleat back to the mast or the winches.

My bigger concern are the knuckleheads in the mooring field with undersized gear, sails bent on, etc during a storm. As they break loose...and potentially come crashing or drag you down...

[MHBsailor]

5/8-in pendant. Would you be able to post a photo of how you attach two to the foredeck horn cleat please?

[Carl Thunberg]

This goes squarely against Maine Sail's recommendation of two pendants of unequal length, but I have used a single pendant for 35 years without a single incident. On the other hand, I have seen many instances of double pendants getting wrapped and twisted around each other. It could be their particular installation. If you go this route, do your homework and do it right. Just be aware of the potential for twisting.

Context is everything. My boat is in the water for 4 months, and I'm in a protected cove in Maine during settled summer weather. One pendant works for those conditions.

[s2sailorlis]

I’m no longer on a mooring, in a protected marina.

I did not rove the pennant eye thru the center opening on the horn cleat, I placed both eyes over the horn, then used a light line to cinch the eyes under the clear ends so they would not come off.

Regarding twisting of lines, poor mooring installation (or lack of a swivel) will result in the upper chain
rotating and thus causing the pennants to twist. In 14 years on a morning in an exposed harbor, twisting happened on a regular basis once. I suspect there are some poorly trained mooring installers out there...

Also, there was an MIT “study” done on moorings some time back. More of qualitative study and review of literature IIRC. Best to seek local knowledge as there are many “experts...”

5/8-in pendant. Would you be able to post a photo of how you attach two to the foredeck horn cleat please?

[Neil Gordon]

Context is everything. My boat is in the water for 4 months, and I'm in a protected cove in Maine during settled summer weather. One pendant works for those conditions.

One pendant is enough unless it chafes through. Two is not enough if they both chafe through. Lines of unequal length are great unless you want more than one to increase the breaking strength of the first one (including as weakened by chafe).

Pick your poison and decide which components of your mooring system you think might fail. That's where you want to start thinking about redundancy. (This is true if attached to a dock, too.)

[MHBsailor]

I'm probably being overly conservative as I'm in a cove with good protection from Northerly and Northeasterly winds (the predominant direction for storms) and the mooring is only one year old and I bought all the components (American made) from a local firm that maintains over a thousand moorings in my area and whenever there was an option in the connecting pieces I went a size larger.

Good point about two pendants twisting together - that's why the author of the linked article recommended lashing the two together from the mooring ball a considerable distance.

Interesting point wrapping the eyes of the two pendants around the horn cleat then wrapping them with rope to prevent them from coming off. I always do that extra step when using a single pendant. I just like the idea of having a second (longer) pendant in case the first (shorter) one chafes through (on the theory that the second one would outlast the storm). Maybe the new Maxi-Moor IIs pendants are thicker but I still don't see how I could get two pendant eyes around the horn cleat hence my dilemma. I will take a photo the next time I'm on the boat.

[s2sailorlis]

Maybe my cleat is diff than yours? I found a picture of my cleat, sans pennant...

I'm probably being overly conservative as I'm in a cove with good protection from Northerly and Northeasterly winds (the predominant direction for storms) and the mooring is only one year old and I bought all the components (American made) from a local firm that maintains over a thousand moorings in my area and whenever there was an option in the connecting pieces I went a size larger.

Good point about two pendants twisting together - that's why the author of the linked article recommended lashing the two together from the mooring ball a considerable distance.

Interesting point wrapping the eyes of the two pendants around the horn cleat then wrapping them with rope to prevent them from coming off. I always do that extra step when using a single pendant. I just like the idea of having a second (longer) pendant in case the first (shorter) one chafes through (on the theory that the second one would outlast the storm). Maybe the new Maxi-Moor IIs pendants are thicker but I still don't see how I could get two pendant eyes around the horn cleat hence my dilemma. I will take a photo the next time I'm on the boat.

[Ben Miller]

For what it's worth, the foredeck cleat on my Typhoon is 8" long and I can fit two 1/2" braided pennants on it pretty easily. There's an eye splice in the end, so all I have to do is slip the loop over the cleat, rather than cleat off the end of the line.

[MHBsailor]

Here's a photo of what my current arrangement looks like (point of bow is to the left). Although the horn cleat on Rick's CD-22 looks taller, I would think they would have used the same size foredeck horn cleat on the TY Senior (since the hulls are the same), although I was told by one former CD worker that they would sometimes just grab whatever hardware they had on hand at the time. I will measure the length and height the next time I'm at the boat. Not sure how I would wrap two pendant loops around it as Ben is describing - Bear in mind that my pendant is 5/8.

[Neil Gordon]

Here's a photo of what my current arrangement looks like (point of bow is to the left). Although the horn cleat on Rick's CD-22 looks taller, I would think they would have used the same size foredeck horn cleat on the TY Senior (since the hulls are the same), although I was told by one former CD worker that they would sometimes just grab whatever hardware they had on hand at the time. I will measure the length and height the next time I'm at the boat. Not sure how I would wrap two pendant loops around it as Ben is describing - Bear in mind that my pendant is 5/8.

What’s the size of the line on the cleat? Looks like plenty of length on the horns to slip two eyes on.

[MHBsailor]

5/8-in. I also want to have enough room to tie a safety line over the pendant(s) to to ensure it can't slip off (something that I am able to do with one pendant).

[s2sailorlis]

You are tying a cleat hitch. What I and others are suggesting is to put the eye of the line, which should be a loop, over the cleat. Not tying a hitch.

I’ll be at the boat this weekend and show you how I did mine with 5/8 3 strand line. Was never an issue. I’ll measure my cleat length as it may be possible my cleat is larger...

[s2sailorlis]

Just took a picture. Here is how I used to do it. Of course with 5/8 three-strand, etc.

Just use a light safety line to secure the eyes to cleat.

[Neil Gordon]

Just took a picture. Here is how I used to do it. Of course with 5/8 three-strand, etc.

Just use a light safety line to secure the eyes to cleat.

Instead if putting one directly over the other, try passing the eye of the second line through the eye of the first one and then put it over the cleat. That way you can take either line off without removing the other. (AKA “dipping the eye)