Bow Chocks and Fairleads: Which One Your Boat Needs
A fairlead or chock has one job: give the line a smooth path so it does not saw into your deck edge. The choice comes down to whether the line threads through or drops in from above.
Closed · the defaultStraight bow chockFrom $55.92
Thread the line through once and it stays there. The right answer for permanent mooring lines. Sizes 4 to 10 in.
Open top · quick releaseSkene chock, pairFrom $105.63
Open at the top, so a line drops in and lifts out without threading. What you want when lines come and go.
Under loadFairlead rollerFrom $99.15
The barrel turns, so the line is rolled rather than dragged. Use it where the rope changes direction under real load.
What a fairlead actually does
A rope under load does not care about your gelcoat. Left to run over a deck edge or a toe rail, it will chafe through its own cover in a night of surge, and wear a groove in the boat while it does. A fairlead or chock gives that rope a defined path with a radius on it, so the load goes where you intended and the wear happens to a stainless fitting instead of the hull.
The words get used loosely. In practice a chock is a fitting the line passes through, and a fairlead is anything that leads the line fairly, including rollers. Most of what people call a bow fairlead is a chock.
The five fittings
Closed or open
This decides more than anything else on the page.
A closed chock is a continuous loop. The line cannot jump out, which is exactly what you want for a mooring line that lives there, or a bow line on a boat that sits on a swinging mooring. The cost is that you have to thread it, which means feeding the bitter end through every time.
A skene or angled chock is open at the top. You drop the line in and lift it out. That is worth a great deal when you are single-handed on a windy pontoon, and it is why they usually sell in pairs, port and starboard. The trade-off is that a slack line can jump out if the load angle goes badly wrong.
Most boats end up with both: closed chocks where lines are permanent, open ones where lines come and go.
Sizing it to your line
Chock size is quoted by overall length, so a 6 in chock is 6 in end to end, not a 6 in opening. What matters for the rope is the opening.
| Fitting | Sizes | Sold as | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight bow chock | 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 in | Single | $55.92 to $81.27 |
| Skene bow chock | 6, 8, 10 in | Single or pair | Pairs $105.63 to $146.20 |
| Angled bow chock | 5, 6 in | Single or pair | Pairs $165.35 to $174.37 |
| Oval hawse pipe | 9 in | Single | $63.10 |
| Fairlead roller | 8, 10 in | Single | $99.15 to $119.86 |
| Fairlead bow chock | 280 mm (11 in) | Single | $198.69 |
Two rules that save trouble. The opening wants to be comfortably larger than the rope, because a line swells when wet and a tight chock chafes faster than an open deck edge. And on anything above about 30 ft, or where you run an anchor rode over the bow, size up rather than down: the 280 mm fairlead bow chock at $198.69 has a 100 mm opening and a 12 mm base, which is a different class of fitting from a 6 in chock.
Material
Everything in the range above is 316 stainless, mirror polished. That is the grade to use in salt water, because 304 will weep rust streaks down your topsides within a season or two. Galvanised is cheaper and fine in fresh water. Bronze is a legitimate choice on a traditional boat and will patina rather than stay bright.
The finish is not only cosmetic. A polished surface has fewer places for a rope to catch, so it chafes the line less than a cast or brushed one.
Where each one goes
- Bow, anchor rode: an angled chock or the large fairlead bow chock, sized to the rode rather than to a dock line. This is the highest-load fitting on most boats.
- Bow, mooring lines: straight or skene chocks, port and starboard.
- Midships: skene chocks, because springs get handled constantly.
- Stern: straight chocks for permanent lines, skene if you tow or raft up.
- Through a bulwark: an oval hawse pipe, which passes the line through rather than over.
- Any hard turn under load: a roller, not a chock.
Whatever you fit, back it up. A chock takes the full mooring load in a blow, and bolts through unsupported deck will eventually pull. Use a backing plate, the same as you would under a windlass.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a chock and a fairlead?
In everyday use, none. Strictly, a chock is a fitting the line passes through and a fairlead is anything that leads a line fairly, including rollers and sheaves. If someone says bow fairlead they almost always mean a bow chock.
What size chock do I need?
Size is quoted end to end, so match the opening to your line rather than the length to your boat. Leave room: rope swells when wet, and a chock that grips is a chock that chafes. For anchor rode over the bow, go up a size.
Do I need one or a pair?
Pairs, for anything you handle from both sides. Skene and angled chocks are sold in port and starboard pairs for that reason. A single is fine where only one line ever runs.
Is 316 stainless worth it over 304?
In salt water, yes. 304 will streak rust down your topsides within a season or two. In fresh water the difference matters far less and galvanised is a reasonable saving.
Can a chock replace a roller?
Not where the line turns sharply under load. A chock is a static surface, so the rope slides across it and heat and wear go into the rope. A roller turns with the line. Where an anchor rode or a tow line changes direction under real tension, use the roller.
Do chocks need a backing plate?
Yes. A mooring line in a blow can load a chock harder than anything else on the foredeck, and bolts through bare laminate concentrate that load on a few square inches.
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