How to create a mooring ?????

[tmolik]

Does anyone know how to create a mooring for a Suncat in a small Central Florida lake.

tom

[nies]

How much do you want to spend? Cheap......chain two cement blocks together with three feet  of chain attached to strong poly line to milk bottle (old Iowa farm boy mooring) ......expensive......my forum friends will help you.........Phil

[NateD]

Check out Helix mooring anchors, there was a recent thread about them at SailNet: http://www.sailnet.com/forums/general-discussion-sailing-related/43174-installed-helix-mooring-anchor-last-weekend.html

[Craig Weis]

Get a V-8 bone yard engine block with nothing else bolted on to it.  In short order it'll burrel it's way into the sand-mud-grass-rock what ever your bottom is.
For salt water a five foot ss chain, a swivel, u-bolt, ring, a 3 strand nylon line using an anchor hitch knot, and West Marine blue/white plastic mooring buoy with a pick-up buoy. For fresh water go galvanized hardware. Use the fiddle in all the line loops so the loops won't part and stay open. The pick up buoy just holds the eye up that attaches to the boat cleat.

skip.

[tmolik]

How much do you want to spend? Cheap......chain two cement blocks together with three feet  of chain attached to strong poly line to milk bottle (old Iowa farm boy mooring) ......expensive......my forum friends will help you.........Phil

phil...
FYI.. two cement blocks lose alot of (sp)bouyancy when submerged and will simply move along with the 2-3' waves, 4-5', or more, during hurricane.

thanks for the suggestion
tom

[tmolik]

Check out Helix mooring anchors, there was a recent thread about them at SailNet: http://www.sailnet.com/forums/general-discussion-sailing-related/43174-installed-helix-mooring-anchor-last-weekend.html

Nate..I did and thanks
regards
tom

[tmolik]

Get a V-8 bone yard engine block with nothing else bolted on to it.  In short order it'll burrel it's way into the sand-mud-grass-rock what ever your bottom is.
For salt water a five foot ss chain, a swivel, u-bolt, ring, a 3 strand nylon line using an anchor hitch knot, and West Marine blue/white plastic mooring buoy with a pick-up buoy. For fresh water go galvanized hardware. Use the fiddle in all the line loops so the loops won't part and stay open. The pick up buoy just holds the eye up that attaches to the boat cleat.

skip.
How would I get a V8 engine out 100yds as well as to the waters edge???
thanks for the idea
regards
tom

[Bob23]

My 2 cents:
   Do not, repeat, not use cement blocks. I've seen a number of boats at my cove wrecked because someone used 2 cement blocks chained together. Remember, they weigh about 12% less in water. Consider the max wind and the windage of the boat. I don't even use cement blocks for my dingy, a 8' walkerbay.
   V-8? Sure, I guess that would work. I don't have a spare v-8 block around.
   I use a 5 foot helical mooring purchased locally, screwed it in all the way with only the eye above the bay bottom, 12 feet of 1/2" galvanized chain to a swivel on a mooring ball to a short section (2 foot) of 3/8" chain on another mooring ball to a 1/2" galvanized ring and 2 (yep, count 'em 2) lengths of 5/8" 3 strand mooring line to the boat. The mooring lines are attached to the ring with thimbles and eye splices.
   My 23 has been out in 65 mph winds with this arragement and has sustained no damage and didn't budge an inch. I know to some this sounds like overkill but I'm a belt and suspenders kind of guy.
   Like I said, just my 2 cents.
Bob23

[Craig Weis]

If you want a mooring you have a dingy.
A piece of plywood across mid ships on the dingy at the beach and two guys pick up the V-8 block that you bought from the auto salvage yard for 12 cents a pound, and set her down on the wood. Should be about 80 lbs. Don't tell the DNR your putting that oily thing in 'their' water.

Buy a junk block. A cracked water jacket, a rod tossed through the side..."it don't matter whats wrong with the block" Chuck the chain down one of the bores. Hook up the swivels and the LOOPED line and tow the dingy out to where you want to park. Sink the dingy or push the block off the plywood with the line fitted to the blue/white buoy.
Take the looped line and shorten the line per depth.
Hook up your boat. Sit on her for an hour, see if she moves.
Make sure the line is protected against chaffing and row back to shore.

I'm so happy Bob23 is a belt and suppenders kind of guy. No Butt Crack, please.

skip.

