Hi all,

I just pulled some rubber surge protectors (absorb-shock thingies) out of a rarely looked-at nook on Alchemy. The rubber ones I have noticed last a while but not long. There are metal spring ones that are very expensive. I developed the above hack which has worked for Alchemy and relegated the surge protectors to their hidden nook only to be discovered years later.

I found a hack for them in the Azores where some of the marinas could become quite surgy.

First secure the boat with its usual dock lines (on Alchemy these are good quality 5/8ths-inch 3- strand nylon. (Mine are ~~20 years old). 

Then loosen these dock lines to where they still keep the boat safe, but where there is some degree of slack in each line.

Then double-up the dock lines with smaller nylon 3 strand: usually 7/16ths or even 3/8ths (similar to my snubber which is one of the doubled lines) and pull the boat into its well-tied up position producing a little slack in each of the original dock lines.

This results in the smaller line doing most of the work with occasional big surges stretching the smaller line enough to have the larger

The goal is soften the abruptness of boat movement and mitigate the danger: which is not strength (3/8ths is still very strong) but chafe. 

With regular eye-balling, chafe should be noticed easily on the smaller line. Even if the smaller line chafes through there is the usual dock line to prevent damage.

I found the above as easy or easier to put together over the rubber surge protectors and provides redundancy (no experience with the springs, but I have seen that they do break and they are heavy and awkward). The lighter lines dampen the surge to the same degree as the rubber protectors and the chafe that might occur will be quite visible and to a line that is no big deal to lose, slice a repair or replace.

Lastly, small nylon 3 strand has multiple uses, is easily found and replaced and always will find a place on a boat: not so for rubber surge protectors.

My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy