Mooring

[Duck401k]

Ok my last question went so well, I think I'll try another.

I am thinking of moving our sailboat boat from our dock to a mooring. less rub and creates dock space. The Mooring is VERY, Very protected and in 5 to 8 feet of water. I am thinking of a 200 lb mushroom, into deep mud bottom and 10 feet of chain to a morring bouy.

The boat is 34 feet and has 12,500 lb displacement and draws 3'3''. Any input would be appreciated, thanks ...

[erps]

I was on a mooring for about 15 years. During that time, I watched several mistakes being made by people around me and made several mistakes myself. I saw small boats float away large weights when their scope was too short. I saw several moorings fail because galvanized fittings were mixed with stainless steel saftey wire. I also saw several moorings fail due to rope rodes chafing through in one place or another. Another common failure is using a store bought mooring buoy and then attaching your boat to the top ring and the mooring line to the bottom ring. Those things come apart after just a year or two in the water around here.

When I considered how deep my mooring should be, I considered my draft on a minus tide on a stormy day and then gave myself a little extra just incase my keel was bouncing in the waves right over a neighbor's mooring weight or anchor sticking up from the bottom. I can't comment on the holding power of a 200 lb mushroom anchor, but around here, the moorings that seem to last the longest use a large diameter rope rather than chain, that is floated a couple feet off the anchor with a swivel. You need something to keep it all from getting wrapped up in your anchor/weight while it's settling in. Anyway, that's a start. There's a fellow here on sailnet a little further north of you that has quite a bit of experience with mushroom moorings. His handle is Halekai or something like that and you may be able to find some information by searching for a previous thread on using a train wheel for a mooring weight.

[zaldog]

I knew of a few folks years back in Sausalito CA that used old engine blocks filled with cement with a chain wrapped welded and bolted around the engine. (obviously empty all fluids from engine if you do this) Get a good Mooring float and a bridle and it should work... maybe?.

[nk235]

I would go with at least 20 feet of chain as a bare minimum. If you have a 3 foot storm surge or a really high tide your mooring bouy won't even have enough scope to reach the surface. I have a 32' boat that displaces 11,000 lbs and I went with a 400lb mushroom. It is a little bit of overkill and I am also in deeper water but I like the peace of mind.

I don't think you would need the 400lb since you are only in 8feet of water but if it were me I would go with a 300lb with 25-30 feet of chain with about 10foot long nylon pendants giving you a total scope of around 5-1 at high tide which is more than enough.

The only reason I would go shorter was if I needed to because of not enough room or other boats in close proximity.

[talismansigns]

Here are the requirements for the area I moore at:

30' to 35' Boat- 300 lb. mushroom 25' of "1/2 chain 15' of 3/4" min rope to chock. 270 lb. dormar

Copied right from their rules page.

Joe

[Quickstep192]

This is a great thread. I too am interested in possibly creating a mooring; not for everyday use, but as a place toput my boat in a bad storm.

Here's my question. How do you get a 400lb mushroom and 40 feet of chain to the mooring location and then get it overboard? (safely)

[erps]

I moved a 1000 lb concrete block out to my mooring location with a 28'boat by;

loading it up in the truck at the cement plant with a couple 2x4 under it
taking off the tailgate
backing down the ramp at low tide and then slamming on the brakes to unload the block.
attaching a pulley to the block with a long line buoyed on each end going through it.
Floating over the block on an incoming tide and tying off each line to each one of my jib winches
motor the boat out to the drop off zone once the whole thing is floating and lowering into place once I was in the right spot.

Concrete does displace a lot of water though and in my younger days I would have been able to tell you how much it weighed in water, but I think it was more than 400 lbs.

[somers12]

The only anchor system I'd trust for mooring is a screw placed into the seabed. My dad used a large mushroom as his mooring base, and through time it moved more than 30 feet. He hired a diver to place the screw that he had specially made at a blacksmith shop (welders shop) and from that time on the boat never moved. Now, you can probably buy a larger screw on the internet. Probably worth checking.

Steve

[J36ZT]

I heard of a guy that built his own mooring by using three danforth anchors. They were set, then chained together. I'm not sure of the cost effectiveness of this, but he claimed it made a sound and strong mooring.

Has anyone tried this?

[nk235]

Originally Posted by somers12

The only anchor system I'd trust for mooring is a screw placed into the seabed. My dad used a large mushroom as his mooring base, and through time it moved more than 30 feet. He hired a diver to place the screw that he had specially made at a blacksmith shop (welders shop) and from that time on the boat never moved. Now, you can probably buy a larger screw on the internet. Probably worth checking.

Steve

There is already a system out there called the Helix system which in essence is a big screw, screwed into the seabed. There has been much research done on this and it shows that this is the best way by far to moor your boat.

However, the systems aren't that easy to install, are much more expensive and many mooring areas require a certified Helix installer which there arnt many of around so it usually makes that option not worth it. Mushroom anchors arn't the best but I think they are a lot better than a concrete block or engine block or any shambled together system. It also depends heavily on the seabed.

Getting a 300-400lb mushroom anchor onto a small power boat at the dock is one thing but if you can place it on a dolly and then when you are over the spot you want to drop it just simply roll the dolly off. The anchor will sink and the dolly will float for you to pick out of the water.