Mooring pendant replacement

[LarchmontDana]

Our club in Larchmont NY has just gone through a severe gale with winds gusting well over 50 knots. We were very fortunate in that all of our boats stayed on their moorings (while other clubs lost as many as 7 boats).

We have gone through the mooring field and assessed any chafing damage on existing lines and with few exceptions all look good. I am concerned however that pendants that had that much stretch and stress ought to be replaced no matter what their outward appearance. Is there any documentation available on when/whether lines should be replaced after excessive stretch??

[St Anna]

I agree that any stress and age should be reason enough to replace the lines, however, 50kn should be, by far, well below tolerance. At those lightish winds, it depends on the question of chafe or not and as you have examined, chafe is not too bad.

[sailingdog]

If your pendants are properly sized a 50 knot wind storm isn't generally going over stress them, much less cause them to need to be replaced. One exception is if you've used plastic or rubber hose as chafe protection, since this can cause the pendant to overheat locally, since the chafe protection can prevent water from getting to the line and cooling/lubricating it.

[JimsCAL]

Even a light pennant (say 5/8") has a breaking strength well in excess of 10,000 lbs, so stretch is far less than you think. Chafe is the enemy, and larger lines are much less likely to chafe. Use the largest that will fit in the chocks, and if not at least 3/4", change the chocks. I prefer a single heavy pennant over two light ones. I have used 1" for many years and never have chafe issues.