Non standard mooring systems are significantly more expensive to maintain than a standard mooring system. They are also less effective as a mooring system.
Most non standard moorings are made up of several components consisting of large lengths of chain and shackles and numerous metal objects.
All these materials contribute to ongoing and expensive maintenance of your mooring.
For example, electrolysis is created by a reaction between different metals such as mild steel, cast iron and other ferrous/non ferrous metals. The electrolysis then reacts on the least noble metals (usually the chain and shackles) causing accelerated metal wastage. As a result chain and shackles have to be replaced more regularly when their wear exceeds the minimum standards.
Untangling, removing and replacing parts on a non standard mooring takes considerable time and money. Further, this type of mooring due to its makeup usually requires more chain and shackles than a standard mooring. The photo to the right is an example of how uneven wastage can occur to chain.
Less Effective
Not only is a non standard mooring more expensive to maintain, it is also less effective than a single mooring block system. Multiple blocks are prone to entanglement with chain or head rope, they have less lateral and vertical drag resistance compared to a standard 2 or 4 tonne block and generally are light in weight as cast wheels weigh approximately 250 kg each.