I have been reading the “nonsuch owners manual”. Such a well thought out piece. Very useful and a big thanks to the dedicated professionals that got it all together. bravo! I really like the small bungee snubbers made by Aronowistich & Lyth and suggested in the manual. I can think of many uses for them especially the preventer when at the mooring. But I cannot find them to purchase. Does anyone have any info on these?
Debbie Sabo
“Essence”
Nonsuch 324 #103
Wickford, RI
I don’t think they are available any more. The square ones with the cross buckly thing…
An easy anchor snubber we have is a 15 foot length of 1/2 three strand ( not braided line) with a loop at one end and a climbing shackle at the other. The loop goes to the mid ship cleat, the climbing shackle to the chain. 15 feet of 1/2 will stretch about a foot under load.
We have 2 small square snubbers in the main sheet near the deck attachment to reduce the shock of the boom in light air when it tends to slam a bit. But you might want to look at something called a exhaust hanger. This one would work up to 1/2 line. Same design, just not as easy to remove, but frankly you really don’t take them on and off the line.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/123465902784
Now I have given my light air secret to Mark there will be no peace…
Debbie: I have two snubbers onboard one for the mainsheet and one on a 10 ft length of line for my anchor rode. Both work great. https://www.westmarine.com/west-marine-dock-line-snubbers-P011160652.html
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Deborah -
I have 2 Swedish-made MOVEABLE Bungy Snubbers (see below). They can be bought from Happy Cove in the US. Happy Cove - Bungy Line Snubbers Cheap and excellent. Check the attachment to this.
The beauty of these is that you can “undo” and move them and you don’t have to “unthread” the line through them - the line can remain tied. I use these on the mainsheet as a “shock absorber” in the case of bady-executed gybe (yup, it happens). On my dock lines, I use a couple of the traditional type long snubbers. See below.Search “snubber” in the Conversations bar up top and you’ll have oodles of good reading. This topic has popped up on numerous occasions.
Oooooops - I forgot to sign off. Bye for now.
Ernie A. in Toronto
Ernie.
How do the Bungy snubbers stand up under sudden load like a full jibe?
You put the autopilot on to walk for a beer on a nice run then suddenly you run back when the wind shifts to watch it slam?
Brian
Boat-less in New England
I just ordered a pair of Bungy Mooring Compensators from Sailcare:
https://sailcare.com/bungy-mooring-compensator/
$17.50 a pair plus reasonable shipping and friendly service.
I have had my crew do an inadvertent gybe and the snubber saved my deck swivel.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
The Bungy Snubbers are absolutely wonderful and make a huge difference in how the mainsheet, etc. handles a gybe. Serious shock absorbers. They are designed brilliantly.
I find these small and movable snubbers on the mainsheet easier to deal with than one big long traditional snubber that will “bang around a bit” on a small vessel like an NS22. On a bigger boat (like Joe’s), I don’t think that a long snubber on the mainsheet would be in the way. But, it’s nice to be able to adjust/move/remove my Bungy Snubbers on a moment’s notice.
Ernie A. in Toronto
I have the same ones as Ernie, and use two on the main. Not much good as anchor snubbers but being smaller I think they work better on the main.
The longer one I use on a spring line particularly in windy weather.
Hi Debbie,
I too purchased the Bungy Snubber from SailCare (https://sailcare.com/bungy-mooring-compensator/) as noted by Brian and Ernie. I have 2 on my mainsheet (near the deck swivel), and keep 2 on my anchor rode. As Joe V noted with his snubber, these too seem to lessen the sting against the deck swivel block during a hard tack or possible jibe. After 2 years of use they appear to be holding up well. The Bungy Snubbers on the anchor rode can be easily moved along the rode to be properly placed in various anchoring conditions (i.e. as more or less scope is let out).
The price at SailCare ($17.50) is half of what others charge for this product (but don’t tell them that!), and as Brian noted, their service was friendly and quick.
Peter Grabow
S/V CAKE WALK III
1897 30U 430
Jersey City
Has anyone experienced a failure of the mainsheet deck swivel?
The swivel, with its ~1/4 shackle, seems like a weak link considering the forces that a >>500ft2 sail could exert. And yet, SaSeaCat is well into her 30’s and as far as I know it is the original swivel and with no signs of wear. Has anyone replaced their swivel either because of a failure or as preventative maintenance?
…..Ed
Ed and Marlene Brost
SaSeaCat, NS30322
Sarnia Yacht Club
519 312-8650
Ed -
I agree. It all looked like just a touch “too much” strain on that hardware so, even tho I sail a smaller boat (NS22), I split the load.
Check my previous photo of the Bungy Snubbers and you’ll see how I’ve split the load.
Ernie A. in Toronto
One thing about that swivel, I broke it when I first got the boat and unexpectedly gybed. Someone else on the site broke theirs and upgraded to a larger size. Their next incident tore up the deck instead of the swivel. I’ve rather replace the swivel then the deck.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
[details="(attachments)"]
[/details]I have used a snubber like in the picture on our sheet, just above the swivel, for several years. Although a bit cumbersome, it works well. But I like the Bungy Mooring Compensator mentioned by others because of their small size.
…..Ed
Ed and Marlene Brost
SaSeaCat, NS30322
Sarnia Yacht Club
519 312-8650
Hmmm, good point. As I mentioned, the swivel on SaSeaCat has been adequate for decades without a failure. But that still leaves the question about updating the swivel as a preventive maintenance measure. Replacing it in kind. Maybe best not to kick a sleeping dog😊.
…..Ed
Ed and Marlene Brost
SaSeaCat, NS30322
Sarnia Yacht Club
519 312-8650
Ed:
My girlfriend’s Nonsuch 30 named Blue Heron #153 had her mainsheet block fail in 18knots of wind. It is a bad thing because the mast, which gets some support from the mainsheet, became overloaded and unstable, and the mast step pulled out of where it was fastened and started moving athwartship. My girl had to immediately bring the sail down, and motor into port with a mast bashing around from stiffener to stiffener in the boxed-in area where the mast step is. Plus, the boom was uncontrollable. There were 6-foot seas, and well, things looked really bleak. Of course, my girl got her boat into port, and oversaw repairs that reportedly cost at least $10,000-most likely more. I have a Nonsuch 30, and I immediately inspected and replaced any old looking blocks, and checked my mast step, and mast attachment spar. If it happens to you, you might be able to stabilize the lower mast with bumpers, or 2"x 4" pieces of wood cut to fit. Of course, if it is blowing, and your boat is rocking back and forth in swells you might have trouble getting into a tight area where the mast is slamming around like mixer blades. Good luck, and make sure your blocks and mast step are satisfactory.
Joe Carroll, Madaket, Nonsuch 30 #56
The solution is to have the main sheet run to a cleat then to the boom, back to the block. this splits the load. And yes there have been instances of the block with becket arrangement blowing out
Thanks Thor. Call me slow, but I am having a bit of trouble visualizing your sheet arrangement. Do you have a photo or a sketch.
…..Ed
Ed and Marlene Brost
SaSeaCat, NS30322
Sarnia Yacht Club
519 312-8650
Ed, if you go to the Nonsuch Photo Galleries and look up Fast Lucy in the 36 section you can find an example.
https://pbase.com/nonsuch/image/109614614
Mark Powers
