A Bad Mooring Chain

[John Stone]

I dove a friend's mooring chain today down in the Virgin Islands. I am not on this mooring. This chain was doubled and about 35' long. He said it was installed about three years ago. I think it was probably longer than that but by how much I don't know.

Look at that chain! Most of the links in both chains were similar.

I am always surprised when sailors pick up a mooring they know nothing about with the naive confidence they can trust it to hold their boat. You must dive a mooring unless you are positive it is properly maintained.

Scary stuff.

[Jim Walsh]

Very scary….not aggressive shark scary, but still life threatening scary. Is that a GoPro image?

[John Stone]

Is that a GoPro image?

Aye, that it is. Pulled from a video.

[Sleepwalker]

Yikes! Were they all like that or just the ones in and out of the bottom?

[John Stone]

Yikes! Were they all like that or just the ones in and out of the bottom?

Many of links of the chain on the bottom were just like that one.

[Sleepwalker]

Thanks. That's what I was told, the most wear occurs where the chain goes in and out of the bottom.