Hey guys, im looking at installing a mooring for my compac 16' in a calm safe bay water depth is between3'-5' Here are my plans so far, its a work in progress but i think it sounds good: 3 gallon buckets of cement "each bucket weighs 100lbs so total anchoring weight is 300lbs" each bucket will have anchor chain coming from the bottom and about 3 feet above bucket, install heavy duty anchor shackle connecting all 3 chains, from that i will have another 4' of anchor chain, then another shackle connecting 14' of 7/16" nylon anchor rope coming up to my mooring ball. Here is a link to a picture i quickly drew to better show my plans http://s573.photobucket.com/albums/ss175/mattt6511/?action=view¤t=IMG_0353.jpg So thats 300lbs of weight plus all the weight from the chains, shackles and so on, any ideas or advice for me this will be my first homemade mooring setup, my friend told me 10lbs per foot of boat is needed he said i only need 160 lbs but that just didnt sound like enough. Aside i know cement weighs a little less in the water. The bay the boat is in is a pretty calm bay on the north west coast of florida.
Matt:
I don't like it. Are you sure this is a calm safe bay 100% of the time? Those buckets of concrete may weigh 300 lbs on land but not in the water. When I studied your highly detailed drawing, it does seem that you are going to bury the buckets so that would help.
I moor my cp 23 in an area where it is not always calm. If fact, she's been out in 60 mph winds and survived just fine although my nerves didn't. Of course, I have to deal with the accompaning wave action, too. 60 mph is highly unusual but it's not uncommon for her to be in 30 mph winds. I bought a 5 foot auger mooring with about an 8" plate. At a real low tide, we screwed that sucker all the way in. From that I have about 11 feet of 1/2" chain up to my mooring tackle: the ball, a short length of 3/8" chain which is easily replacable, a heavy galvanized ring on which I have 2 lengths of 5/8" line which go to the boat. The line is thimbled onto the ring.
So far, in 5 years, that auger has not budged from the bottom. I check and replace the ring and nylon lines every year. I like cheap insurance.
Your 16 wieghs a third of my 23 so maybe your setup would be fine. You'll have to judge. In any case, I would use only chain from the buckets to the ball. It is too easy for line to get stagged and chafe away to nothing in no time. From the ball, go with at least 2 lengths of 1/2" line. Remember , this is your boat. Don't scripm on the hardware that is keeping her safe.
I love the "magic floating boat"!
Bob23
Hey bob thanks for the ideas, so you would run chain all the way too the mooring ball? Aprox how many feet of chain would you suggest? the water is around 4' deep on average, also from the mooring ball how much nylon rope would your reccomend? I was going to go in the water and bury each one of the buckets all the way and after a few weeks if it looks like its moving at all i can add one extra 100lb bucket to give it 400lbs total. My "plan" is to only keep the boat there till April, but you know how that goes it may end up staying there forever! All the components im buying are high end chain, links, rope and so on. I originaly purchased rubar steel that i was going to drill in the buckets before i poured the cement in so they would stick out of the sides and if by chance they ever did move the rubar would act as a hook and hook onto the ground "somewhat" but i decided against that.
I say use a combination of both, buckets and an auger. What is the mooring now in Dunedin? That area isn't nearly as protected as the bay in Crystal River. There was a thread a few months back that had some info on this. In fact one member even suggested using a old engine block! Just remember steel rebar rust (unless it is incased in the concrete). Got any lead? that suff is really heavy in the water. I also agree w/ Bob, use chain all he way to the ball.
I do think 300lbs should be enough though. Just make sure you place the 3 buckets in a 120 degree angle from each other (like a mercedes logo). that way no matter the current or wind you always have something holding against the current. and you could place the auger in the middle.
P.S. when posting pix if you just copy the image code instead of the ip address the images will be directly visible in the thread. like this....
(http://i573.photobucket.com/albums/ss175/mattt6511/IMG_0353.jpg)
See you Sat. and I'll call you tomorrow to set up a place to meet.
i really dont know anything about mooring balls, but it seems to me that some sort of framework bolted to the buckets (you could run bolts through each bucket from the inside before you fill with concrete) to hold them in the" mercedes pattern"would keep them from falling over on the bottom.
If you don't bury them (which should keep them in place) I would go ahead and lay them on their side to begin w/. That way they can't fall over. And then the chains are not changing direction.
I hope this helps
(http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af237/billybbingham/mooringcopy-1.jpg)
How funny that 2 post up I try to tell someone how to post a pic and then this happens.
lets try again.
(http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af237/billybbingham/mooringcopy.jpg)
The single chain needs to be as long as your swing will allow and as heavy as the mooring ball will support. This way during a storm the drag of the boat will be horizontal to the bottom - not trying to lift the anchors. The mooring pendant needs to have flotation added so as not to wrap around the chain and chafe. We run the pendant through swimming noodles to keep them afloat.
it worked!
Did you mention mooring in the Dunedin area? Where exactly would that be best done?
