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Installed a helix mooring anchor last weekend...

81K views 75 replies 32 participants last post by  Concrescence 
#1 ·
Just thought i'd share our installation experience with the helix mooring anchor. Originally i was going to install two of these anchors but i decided that one would be sufficiant and i could always add the second one later if i felt the need. Unfortunately we didn't take the camera out on the skiff with us so all i have are prep pictures... but you will get the idea.

There were three of us (My dad, my neighbor and myself) but it could have easily been done by two. As you can see in the pictures we used a 10' joint of 4" PVC schedule 40 pipe to extend the turning position above the water. It worked like a charm; we used an old bumper jack/lug wrench handle to turn the pipe and it was fairly easy to turn and was rigid with no flex in the pipe and relatively light weight. We marked the PVC pipe at one foot increments starting at the anchor eye so we would know how deep the anchor was. We even attached the 1/2" chain to the anchor eye and had it fed through the pipe while we turned it down into the mud. The only dive needed was to take the bolt out that had the eye pinned to the PVC pipe so we could slip it off... easier said than done but not that bad. Visibility in the murky water was about a foot or so. I managed to avoid the jellyfish and bluecrabs while on the bottom taking the bolt out of the anchor eye. :D We decided to sink the anchor 1-2' deeper than the creek bed for a total depth of 8' which meant digging down to take the bolt out of the eye. All installation work was done from our neighbors 12' Carolina Skiff which was anchored three ways to keep it in place. The water was seven ft deep when we placed this one.

These are the anchors...


Photobucket

Here are the prep pictures...

Dad, Bella dog and I...


Heavy with the 1/2" chain attached... but not too bad. You can see the holes drilled at 1' increments for putting the tire tool in place turn turn with.


Closer view...




Different angle...


Here is a better picture that shows the holes for turning... as the anchor sank deeper we would simply pull the tire tool out and move it up to the next hole and continue turning... much like a giant cork screw. The rod in the picture was what we originally planned to use but it ended up being too long to manage so that's when the tire tool came into play.


I wish i had the actual install pics but i think you get the idea. :)
 
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#2 ·
Cool. You turned it from the deck of a single skiff? I thought about trying to install one of these but I didn't think it would be possible to get enough torque off the deck of a single boat.
 
#7 ·
It was easier than we thought it would be. Of course the deeper we got, the tougher it was to crack in into the ground. I am a little concerned about how simple it was actually. I may decide to add the second anchor just to have piece of mind during hurricane season.

I am guessing that the bottom where you installed your helix anchor is relatively soft mud.... if it was hard packed mud, clay or sand, you would have needed a bit more in the way of gear to sink a helix anchor.
It is soft mud on top with clay/mud underneath. When our neighbor installed his he had more resistance cranking it down. I'm concerned that we are in a softer spot and may choose to add the second anchor as we discussed last summer. (see above)

Joel,
Do you own the waterfront land where you placed the anchor?
That for me would be the ultimate.
Boat swinging at its mooring in front of my house.
Very Nice!
Mom and Dad have owned it since 1972... i hope to be the owner one day. :D It is a beautiful plot of land with water on two sides of the house.... large windows that overlook the water. Definately an awesome place to relax... and sail.

Joel-

How does one go about sinking their own mooring, legality wise? I was looking at sinking one in New Bern, but am not sure who I need to check with. I don't own land along the water. Not trying to hijack, so PM me if thats OK. Thanks for any help!
Owning the property makes things much easier but it isn't required. Even if you are the property owner you have to get permission from your neighbors though. I'll send you a PM with more detailed info straight from CAMA.
 
#3 ·
I am guessing that the bottom where you installed your helix anchor is relatively soft mud.... if it was hard packed mud, clay or sand, you would have needed a bit more in the way of gear to sink a helix anchor.
 
#4 ·
Joel,
Do you own the waterfront land where you placed the anchor?
That for me would be the ultimate.
Boat swinging at its mooring in front of my house.
Very Nice!
 
#8 ·
Tim: Before I moved to Michigan, I lived in NY on Owasco Lake (one of the fingerlakes). I had a lakefront home and it truly was awesome. Here is a pic of my old boat at my dock! You will see the mooring ball through the split backstay. I used a 300 lb manhole cover for the primary weight and a 160 lb block of concrete for the secondary. Still have the dog! You will see her at Eldeans!

