GV-Ropegripper makes stern-to mooring a pleasure

by GV-Ropegripper™ on 20 Apr 2010 A British inventor has finally found the answer to the difficulties of mooring in the Mediterranean and UK, with an ingenious new product that is guaranteed to turn any crew member into a mooring expert.

GV-Ropegripper is the brain-child of Gordon Vickers, a British inventor with years of boating experience in the Mediterranean, where the widespread practise of mooring ‘stern-to’ creates a frustrating set of challenges for yacht and motorboat crews alike.

Mooring with your stern towards a fixed quay or jetty has, at some point, given every boater a headache. First you must locate an underwater mooring line (aptly referred to as the ‘slime-line’) and transfer it forward to the bow. This procedure can be helped with a boathook and a steady hand, but it can be fiddly and get very messy.

Then the fun really starts – you have to grab the ‘slime-line’ under the guardrail taking a loop inboard through a fairlead to wrap the foremost part of the line around the anchor windlass. Once you have done this and applied the requisite amount of tension to keep your stern a safe distance from the quay, you get to the really tricky bit.

To relieve the torsion on your windlass mechanism you must now secure the tight side of the looped mooring line to the deck cleat without losing tension, your temper or any fingers and toes in the process.

After watching countless crews struggle to get the line from winch to cleat without losing tension or injuring themselves, Gordon decided to do something about it. A few sketches later and a working GV-Ropegripper prototype was born.

Like all great ideas, simplicity is the key to success. GV-Ropegripper is placed against the bulwark, or toe rail and the ‘slime-line’ is taken through the fairlead, across its open jaws and then around the winch or windlass. Once the right tension is reached, the GV-Ropegripper jaws are closed and modest foot pressure applied. The mooring line is now securely locked and two hands are free to remove the line from the windlass and secure it on the cleat without straining your back, damaging your hands or feet and with only minimal loss of tension. Having served its purpose, GV-Ropegripper simply returns to the chain locker.

GV-Ropegripper is not sensitive to rope thickness, measures 280 x 90 x 80 mm and weighs only 750 grams. It is made from varnished 13-ply marine grade plywood and is extremely robust.

The price for ending your mooring despair is £45.00 and, for a limited time only, the postage and packaging is free (usual cost is £8.00). Orders can be processed securely on-line at www.ropegripper.com