(57) A mooring line retaining mechanism 10, mountable to a support, comprises a C-shaped
retaining ring 12 provided with a deflectable gate 14, the gate 14 being biased to
allow passage of a mooring line from an exterior to an interior 19 of the retaining
ring 12 only. The gate 14 may comprise a single pivoting gate leaf or a pair of gate
leaves 14a, 14b. One portion of a loop provided at an end of a mooring line is passed
through the deflectable gate 14 and into an interior 19 of the retaining ring 12,
so that the retaining ring 12 and loop are interlocked. When the second portion of
the loop is passed through the gate 14, the retaining ring 12 and loop are no longer
interlocked and the mooring line is released. An alternative version of the mooring
line retaining mechanism 20 also has a pair of horns 34a, 34b extending outwardly
from its retaining ring 22 in opposite directions, allowing the mooring line to be
wound around the horns 34a, 34b, for added security.
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