-Riz
 

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#6 ·
Bermuda-

In many localities you can apply to get a mooring permit, even if you're not a waterfront landowner.
 
#9 ·
It is a beautiful plot of land with water on two sides of the house.... large windows that overlook the water. Definately an awesome place to relax... and sail.
I had a lakefront home and it truly was awesome. Here is a pic of my old boat at my dock!
To Both of you Guys......
SWEEEEETTTTTT!!!!!!

Riz,
Are you in?
We will be down all weekend; Our first full weekend of the season.
See you on the docks.
 
#10 ·
Meant to tell ya I'd seen jellyfish the previous weekend. Glad things went smoothly. Will you guys be down this weekend? I'll probably stay in New Bern till Sat. morning and let the front pass.
 
#15 ·
I think we will be there Sunday evening through Tuesday night... but that depends on getting away from work. I've been working 12 hour days this week in hopes of getting away on Sunday. Next project is getting the electric bilge installed which we do not have. :eek: That, and giving her a good cleaning since we have had that chance yet this year.

Joel,
Do you have any numbers on the advantage of the helix as opposed to a hunk of concrete (30 gallon trash can filled with concrete for example).
I've got a friend with three of the above described hunks tied together with 3/4 inch galvanized chain; an additional 20ft of the same chain, a shackel and 5/8 chain going up 8 feet to his ball.
I always wondered why he didn't just put a helix in.

In Maryland, per the DNR you can drop a mooring anywhere it doesn't block navigation. I'd like to get that in writing before I drop one as it seems to simple. I think a mooring is best for the hurricane remnants we get here on the bay, I'd rather not bash a pier or surge up and come down on a piling.
Looks like the question got answered before i could get to it... and the specs that SD listed are correct. When i was researching the best mooring last spring it became pretty obvious what the most effective (for me) solution was: the helix.

My concern is this: I was not able to get a helix larger than the one i got because the company claimed that anything larger would require professional installation. The helix that i got is rated for 3000-4000 pounds. Our boats total displacement is 5800#'s. What i have not been able to figure out is how much pressure can a 5800# vessel put on the anchor? Would it be less because the vessel is floating in the water and it actually being lighter? Would displacement even be the right thing to go by OR.... should i pay more attention to windage and surface area?.... OR BOTH??? This is where i got confused and that is why i decided to go with TWO helix anchors shackled together.... (even though only ONE is in place so far.) Here is an email i got from Helix:

Joel,
Nice looking boat, and thanks for the info. Generally we advocate the use of our high load Square Shaft anchors for severe storm situations. These anchors are installed by trained installers with special equipment, and there are no installers in your area.
Another option for your consideration is our "lower load" Round Shaft anchor series. The Round Shaft series is our do it your self anchors and are installed without special equipment. Fully installed in a firm soil such as you describe these anchors can deliver meaningful holding.
Model H1066 is our largest do it yourself anchor and fully installed in firm soil should deliver an estimated 3000-4000lbs of holding. For comparison purposes a 4000lbs concrete block set on the same firm soil will deliver about 3000lbs of holding. If you are interested in more than the estimated 3000-4000lbs of holding from the H1066 you could install two of them and bridle them together with chain.
After reading this please let me know if you have any questions or would like more details on the bridal system. Attached you should find a rate sheet for our Round Shaft anchor series.
Have a nice evening,


So.... my gut tells me i need both in place for a severe storm but for regular usage i will be fine with only one. My neighbor has ONE installed and has been fine in strong NE storms and some smaller hurricanes. He says that if we get a storm that is more severe than what the anchor will hold then that is what his insurance is for. Me.... i'd rather have a boat still attached to the mooring rather than the headache of an insurance claim. (insurance is a whole other thing i need to know more about. We do have coverage with State Farm but i think we may change)

Any thoughts??? Sorry for the long post. :p
 
#11 ·
Joel,
Do you have any numbers on the advantage of the helix as opposed to a hunk of concrete (30 gallon trash can filled with concrete for example).
I've got a friend with three of the above described hunks tied together with 3/4 inch galvanized chain; an additional 20ft of the same chain, a shackel and 5/8 chain going up 8 feet to his ball.
I always wondered why he didn't just put a helix in.

