Dear readers,

The days are getting warmer and the winter work is progressing. Much prepared for the seasonbut there is also a lot at home that is already finished and still needs to be installed on board. These small projects that you can do at home in the warmth are especially nice in winter. You can make progress without freezing in the hall or in outdoor storage, and the finished pieces of equipment automatically increase the anticipation of the season.

As I type this text, the bags of sails that have been checked by the sailmaker are lying next to me, the disassembled and shiny polished propeller is on the shelf (what a nice feeling when the dull, fouled metal starts to shimmer again! The splicing work was easy and great fun. The lightweight material is wonderful to make up yourself, not like heavy, bulky wire. Who has the equipment at home to roll terminals onto the wire?

Now, of course, I can hardly wait to install all these things from my shelf, screw them on or knock them into place. The list of things to do before the crane date is getting shorter and I ask myself as I tick them off whether I really haven't forgotten anything. Looking at the silvery rigging of my future backstay, I automatically go through all the lines on board: The halyards and sheets are still good, but I wanted to swap the reefing lines for thinner and lower-stretch material. However, this works better with a standing rig when you can try out the right length directly. But haven't I forgotten something? Namely the most important line on board? But what should it be, if not a halyard or sheet? In heavy weather, perhaps the lifeline?

As important as this is, the mooring line is much more crucial for the safety of the boat. When the boat is not on land, it is in use 99 per cent of the season. Even on summer cruises, it holds the boat in place at least at night (unless you are crossing an ocean or anchoring a lot) and protects it from damage. We found out what happens when the mooring line fails after the Baltic storm surge last autumn We have seen severe damage, gaping holes in the hull caused by rubbing against the jetty and yachts that have run aground in the harbour.

In many cases, boats torn loose damaged other boats or triggered a chain reaction, with one yacht after another breaking free. It must be said, however, that in many cases even brand new mooring lines would not have helped in this event of the century. The force of the waves crashing into the harbours, for example in Schilksee or Damp, was too powerful. But even in normal strong wind events, which occur again and again during the season, the mooring lines are put to the test. That's why they also need to be scrutinised. Are they still good or already too worn?

I found the last Mooring test It was particularly amazing how the lines looked after the simulated chafing: still surprisingly good. In the Test there are photos, take a look for yourself. The cordage looks a bit fluffier than the new line, but nothing that you couldn't see in the harbour. You might think that it's only on the outside. But the test shows that the breaking load has more than halved! What I learnt from this test is that if the mooring line is already showing visible signs of wear, it's time for a replacement.

This is because the demands on these lines are extreme: if the yacht jerks into the line in a gust or swell (also from other passing boats), extreme load peaks occur. And this can happen hundreds of times a day. If a sheet or a stretcher breaks, you can react immediately. If the mooring line breaks, you only realise it later. This calls for particular reliability. There are two main measures to increase the service life of these workhorses among the lines on board: Chafe protection at the vulnerable points with pieces of hose and shock absorbers to dampen the load peaks somewhat. If the line also has enough slack, the yacht no longer jerks so hard. This is also pleasant when you are on board.

Lines with little stretch, on the other hand, are very uncomfortable, and the high load peaks when hauling in increase the risk of the line breaking. This is why old sheets or halyards are not suitable as mooring lines. In addition, the idea of using a sheet that is too broken to trim the sail for the most important line on board is absurd. The only solution is to throw it away and buy a new one. So that the boat is safely moored at the jetty in the new season when you're not there. So hand on heart, have you already checked the most important line on board?

Michael Rinck,

YACHT editor

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