[tmolik]

My 2 cents:
  Do not, repeat, not use cement blocks. I've seen a number of boats at my cove wrecked because someone used 2 cement blocks chained together. Remember, they weigh about 12% less in water. Consider the max wind and the windage of the boat. I don't even use cement blocks for my dingy, a 8' walkerbay.
  V-8? Sure, I guess that would work. I don't have a spare v-8 block around.
  I use a 5 foot helical mooring purchased locally, screwed it in all the way with only the eye above the bay bottom, 12 feet of 1/2" galvanized chain to a swivel on a mooring ball to a short section (2 foot) of 3/8" chain on another mooring ball to a 1/2" galvanized ring and 2 (yep, count 'em 2) lengths of 5/8" 3 strand mooring line to the boat. The mooring lines are attached to the ring with thimbles and eye splices.
  My 23 has been out in 65 mph winds with this arragement and has sustained no damage and didn't budge an inch. I know to some this sounds like overkill but I'm a belt and suspenders kind of guy.
  Like I said, just my 2 cents.
Bob23

How did you scew in under the water..water 6-8 feet deep??tom

[HideAway]

The screw in moorings are the way to go.    That is what the marinas use in these waters.   I'm sure there is a way to put them in but no matter how secure the mooring is the weak link is the attachment to the boat.   

A few hours of four footers bashing your boat about can saw through your rode pretty quick even if your rode  is in the chock.    I read somewhere about using a chain slipped through a fire hose that hangs in a loop over the bow.  That way the rode never touches the boat and in theory the chain won't cut your bow off -   

I'm liking my trailer more every day!!!   Matt

[Bob23]

Tom:
   I picked a super low tide, warm summer day and put a long rod through the eye. Then I began walking clockwise until it was screwed in. The minimun depth was about 4 feet but slopes off to over 6 feet. During the downhill side, I had to hold my breath. Man, was I ever exhausted when I got done. But once it was done, it was done. I dive down on it every summer to check the chain and shackle...so far so good.
   Being a dedicated recycler, I use cut offs from my old Carhart pants as chafing guards. I keep a bunch of it on board, cut it to size and tape it on my mooring lines. When it wears through, I get more of it out. Never had a line chafe yet.
   I like the shock absorbing qualities of nylon mooring lines. Using 2 5/8" lines is overkill, but I like to sleep at night even if "Koinonia" isn't. She appreciates that I take care of her. Told me so herself.
Bob23...No, skip- no butt cracks here!

[bmiller]

We lease a mooring each summer here on Dillon, the marina maintains them. They use 55 gallon drums filled with concrete, they also cut holes in the sides of the drum and slide an angle iron through in a couple places. This keeps them from rolling. A very large galvinized eye bolt is set in the wet concrete to attach to. Then it's all chain to the mooring ball. These things are massive and do not budge. They have a work boat set up with a whinch to move them around.

Not very practical for the do it your selfer, just thought they are interesting and worth mentioning.

The boat owner is responsible for the attachment from the mooring to the boat, this is the critical part. I use a short piece of 1/2" three strand with galvinized eyes spliced in both ends. One end has a shackle to attach to the mooring chain, the other end has a brass eye hook that attaches to the boats bow eye. No chafe. On top of the mooring is the pick up line for getting on and off the mooring, it has a p/u stick on it. It also acts as a back up mooring line, the boat is being secured with the bow line. Belt and suspenders approach.

The drill goes like this. Dinghy out to the boat, release the bow line as we go by. When we are ready to go release the pick up line. Sail. Upon returning use the pick up line to get on the mooring. As we leave stop at the bow for a few seconds and attach the bow line. If we are going on and off a few times a day we just use the pick up line. Oh and the pick up line is run up the bow roller to prevent any chafe in the chocks.

Here is a photo of the bow line, it has a couple seasons on it and you can see some wear starting in the hook where it tides against the stainless bow eye. Might have to get a new one next year.

[Craig Weis]

Getting ready for ice in the winter, we row out in the dinky and reach down into the water and detach the clevis from the rode leading to our engine block well buried into the bottom at about 11 foot.

Take off all the floating stuff, and attach a all most floating bleach bottle full of water. We clevis the bottle to the rode and let her sink. Seems to be 'floating' just above the bottom, below the 2 to 3 foot thick ice but not on the bottom either. That way the ice won't drag the engine block.
Last we use Steve's hand held GPS and right down the numbers. In the spring drag around with a land scape rake on a line till we snag the rode or bottle.

If it was rocket science, we still could do it.

OK now I'm going to go do nothing somewhere else.
skip.

[curtisv]

Does anyone know how to create a mooring for a Suncat in a small Central Florida lake.

tom

Tom,

First find out if you are allowed to have a mooring.  Even if you own a house on a lake you may have to get a permit for a nominal fee.  If so, there may be mooring regulations that dictate how to build a mooring tackle for a given boat size.

Using an oily engine block is asking for trouble.  Intentionally oiling up a lake can be very costsly if caught (fines to $5,000, though generally not enforced for that reason).  In salt water with good tidal flushing where the oil would drift away this was a more common practice at one time.  You can still do it legally in some places if the engine block is degreased.

For example, mooring regulations in our town are at http://www.town.orleans.ma.us/Pages/OrleansMA_Shellfish/MooringRegulations5-13-2009.pdf