Cruising Sailors Forum Archive

I use a triple bridle all the time on my home mooring

The two outer legs that go to the forward crossbeams are attached with shackles and thimbles at each end, so there is no chafe point. They are 5/8" 3-strand and I replace them every two years or sooner if they are damaged. I make them up myself. They share the full load, as the center pennant is kept slightly slack and would only come under load as backup if one of the side legs failed (hasn't happened yet, despite some very major storms). Center leg is a 3/4" professionally-made braided polyester-over-nylon-neoprene coated pennant, replaced every 2-3 years or sooner if any chafe or damage shows. I use American-made load-rated 5/8" shackles on each leg with a Colligo Marine galvanized multihull mooring plate to organize the shackles and attach the plate to the top chain with a 3/4" shackle. The plate is made from 1/2" stock rated 12,000 lbs SWL 48,000 lbs breaking.

When we cruise we carry a 5/8" bridle that can be used on the anchor rode or rented mooring, and rigged so I can shackle it to a chain or ring if needed. Those shackles each are rated to handle 4,000 lbs SWL.

BTW the wire ties were not the failure mode on the hardware below -- it was metal loss from corrosion that let the pin pull out without even turning.

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