Moody Eclipse 33 Moody eclipse 33 swinging mooring cleat

[David Clack]

Hi,
I am thinking of buying an Eclipse and have seen a couple that look fine.
My mooring is a swinging one that is exposed to the south through south east.
The mooring is substantial but I am wondering what others have done to make mooring with chain through the bow roller to a cleat feasible.
I need it to be strong and to avoid chafe on the hull.
My last boat a Nic 32 had a substantial centre line bollard/cleat.
Do I need to have this added and if so what are the pitfalls?
Or can I use the mooring cleats on the toe rail and rig a line between them to centralise the chain?
I am very interested to know what others have done.
Many thanks indeed for any advice.
Best regards,
David
Courtenay-Clack

 

[Alex Whatley]

Some E33s have centre line bollard type cleats, as per the one I spotted in PLymouth over the summer. We left ours on a swinging mooring for a month and, although it was a rope rather than chain line, I used a bridle of individual lines to the mooring cleats on the toerail, with the loop over the windlass for good luck. That way, there were 2 line connections to the mooring, keeping the line centred, but should either fail we were still attached, with some of the load transfered to the windlass to keep it on centre