In Maryland, per the DNR you can drop a mooring anywhere it doesn't block navigation. I'd like to get that in writing before I drop one as it seems to simple. I think a mooring is best for the hurricane remnants we get here on the bay, I'd rather not bash a pier or surge up and come down on a piling.
 
#13 ·
Joel,
Do you have any numbers on the advantage of the helix as opposed to a hunk of concrete (30 gallon trash can filled with concrete for example).
---quote]
Chuck,

the helix is by far the bvest system, one evaluation is here The Benefits of Helix Mooring Systems

That said, I've never seen a helix mooring in the Boston area, I don't know why not, but local providers all use mushrooms. Some North of Boston may still use blocks, but my understanding is they were placing 5,000 concrete blocks as the alternative to a mushroom.
 
#12 ·
Chuckles: Concrete loses some of it's weight in water. I didn't believe it but there is a ton of research out there on the properties of concrete in water. You need way more concrete than you think. If I knew about the helix then, I would have gone that route!

-Riz
 
#14 ·
Concrete loses a lot of weight in water, due to it having a relatively low density. A helix anchor, properly installed, can take an incredible load. One US Navy test of helix anchors had the strain gauges pinned at 24,000 lbs. of load when stuff started breaking...

Concrete has a density of 145 lbs/ft3, or just 80 lbs/ft3 in salt water, since saltwater is about 64 lbs/ft3. A block four feet on a side, or 64 cubic feet, would have an in-water mass of only 5120 lbs. or about the breakout force generated by a 15 kg. Rocna ancor in a good sandy or mud bottom (at least according to the Sail magazine tests). :) Kind of pathetic, isn't it. :)
 
#16 ·
Give Christine Hartge a call, over at Hartge Insurance... :)
 
#17 ·
It isn't that concrete "loses" weight in water, but rather that concrete is MADE OF water. Think about it, one bag of premix plus one bucket of water, and you get one block of concrete.

If you take that same block of concrete and bake it for a long time at low temperature, you will drive out most of the water--which isn't bound very tightly at the molecular level--and you can literally crumble the concrete with your hands. That's all part of why concrete has to be cured, preferably cured with a water spray in many areas, before it reaches full strength.

So when you put concrete blocks in water, you are taking "a bag and a bucket" and displacing two buckets of seawater. Net product? You're only adding the weight of "the bag", the water is displacing itself, and your concrete anchor is only half as effective as you thought.

Wait till the guys who sell shovels find out that the guys who sell helixes "require professional training". I'm gonna go down and buy up all the shovel I still can, so I can sell them on the black market after "training" becomes mandatory. [g]
 
#18 ·
HS—

I think the professional installation of a helix anchor is due to the fact that you may need specialized equipment to get sufficient torque to drive the larger diameter helix anchors into a hard sand, clay or mud bottom.
 
#19 ·
Helix Mooring

I found your instalation photos and suggestions to install a helix mooring recently. I have toyed with the idea of 2 or even 3 for strength for our 22' sail boat. We are on the Indian River, FL and prone to wind and storms. I have 2 quick questions if you don't mind:
1) Now that you have yours installed for some time would you have gone with 2?
2) Where did you get that length of helix achor?

Thank you again for solving my installation issues. Your method makes perfect sense.
 
#20 ·
sd-
Sure, and I MIGHT need power tools to cut a 4x4, but the lumber yard will still sell it to me. No, this is called the manufacturer and distributor want to franchise territories, and make the franchises profitable by ensuring there are no sales to end users. (Which is great if you want a franchise license.)
Even if you want to install them in eight feet of mud and sand, even if you have power tools to set them, you'll find it easier to buy hens' teeth unless you buy the utility company kind, meant to anchor phone/power poles on dry land.
 
#21 ·
The drag on the mooring is not reallya function of displacement (it is not holding the boat up, but of wind force, current and surge.
You will find a useful source at Anchors Principle & Performance
where he discusses this, anchors, scope, and bottom type.
For your boat with a windage of less than 7 sq m the force at 80 knots would be roughly but conservatively 525 kg or 1160 lb well within the safety range as he has built in a 2x.
 
