chafe gear - search results

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We’re sailors and we know our knots. We don’t use bungees to avoid lashings or because we don’t have enough old rope lying about...

To continue reading this article or issue you must be a paid subscriber. Sign in Subscribe Subscribe to Practical Sailor Get the next year of Practical Sailor for just $34. And access all of our online content - over 4,000 articles - free of charge. Subscribe today and save 42%. It's like getting 5 months […]

The best anti-chafe material to rely on in a storm is the one that resists abrasion, doesn’t cause heat build-up in the line, and can be easily installed—even if the line already has been deployed. Practical Sailor tested five commercially made products marketed as chafe protection for lines on boats: the Davis Secure, from marine accessories maker Davis Instruments; LineRap from Para-Anchor manufacturer Fiorentino; Chafe-Pro from the North Carolina-based Fjord Inc; and two sets of Chafe Guards by Taylor Made. Products ranged from single-skin webbing designs to tough Dacron double-layer designs, and the chafe gear’s attachment, or locking, methods were an integral part of the ratings. (The products don't work if they don't stay in place.) Chafe gear was put through a series of abrasion tests and was rated on price, ease of use, and performance.

Some of the best sailing I ever had was September on Narragansett Bay, pretty close to heaven in my mind. But before we let a long September reach carry us away-and hopefully carry us through winter-its a good time to take out a pen and pad, and start to build the winter work list.

Last fall, we reported on how to build strong, hand-stitched eyes in the ends of a rope, a skill particularly useful for older halyards and sheets that are too stiff for a typical bury splice (see PS October 2014 online). We also warned against the ravages of ultraviolet rays (UV) and chafe on the stitching, since so much of the strength lies vulnerable on the surface. In this report, we look at means of protecting stitched splices from UV and chafe.

Practical Sailor offers an overview of products designed to help secure a boat for a major storm or hurricane. Well ahead of storm season, each boat owner should devise a hurricane preparation plan and should inspect the marina, dock, mooring, or hurricane hole where he intends to ride out the storm. One of the most important aspects of storm readiness is being sure you have the right gear and ground tackle to handle the loads of high winds and rising seas. In this overview, Practical Sailor takes a look at line choice and chafe gear for storm mooring. More line is obviously better, but more of what type and size? Editors discuss Fiorentinos RodeRap and LineRap, Davis Secure Chafe Guard, and the Chafe Guard from Taylor Made. We also consider docking aids including snubbers such as Shockles, Bungy Shock, and Synergy Marines braided poly dock lines; shock absorbers; and tidal-surge protectors including Tideminders, TideSlide, and the Slide-Moor.

Being a team of diehard do-it-yourselfers, we decided to try our own hand at devising a workable solution to defeating line chafe. After fiddling with canvas, old fire hose, and even messing around with some Kevlar, we settled on leather—an old riggers standby.

Each year, as the fall boat shows—and the deals that come with them—appear on the horizon, we pore over the numerous products we’ve reviewed in the previous 12 months to select the cream of the crop for our Editor’s Choice awards. We hope the list will help readers better navigate any boat-show or end-of-season shopping. This year, we picked from the Best Choice products evaluated in the September 2010 through August 2011 issues. The 2011 GOTY roster includes an electric outboard, some stout bullet blocks, electric marine toilets, bilge pumps, chafe gear, and marine maintenance products like bottom paint.

Being a team of diehard do-it-yourselfers, we decided to try our own hand at devising a workable solution to defeating line chafe. After fiddling with canvas, old fire hose, and even messing around with some Kevlar, we settled on leather—an old rigger’s standby. It proved to be rugged and remained unholed after a ride on the belt sander. The fabrication process was kids craft 101, and there was something quite seafaring about the result. …