Bow Chocks Manufacturer?

[swillmerchant]

Good evening all,
Has anyone tried to replace or add another stainless steel bow chock on your tug? If so, what brand did you buy and from where? I believe they may be made by Suncor or Sea Dog (both very similar). Defender has the best price from what I can find.

We're tied to a mooring using 5/8" pendants. With chaffing gear, that's just more than the smaller bow chocks can handle on our 2010 R25. I'd like to add another larger set of bow chocks forward of the first railing stanchion, and would like them to match the ones we already have.

Ranger Tug's supplier, King Marine, doesn't deal with private customers, only manufacturers. I tried to contact them anyway based on a recommendation from Richard Becker at the Ranger Tug parts department. They simply replied that the parts are made in the Phillipines - thanks for the tip. :x

Also, if anyone knows how to reach the bolts attaching the first stanchion rail, I'd appreciate that too. I took the monkey fur down in the v-berth, but the anchor box is in the way and there's no way to access them from inside the anchor box to my knowledge. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[knotflying]

Why not just replace the existing chocks in the same location with the bigger ones that you found?

 

[Barry Cohen]

Doug:

If I had the know-how, I would add cleats to where you are considering adding chocks.

Almost every mooring I have used (including my own), would fair better with cleats closer forward.

 

[swillmerchant]

Why not just replace the existing chocks in the same location with the bigger ones that you found?

Ranger Tugs are really geared for docking, not mooring. The bow chocks are too far aft for effective mooring, and put an extreme bend (90 deg.) in the pendants to reach the main cleat behind the windlass. In it's current orientation, our pendants bind and take uneven tension too often making the boat swing at the mooring. So, the existing location of the chocks is not good for mooring, no matter what size the chock. Certainly, it would be easier to put bigger ones in the existing place, but it would not address the main reason for getting new ones.

Barry, your idea of cleats is very interesting and something that I'll have to think over. It could make tying up much easier. What other advantages have you observed?

Chocks or cleats, I still have to figure out how to access the deck behind the anchor box. :?:

 

[Barry Cohen]

Doug:

As you you stated so eloquently, the resulting angle for the existing position of the chocks is just too severe. The pendants would have to be overly too long to work correctly.

Currently, when I tie up to a mooring, it usually has a double pendant. The pendants are generally too short and won't reach the cleat behind the windlass because of the severe angle. What I do is fashion a bridle from one of my dock lines and run it through the eye of both pendants. I tie the bridle to the cleat behind the windlass. It works well, but this is not how I prefer to tie up.

If I had cleats a little forward of the current chocks, I could hook each pendant to one of the cleats and it would be perfect.

Could be a Fall project for Peter.

 

[rackline]

Hi - Hoping to revive this conversation and hear if anyone has made changes since the last post in this thread. I just purchased a 2009 Ranger 29 with similar questions about the chock locations. Our boat will be on a mooring, so the chocks need to be further forward and larger. Or, I like the idea of installing cleats forward of the current chock locations. Has anyone discovered how to through bolt a cleat or chock in the anchor locker area?

 

[Red Raven]

Why not just use the bow eye (the one used to hook to the trailer). It is the strongest connection on the boat. You need to secure it from the dinghy but you will be in the dinghy anyway when leaving the boat.

We used to moor our previous boat this way. Catch the buoy the usual way and tie via the chocks. Then when leaving on the dinghy add an additional line from the ball to the bow eye with stainless clips on both ends and a rubber snubber in the middle. Leave the other line attached as a backup but make sure the bow eye line is a bit shorter to take up the forces.

 

[Scuba Too]

Interesting discussion! It looks like the bow chocks were moved forward on the new R-29S and R-29CB relative to the previous model R-29. Presumably this will help with mooring?

 

[rackline]

Red Raven,

Thanks for your idea. That seems to be the easiest solution as the boat is currently configured. But having to use the dingy every time you leave the boat on a mooring shouldn't be necessary. And, it's especially inconvenient if you travel to and from the mooring by launch service. We spent a year living aboard our antique Friendship Sloop with a bowsprit and chain bob stay anchoring and mooring most nights, without having to leave the foredeck. The simple fix would be to reconfigure the chocks further forward. Unfortunately, it doesn't look to be that simple. It was easy to move and rework things on our old wooden boat. But, that's probably the only thing I miss about a wooden boat!

 

[stwendl]

Would running the lines o er the anchor Roller solve the problem. Of course with anchor off. After all she anchored the same load will be there

 

[rackline]

stwendl,

That's what I've done temporarily while she sits on our mooring waiting for a hauling appointment. And now you've got me thinking! Maybe the easiest fix would be to replace the bolts across the top of the bow roller with pins that don't require tools to remove. Then, the anchor and chain could quickly and completely be removed or placed back into the roller assembly. That just leaves coming up with a good way to secure the anchor to the foredeck when it has been removed from the bow roller. Thanks for your comments and getting me thinking!

 

[rackline]

An overdue update about the bow chocks we installed. These were custom made and provided by Winter Island Yacht Yard in Salem, MA. Thanks to Peter Haywood for the suggestion and guidance on how to install. Photos can be found in my gallery. You could save some money by purchasing standard chocks, but these really compliment the bow because they match the stanchions. and, since they are built with round stock matching the stanchions they provide a wide range of fairlead. http://www.tugnuts.com/gallery2.php?g2_itemId=52466