Question about bow line to mooring anchor hardware

Mustang65fbk

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2020
Messages
2,595
Reaction score
688
Points
113
Age
38
Location
Seattle area
Model
Seafarer
I keep my boat on a mooring buoy generally between early/mid July until roughly late September or early October up at our beach cabin on Whidbey Island. During that time, I'm not always around the boat because of work and the fact that I live in town. A couple of years ago when I first bought the boat, I went to my local marine hardware store called Harbor Marine in Everett and had them make up a bow line for me. I told them that I've got a Grady White 228 Seafarer with a weight of around 7k lbs and wanted something that would withstand that. The rope is still holding up just fine but my concern is that the snap hooks are non locking, and with the boat being valued at roughly $60k, I'm thinking I should have something on there that is locking. Even if it's just for a means of having a backup method in the event that the primary snap hook were to fail. Attached is a link to the snap hooks that are currently on the bow line, of which they're rated to just under 12k lbs. They seem to work just fine, and maybe I'm being a bit anal about it, but I don't want them to rust and/or somehow have the latch part get stuck open and the boat drift off. So, what would you recommend to either replace those with or use as a backup means of securing the bow line both to the boat as well as to the mooring buoy? I've looked at bow shackles as well as well as D shackles, carabiners and so forth. My thought process is to go with carabiners in the event that a bow shackle over tightens and not be reliant upon pliers, as well as potentially having to hold them over the side of the boat and losing them. Not that I don't have a set of pliers on the boat anyways, but I could definitely see myself, my uncle or another family member dropping them overboard. I think the almost 12k lb rating on the bow shackles are a bit overkill as the boat I'm guessing doesn't weigh anymore than 7k lbs total, but what are your opinions and advice on the matter?

 

Peter A

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2023
Messages
140
Reaction score
45
Points
28
Age
62
Location
New Jersey
Model
Adventure
Seems not needed if you regularly inspect and stick some marine grease into the hinge. I’d probably feel OK as-is.

I do get the desire for belt and suspenders. A second safety line like the first just a bit longer? A locking carabiner is aluminum but any corrosion or foreign debris in the threads will make the device a pain to unlock. The pressure on the actual shackle is the amount of force exerted by the wind and current so you have a nice safety margin in your current gear. If you are talking about using a second method of securing the existing gear to the boat I would probably just tie a line to the existing gear and fasten to one of your bow cleats, or run a second line through the mooring buoy ring and tie off to cleats. Throw that line away when it looks messy.