Bow chocks for M17 with aluminum toe-rail.
I am planning to keep my 1976 M17 (aluminum toe-rails) on a mooring this summer, but it is curiously bereft of bow chocks and I'm trying to decide what to do about that. The toe-rails are pretty smooth; do people just put some chafe gear on their mooring pendant and let it hang over the side? If not, what have people done to integrate bow chocks with the aluminum toe-rail? Photos of particularly elegant solutions would be appreciated. Thanks.
My M17 has teak toe rails, but I owned an earlier model that had aluminum (I frankly prefer the aluminum over teak (or whatever wood it is...). I've see some pretty nice mods to the aluminum rails, but have no pics. What about cutting/carving out chock-shaped openings, polishing them up nice, and seeing if that works? I felt the need for chocks on my boat as well and nipped 6 or 8 inches off the bow end of the toe rails on my boat and installed chocks. I was able to re-use one of the holes drilled for the rail, and only had to drill one additional hole. t t _/\_ On Fri, Mar 7, 2014 at 10:35 AM, <swwheatley@comcast.net> wrote:
I am planning to keep my 1976 M17 (aluminum toe-rails) on a mooring this summer, but it is curiously bereft of bow chocks and I'm trying to decide what to do about that. The toe-rails are pretty smooth; do people just put some chafe gear on their mooring pendant and let it hang over the side? If not, what have people done to integrate bow chocks with the aluminum toe-rail? Photos of particularly elegant solutions would be appreciated. Thanks.
I also have the aluminum rails and the bow chocks, but never got around to mounting them. My plan was (is) to fashion some teak block spacers, long enough and wide enough to mount the chocks to elevate the base of them to about to the same level as the toe rail. Through bolts with backing plates as in some situations, there could be substantial shear force on them. Going from memory, this may be more tricky as it sounds, as there is balsa core in the fore deck. Not sure where it ends in relation to the edge of the deck and toe rails. If the bolt holes have to go through the balsa core, you would want to drill holes oversize and backfill with epoxy. On Mar 7, 2014, at 1:13 PM, Tom Smith wrote:
My M17 has teak toe rails, but I owned an earlier model that had aluminum (I frankly prefer the aluminum over teak (or whatever wood it is...). I've see some pretty nice mods to the aluminum rails, but have no pics. What about cutting/carving out chock-shaped openings, polishing them up nice, and seeing if that works?
I felt the need for chocks on my boat as well and nipped 6 or 8 inches off the bow end of the toe rails on my boat and installed chocks. I was able to re-use one of the holes drilled for the rail, and only had to drill one additional hole. t
t _/\_
On Fri, Mar 7, 2014 at 10:35 AM, <swwheatley@comcast.net> wrote:
I am planning to keep my 1976 M17 (aluminum toe-rails) on a mooring this summer, but it is curiously bereft of bow chocks and I'm trying to decide what to do about that. The toe-rails are pretty smooth; do people just put some chafe gear on their mooring pendant and let it hang over the side? If not, what have people done to integrate bow chocks with the aluminum toe-rail? Photos of particularly elegant solutions would be appreciated. Thanks.
You know, another idea is to hack-saw a few inches off the toe rail, and use the mounting holes already drilled (one of them at least) to place a bow chock in the rail's place. You wouldn't have any balsa core worries because you be in the deck to hull mating area that is un-cored. t t _/\_ On Fri, Mar 7, 2014 at 12:02 PM, Howard Audsley <haudsley@tranquility.net>wrote:
I also have the aluminum rails and the bow chocks, but never got around to mounting them.
My plan was (is) to fashion some teak block spacers, long enough and wide enough to mount the chocks to elevate the base of them to about to the same level as the toe rail. Through bolts with backing plates as in some situations, there could be substantial shear force on them. Going from memory, this may be more tricky as it sounds, as there is balsa core in the fore deck. Not sure where it ends in relation to the edge of the deck and toe rails. If the bolt holes have to go through the balsa core, you would want to drill holes oversize and backfill with epoxy.
On Mar 7, 2014, at 1:13 PM, Tom Smith wrote:
My M17 has teak toe rails, but I owned an earlier model that had aluminum (I frankly prefer the aluminum over teak (or whatever wood it is...). I've see some pretty nice mods to the aluminum rails, but have no pics. What about cutting/carving out chock-shaped openings, polishing them up nice, and seeing if that works?
I felt the need for chocks on my boat as well and nipped 6 or 8 inches off the bow end of the toe rails on my boat and installed chocks. I was able to re-use one of the holes drilled for the rail, and only had to drill one additional hole. t
t _/\_
On Fri, Mar 7, 2014 at 10:35 AM, <swwheatley@comcast.net> wrote:
I am planning to keep my 1976 M17 (aluminum toe-rails) on a mooring this summer, but it is curiously bereft of bow chocks and I'm trying to decide what to do about that. The toe-rails are pretty smooth; do people just put some chafe gear on their mooring pendant and let it hang over the side? If not, what have people done to integrate bow chocks with the aluminum toe-rail? Photos of particularly elegant solutions would be appreciated. Thanks.
