Extensible shield for protecting the attachment ends of a stretchable mooring rode segment

A stretchable segment of a mooring rode having a shield for protecting a proximal elastic portion of the stretchable segment, comprising:

• a stretchable section having an extendable outer braid surrounding an elastomeric inner core, the stretchable section being attached at one end to an inelastic end of the stretchable segment;
• a tube of shielding fabric, the tube being folded back onto itself, such that an inner portion of the tube extends from a distal end of the tube to a fold, and an outer portion of the tube extends back from the fold to a proximal end of the tube, the inner portion of the tube being thereby covered by the outer portion of the tube, and the distal end of the tube being thereby located between the proximal end of the tube and the fold;
• a first attachment mechanism fixing the proximal end of the tube to the inelastic end of the stretchable segment;
• and
• a second attachment mechanism fixing the distal end of the tube to the outer braid at a location distal to a proximal elastic portion of the stretchable section, so that the proximal elastic portion is covered by the tube, said second attachment mechanism being configured to allow substantially unhindered movement of the elastic inner core through the outer braid, so that expansion and contraction of the proximal elastic portion is substantially unhindered by attachment thereto of the tube.