Taking up the mooring strain
Issue 59 : Mar/Apr 2008
To take the strain off our windlass, I needed a chain stopper. I found some nice ones on the market, but they were expensive and I had to come up with a good place to mount such a device.
Instead, I use a chain hook that has a grommet of 5⁄16-inch Amsteel cordage attached to it. The loop of the Amsteel simply hooks over the mooring cleat. This arrangement was cheaper than a traditional chain stopper and I didn’t have to mount it on deck.
The Amsteel is very easy to splice. In this case, I did an end-to-end splice to form the grommet.
Three years ago Bob Steadman and Kaye Nottbusch left Los Angeles. They went through the Panama Canal and worked north to Boston last summer. Currently, they are in the Rio Dulce, Guatemala, hiding out from hurricanes. Their boat is a custom Cascade 36 that Bob built. It was launched in 1984.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