Not sure that would work. Seem to recall the screws that hold the toe rail in place run through the toe rail and flange only. There wouldn't be any room or flat spot to mount them on. On Mar 7, 2014, at 2:18 PM, Tom Smith wrote:
You know, another idea is to hack-saw a few inches off the toe rail, and use the mounting holes already drilled (one of them at least) to place a bow chock in the rail's place. You wouldn't have any balsa core worries because you be in the deck to hull mating area that is un-cored. t
t _/\_
On Fri, Mar 7, 2014 at 12:02 PM, Howard Audsley <haudsley@tranquility.net>wrote:
I also have the aluminum rails and the bow chocks, but never got around to mounting them.
My plan was (is) to fashion some teak block spacers, long enough and wide enough to mount the chocks to elevate the base of them to about to the same level as the toe rail. Through bolts with backing plates as in some situations, there could be substantial shear force on them. Going from memory, this may be more tricky as it sounds, as there is balsa core in the fore deck. Not sure where it ends in relation to the edge of the deck and toe rails. If the bolt holes have to go through the balsa core, you would want to drill holes oversize and backfill with epoxy.
On Mar 7, 2014, at 1:13 PM, Tom Smith wrote:
My M17 has teak toe rails, but I owned an earlier model that had aluminum (I frankly prefer the aluminum over teak (or whatever wood it is...). I've see some pretty nice mods to the aluminum rails, but have no pics. What about cutting/carving out chock-shaped openings, polishing them up nice, and seeing if that works?
I felt the need for chocks on my boat as well and nipped 6 or 8 inches off the bow end of the toe rails on my boat and installed chocks. I was able to re-use one of the holes drilled for the rail, and only had to drill one additional hole. t
t _/\_
On Fri, Mar 7, 2014 at 10:35 AM, <swwheatley@comcast.net> wrote:
I am planning to keep my 1976 M17 (aluminum toe-rails) on a mooring this summer, but it is curiously bereft of bow chocks and I'm trying to decide what to do about that. The toe-rails are pretty smooth; do people just put some chafe gear on their mooring pendant and let it hang over the side? If not, what have people done to integrate bow chocks with the aluminum toe-rail? Photos of particularly elegant solutions would be appreciated. Thanks.
I used to moor mine from the bow eye. Whatever you do be sure your chafe gear is applies wherever the mooring pennant touches anything, even the edge of the float in the water holding up the mooring line as it is led up to your bow chock. I forgot that once and the line chafed just enough so that the next storm that came through was enough to break the line at the chafe point. Tom B Montgomery 17, 1978 #258 On Fri, Mar 7, 2014 at 12:35 PM, <swwheatley@comcast.net> wrote:
I am planning to keep my 1976 M17 (aluminum toe-rails) on a mooring this summer, but it is curiously bereft of bow chocks and I'm trying to decide what to do about that. The toe-rails are pretty smooth; do people just put some chafe gear on their mooring pendant and let it hang over the side? If not, what have people done to integrate bow chocks with the aluminum toe-rail? Photos of particularly elegant solutions would be appreciated. Thanks.
l don't have much experience with Monties yet but I have tons of experience with moorings. I have kept my 23' VN23 on a mooring for at least 25 years. IMHO, the very best attachment point for the primary mooring pennant on a trailerable boat is the trailer eye. Think about it: there is absolutely no chance of chafe, the lower attachment point effectively increases the scope, and if the eye is strong enough to pull the boat uphill onto the trailer it will be plenty strong enough to hold the boat on a mooring. The bow eye is a great attachment point for the anchor rode as well but access is difficult from the deck. With a permanent mooring you can attach or release the pennant from the dinghy. Disconnecting it is the first thing I do when I arrive at the boat and hooking it on is the last thing I do when leaving the boat. (The boat is still attached to the buoy by a longer secondary line that goes to a mooring cleat on the bow. This line also serves as a pick up line and as a back up to the primary pennant.) I connect the primary pennant directly to the bow eye with a large stainless steel carabiner with a locking ring. The 5/8" primary line is spliced around a thimble at both the buoy and the carabiner ends. The 1/2" secondary has a regular eye splice to fit over the bow cleat. It has leather chafing gear where it passes through the chocks and also where it sometimes hits the bow. No chafing gear is needed on the primary as it runs directly from the trailer eye to the buoy. Sorry I can't help with the bow chock mounting problem, I don't have my new-to-me M17 home yet. I would think about mounting a pair of mooring cleats at the deck edge instead of chocks. On Fri, Mar 7, 2014 at 12:35 PM, <swwheatley@comcast.net> wrote:
I am planning to keep my 1976 M17 (aluminum toe-rails) on a mooring this summer, but it is curiously bereft of bow chocks and I'm trying to decide what to do about that. The toe-rails are pretty smooth; do people just put some chafe gear on their mooring pendant and let it hang over the side? If not, what have people done to integrate bow chocks with the aluminum toe-rail? Photos of particularly elegant solutions would be appreciated. Thanks.
-- Henry https://picasaweb.google.com/heinzir
participants (5)
-
Henry Rodriguez -
Howard Audsley -
swwheatley＠comcast.net -
Thomas Buzzi -
Tom Smith