Conference vicki::boats

    Hows about extending this note to include all the essentials for
    a safe mooring. 
    I've never had one but will require one next year 
    for my new boat. Surrrrrrrre.. I could whip out my Chapmans but perhaps some
    first hand experience from you salty bunch of swashbucklers would
    be better. 
    
    I plan to moor on the Parker River (Mass.) which is tidal. Perhaps
    a mooring on a lake is configured differently.?. And, do I want the
    Styrofoam float or the plastic job.
    
    /MArk
                                                         

    
                           Proper Moorings
                          
    I started aa note on the subject of moorings in Note #52 Off-shore
    Boating.  Got no replies and read this sooooo I added a note on
    the subject #156.
    
    Steve

    
    
     I've got a boat on a mooring an have had it there for the last
    12 years. I've got a 22' I/O that wiehs about 4000+ lb.
    The mooring is a 100# Mushroom with 30" of 1/2" galvanized chain.
    Water depth averages around 10'. I've got the chain connected to
    the swivel on the bottom of the float and use a pik-up line to tie
    up, usually with about 20" of line, giving me 50" down to the mooring.
    
    
    The float is another problam- I've had several
    
    Foam, Not covered--inexopesive- kiss it goodbye the fisrt time
    somebody hits it- "popcorn" all over
              
    Hollow plastic- somebody ran into it at nite and it sunk
    
    s.s. beer barrel- I ran into it in heavy weather and it dinged my
    hull- almost indestructible, though
    
    foam filled plastic-- GReat- it's full of nicks and gouges where
    people have run into it at night ( my mooring is in open water in
    Narragansett >Bay- just off the island where I have a cottage and
    some folks just LOVE to fly by at night close to shore- one night
    sombody must have had a surprise- he ran into two dingies about
    100' from shore and totally destroyed both of them)
    I'd look for a foam filled plastic buoy with S.S. hardware- one
    with a replaceable swivel. If any body hits it with a prop hard
    enough to ruin it- He'll probably be looking for the prop blades.
    these also stand up great to flotsam and jetsam and salt water Icing
    conditions- like when the Bay started to freeze over a few years
    back.
    
    
    
    
    

    I need a picture!!!
    
      Its still not clear to me why, when the tide...or wind changes,
    the boats on moorings who appear to be spaced 15 to 20 ft. apart 
    don't swing into one another.
    
    re: .3 > You said the water depth was around 10 ft. But you indicated
    that the chain connected from the mooring to the float was 30 ft.
    Now I realize that with tide changes, the water level rises and
    falls.....
    
    > But can one assume that some of the chain on the mushroom is stuck
      in the mud.?
    
    You indicated that the pick-up line was also ~20 ft. adding to the
    30 ft. of chain....> How close is the next boat to yours in a steady
    state situation???? > What is the worse case RADIUS of swing is your boat  
    make. 
    
    I've consulted my Chapmans but even the book indicates that the
    length of chain etc. suggested for certain conditions is NOT PRACTICAL
    because of the population of boats in a given mooring area.
    
    What am I missing.??  
    
    I'm planning to put my new boat on a town mooring in the Spring
    and I'm not quite clear on the particulars surrounding the mooring
    gear.
    
    /MArk

    Mark
    The Harbor master in your area will specify what he requires of
    you.
    Give him a call.
    
    Re: Why don't the boat hit each other? They all swing together on
    the tide change, There are timing differances due to hull style
    and wind resistance. So spacing is important. ie: you wouldn't moor
    a house boat next to a offshore cruiseing sloop, they would hit.
    
    Style: Mushroom' is best for muck bottom, Concrete is best for hard
    bottom. The bigger the chain the better in all cases.
    
     I recently found some concrete moorings and I have been invited
    to remove some moorings in Danversport by the harbormaster, Give
    me a call , I may be able to salvage one for less than a new one
    will cost you.
    
                                  Walt
    

    I just bought a 20' cuddy cruiser that I'll be mooring in Buzzards
    Bay next summer.  I was wondering if someone could give me a ball
    park figure on what it will cost me to have someone set-up (drop)
    a mooring for me.  I'd probably also want to pay them to get the
    materials too (the mooring, the chain, the float, etc.).
    
    So about what might it cost me for labor and materials? 
    
    thanks,
    
    tim

REFERENCE:     -< Question on Cost of Setting Up a Mooring >-

    I just bought a 20' cuddy cruiser that I'll be mooring in Buzzards
    Bay 
    .
    .
    .    
    tim

Call Harbor Mooring and Engineering
     Pocasset Ma  508 - 563-3163

They are set up for installing, selling, inspecting and repairing
moorings.
norm

    
    
      "I have this friend" and he is interested in using some manhole
       covers(the ones that are cast iron look like a grate) for his 
       morring. His boat is a 28ft cabin cruiser. He says that 3 ought
       to be enough(they go about 200lbs a piece). He wants to bolt them
       together with some galvanized threaded rod in each corner. Does
       this sound like a good idea? I've heard that a lot of people do this.

re .8:

Depends on where the boat is moored. My Marblehead mooring uses a 2500 lb 
concrete block for a 32' boat. The minimum mooring in Marblehead is a 1200 lb 
block. In better protected waters less would do.

RE:      "I have this friend" and he is interested in using some manhole
       covers(the ones that are cast iron look like a grate) for his 
       morring. His boat is a 28ft cabin cruiser. He says that 3 ought
       to be enough(they go about 200lbs a piece). He wants to bolt them
       together with some galvanized threaded rod in each corner. Does
       this sound like a good idea? I've heard that a lot of people do this.


Please tell your friend that spending money on a sub-par mooring 
system is a good way to see how tolerant the insurance company is 
on claims. It is not a good idea to use manhole covers or 
railroad wheels as these tend to slide easily. Either use a 
one piece cast mushroom anchor, a commercially made concrete or 
granite block. For a 28 foot power boat think about a 350 pound 
to 500 pound mushroom depending on the bottom For a block think 
about 2000 pounds. Minimum chain size for a 28 footer ought to be 
1/2 inch. What scope etc do you plan on using?

    I guess I'll echo the last two replies. The minimum recommended for 
    my 22' boat on the Kennebec river was 1200#. If you're in a protected 
    body of water I imagine you can get away with less but 600# sounds
    light.                                              
    
    Bolting the covers together also doesn't sound safe to me. If you do,
    make sure the hardware is very stout. If it lets go, the individual
    pieces won't do much for you.
                                                        

    If you want to keep your boat I suggest you not skimp on mooring
    materials.  The forces generated in a strong wind combined with wave
    action stagger the imagination.... especially with a relatively large
    boat such as you have.  Picture the full weight of the boat being
    brought up short against the mooring line combined with the push of
    the wind.  The fluke winds DO happen... remember the Nor Easter of a
    few weeks ago.  Manhole covers could slide or your hardware could come
    apart due to corrosion fatigue.  I suggest you use the maximum
    recommended anchor types and chain recommended for your boat size...
    unless your mooring in a WELL protected anchorage.  Another thing....
    do you want to wake up at 3 AM on a windy night and have to wonder
    if that poor mans' mooring you made up WILL in fact hold?  If you
    want an insurance claim go for your small mooring with manhole covers.
    After all thats what insurance is for, right?
    
    Jeff