Mooring Q's

johnmurph01

Hi all,

I have decided to moor the boat for the season.

She is a 5mtre quicksilver pilothouse. Area is not particularly exposed but would err on side of caution.

Max tide: 6mtr approx

I am thinking:

150KG of weight. Using cast iron weight lifting plates.
15Metre Heavy Chain to weight (12mm?)
Swivel Shackle
6 Metre Light chain (6-8mm?)
Bouy
Rope to boat

Any thoughts or advice on this?

fergal.b

This post might help http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=77800565
It would be worth your while talking to the locals to get an idea of the best place to put it, also check the swing of the other boats at low tide to make sure you well clear.



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johnmurph01

Fergal,

Thanks for the info.

Here's what I did for any others interested:

Fishbox

- Put 110KG of cast iron weight plates in the box

- Kettle Bell I had lying about included. Wrapped some 6mm chain around the handle joints of the KB and under the weight

- 60KG of Cement over the lot but left the top of the kettle bell exposed (the handle)

Attached pic for that..

Once she was all dry, added 3metres of 16mm chain and then thick nylon rope on a swivel (6m).

Getting it onboard and then overboard was a bit of fun!

pedroeibar1

johnmurph01 wrote: »

Fergal,

Thanks for the info.

Here's what I did for any others interested:

Fishbox

- Put 110KG of cast iron weight plates in the box

- Kettle Bell I had lying about included. Wrapped some 6mm chain around the handle joints of the KB and under the weight

- 60KG of Cement over the lot but left the top of the kettle bell exposed (the handle)

Attached pic for that..

Once she was all dry, added 3metres of 16mm chain and then thick nylon rope on a swivel (6m).

Getting it onboard and then overboard was a bit of fun!

:eek: For the next time :-

Safer way would have been to drag the block down the slip and (if tidal) float the boat over it, tie on and wait for the boat to lift it. In freshwater, manipulate the weight to under the boat. The weight will be less by the amount of water displaced (Mr. Archimedes' principle:- The buoyant force on a submerged object is equal to the weight of the liquid displaced by the object.) so the water displaced by the fishbox is (size is about 3 x 2 x 1 ft.) or six cubic feet weighing in at about 60lbs a cubic foot so the block would be 360lbs ‘lighter’ (or two adults!:))

johnmurph01

Thanks for the advice...I may now need "a next time"...

Since last post been down to check the boat and ensure we're good to go...seems over the last 48 hours it seems to have moved and now im < 10 metres from another vacant mooring. No way of finding out of it's used or not but not liking the fact I've ended up so close to another bouy. It definitely wasnt so close when we dropped it either!

Any advice here? Whether used or not, the onus is on me to resolve this.

fergal.b

You could be on rocks or stones if so the fishbox will just slide all over the place.



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pedroeibar1

I’d agree with Fergal on the sliding bit – what sort of bottom is there? You did say the movement was relative to a vacant mooring ….. the effect of the wind/tide on your boat would move her whereas a buoy ( the empty mooring) with nothing attached i.e.no windage/tidal pull would remain in the same place. What are the locals saying?

fergal.b

You will also have to add a heavy chain from the mooring to your 16mm chain, a mooring chain will have links about 4 inches wide and very heavy it will act like a shock absorber and stop the boat from jerking on the mooring box and moving it about.



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johnmurph01

The area is known for sand/muddy profile so it could have been bad luck that I landed on a pocket of rock. I had another look last evening with tide coming in and almost high water, from the shore I could see the vacant bouy was further away. Possibly when I saw it initially being so close there was an element of tidal pull on it thus bringing it closer? Otherwise it seems to have settled position wise. I dont think its an issue of the weight being too light.

I'm going to see if I can link in with some other owners in the area but hard to get to them all the same. For now, I'll probably stick my phone number on the boat and possibly look to shorten the 6m of rope I have coming from the swivel joint. High water in the area never really passes 6m and I have 9 metres of chain/rope between mooring and bow roller. I prob won't go more than 1.5 metres though so as not to be pulling the bow down too much

orion50

Hi
I am on a swinging mooring and the wind and tide can really change the relative distance between boats. what looks great one day can change dramatically another day so plenty fenders if you are unsure! So along with all the good advice above, i would suggest taking note of wind direction every time you visit boat. also it would be very useful to find out if you can who owns the mooring closest to you and what they use it for.

spaceHopper

What if the fish box splits will the iron weight not spill out or will they be kept in place by the cement?

Steve

In theory the cement will hold them together.