So, I'm a chartering newb - we just returned from our first charter in the BVI.
When we were at Great Harbor, the ball we were on had a missing painter. I wound up tying to the eye at the end of the mooring chain (that the painter itself would normally attach to). It was a little more difficult than simply grabbing a painter, but otherwise we had no problems.
Was that a bad thing for me to do?
I would not tie to a ball without a painter - especially in Great Harbor. So many bad balls there I would not risk it even with an intact painter. There might be other issues with the ball you can’t readily see. In some fields the painters are removed if there are other issues with the tackle.
.