Bob
I mentioned it. It is Matt's 16 in Dunedin. However, he is moving it up to Crystal River, maybe his mooring will become avalible.
Better ask him about the details though.
Awsome thats some great ideas i dont really have any knowledge of using a auger is that something i could jump in the water at low tide and install myself?? I will most likely try to burry all 3 buckets if not i will deff do the mercades logo as recommended i will use chain all the way too the mooring ball and if im right i will take a pool noodle cut in in half and use that to hold up the pendant too hook my boat up too. As far as the where the boat is in dunedin its at the person i purchased the boats from residence. Its a townhouse area and the boat is just right there off the beach not far out at all. Right now its just hooked up though a large piece of rebar that i think was put far under the sand and just the front anchor, thats all! This is not a regular mooring setup by any means. Looking forward to sat billy it looks like it warmed up slightly i think its going to be upper 60's on sat around 68 or so.
Matt:
I screwed my auger in myself using a really lone bar, an extremely low tide, and a lot of walking around in a clockwise circle. Note that I'm in a tidal area that is not totally protected and with a west or north-west wind, I must consider wave action. I'll admit that my mooring is a bit overkill, but while some other boats have broken loose in the past, mine has not. Like I said, I like cheap insurance.
I don't know what your tidal range is down thar but for chain length, find the highest possible tide and add a few feet. I'm moored in about 5 feet of water but it can go up to 8 or 9 feet in a really high tide. I use 11 feet of 1/2" chain (again, way overkill) up to the mooring ball and then another 12 feet or so of line.
Bob23
Matt, here's something to keep in mind. Even though you have a total of 300 lbs, if there is significant wave action, it is possible for ONE of your three buckets to be lifted and moved. Then, with a slight shift of wind direction, one of its neighbors can be lifted and shifted. So, without a very firm auger in place, your rig can "walk." That auger is going to be very important.
My "credentials?" Like Bob23, I have been mooring my boat (my previous boat - a Catalina 22) for many years and watched others' boats break loose without having any problem myself. I like to be able to sleep at night.
-Speak
Should i just put 1 auger right in the middle of all 3 chains? Or do i need a auger for each bucket? Also what type of auger, i mean is there a place in mind that anyone knows of that sells a decent auger i can use for this project??
I bought my auger mooring at a local boat dealer, Hance and Smythe in Manahawkin, NJ. A quick look at Defender came up with no results but they do have pyramid mooring anchors which seem like it would work. My auger is a 1" steel rod with an 8 or 10" plate at the bottom spread apart to act as a screw. On top of the 1" rod is a large ring that I shackle my chain to.
You will need no concrete buckets if you can find one of these. You also don't need one quite as large as mine. Remember, I have a 3000 pound boat that is subject to some high winds and accompanying wave action. I aslo beleive in mooring overkill. See what some other guys in your area are doing.
I alsoo dive down on my mooring at least once a year to visually inspect the shackle connecting the chain to the auger.
Bob23
What kind of bottom is there?
Sand is very different than clay/mud bottom.
In Minnesota on a lake with some good clay mud on the bottom, I used a galvanized pipe driven into the bottom about 6' for many years.
Here in Sarasota Bay, with its sand bottom, that would not work. There have been problems with helix moorings too. We have traditionally used concrete pads that get worked into the bottom and are very stable in storms.
The mushroom anchors and auger-type helix moorings that work well in the soft bottoms up north just won't do the job in sand.
That said, our little C 16s don't require the holding power of my Contessa 26 and your concrete buckets might work into the sand and provide plenty of holding power.
However, I think that owning a trailer is the best approach. Then, when a tropical storm or hurricane is headed our way you can take her off the mooring, load up and head for shelter.
That way you won't have to have a storm-proof mooring system and your boat won't get so beat up when bad weather hits.
Yesterday we had really strong winds in Orlando. I have the gift of working at an organization that has a place for me to moor my boat - a small lake in SE Orlando. Today I was wondering if my mooring held, and I saw the boat from my office window and didn't think much about it. About 10:30, I got a call from a colleague that my boat was drifting across the lake!
It was quickly retrieved - no damage done.
FYI, the boat was tied only to a mooring screw, about 30 inches long. Nothing else. It held for the past year with no problem. It held last night in the storm! The difference came this morning when, after a strong wind in one direction, things shifted and the screw came loose.
So.... there is a lesson in how well this type of screw does/doesn't work.
I guess there are more variables such as bottom type, width of the plate, etc. My 23 is moored to a 60" auger with a 8 or 10" plate, can't remember. It's been out in 60 mph winds and stayed put. The auger has never pulled up even an inch; I dive on it every season to check. If the chain is too short, the bouyancy of the boat will most likely pull any mooring out.
Glad your boat was retrieved from her escape! No damage is a good thing!
Bob23
As long as the chains are inside the concrete of each bucket, I see no problem. Hopefully these three buckets will work there way down into the mud. After a few years you'll have to check the chains for rust-through.
Truck V-8 Diesel engine blocks with no guts in them make great moorings as well.
skip.