#23 ·
we installes a helix the other day and it was a piece of cake. I was going to use the same pvc pipe method, but have a diver friend that volunteered to help, and had a spare tank and hooka rig. We installed the 10" bit helix. Bought it for $63.00, and used a 10 foot piece of 1" gas pipe to screw it in. We had it screwed down in less than 15 minutes. the entire process took less than one hour from loading the gear into the small boat, motoring over, suiting up, tying things off, etc.....
We are putting in another tomorrow, ( we eventually will have a 3 screw system up to a mooring ball. but for now it will just be a 2 screw deal.
 
#24 · (Edited)
After researching helix anchors thoroughly last year, there's one simple truth I went away with: If it goes in easy it will come out easy. That's actually the method installers use to determine the whether a helix anchor will hold.

The torque required to penetrate good holding ground - for the large helox anchors -is impossible to achieve without the specialized tool. I think it has 34 times the torque of a post-hole-digger. I wouldn't trust too much in one that went in easy.

Of course, you could always try a breakout test. Get a friend with a big power boat and see if you can break it out. For the possible cost of the second helix anchor, it would be cheap "insurance", given the alternative.

Regards
 
#27 ·
scottyt...
We bought ours from the local ACE marine supply.
They are helix brand anchors..

bene505...

you are incorrect in your assertion. The resistance encountered by the helix going in is not a direct correlation of the pullout force....
you can install a wood screw with one hand, but try and pull it straight out.....

the only resistance encountered by the helix is the front 1/4'face of the fluke (2.25 sq in) Turning this through soil is not very hard to do (especially hen you have the ft lbs generated by two guys on the end of a 10 foot pipe.

the resistance required to pull it out is generated by the cross section of the fluke (78 sq in), pulling out a 5 foot long, 10 inch diameter column of wet sand. that is if you pull straight up.... now we know that the load on an anchor is never straight up, it is at a diagonal, at least 45deg on a properly setup scope.

now as a landscaper we use small little auger tie downs to stake large palm trees. A 24" helix with a 4 inch fluke requires over 1500 lbs of pull (straight up) to pull it out.... we have had guys try with tractor buckets, etc, and not been able to get them out without unscrewing them.
We work on the beach, so all of my personal experience is with sand...
these are the same anchors the utility company uses for telephone lines.... we have tried to pull them out with our big skid steer.. it can lift over 6,000 lbs, and could not budge the helix... even after we dug down over 3 feet around the shaft......

after studying all the options, looking at pullout forces, and friction coefficents ( my minor was physics).. i have full confidence that these helix are the best solution to my mooring needs.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Yardpro,

Thanks for the first hand feedback on this. So it sounds like it was easy for you to put in, not that it went in easily. 2 guys with a 10 foot lever would be a lot of torque. Thanks again, I may pursue this one day. (I got stopped previously by the cost of having a professional installer come all the way out to where I keep our boat.)

Regards
 
#33 ·
we did not spin it in from the boat.. I was going to do it that way, but we ended up diving down, and walking on the bottom. It was compact sand bottom, so we got pretty good traction, and, no rocks, etc in the soil... that would have made it MUCH harder...

My friend used the full BC, scuba gear, i however just used a hooka rig with a hose to a tank on the boat..

we have in two anchors ($63.00/anchor), each with 20 feet of 3/8" chain and a swivel in the middle then a 1/2" stainless cable up to the mooring ball...
the ball is centered in the middle of the two anchors, and the we ran one danforth off each helix as a safety net just in case it tries to pull out.

the danforth was set with a motor boat in hard reverse so it is dug in pretty good...
i do not think it will let the helix pull out, as the helix would have to drag the danforth at least 5' to pull out... i don't see that happening...
so the anchor is not only a safety net , but ut helps hold the helix in place.
 
#30 ·
I have read nothing but good things about the helix anchor system. But still it worries me that if something goes wrong the boat is 100% loose. If a standard iron mooring drags a little it may still hold the boat and dig in again.
Of course two helix's are better than one.
 
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