Private moorings in public places

[Tim R.]

What are your thoughts on the following situation:

We were cruising the last couple of weeks in Penobscot Bay. We pulled into a small anchorage(room for 4-5 boats) near an island and in the center was a mooring that had been placed by a local yacht club.

We were the first ones there so I anchored in such a way to allow for proper scope and with the prevailing winds we ended up about 60' away from the mooring(directly behind us). About an hour later a boat(50') from that YC picked up the mooring and were visibly upset that I was anchored in front of them. They never said anything but I certainly had a response prepared had they.

 

[Ed Schenck]

So Tim, you know for a fact that ten feet was as close as your boats could approach? I guess I would have found that worrisome on the 50-footer. Not knowing you I would figure you had not made allowance for tide, swing room, scope, etc. Being the non-combative type I probably would have slept in the cockpit with one eye open.

 

[Tim R.]

Ed, both boats were sailboats, the wind was forecast stay light but steady through the night and there is no current there. The place I picked to anchor my boat was pinched between the windward shore of the island and the mooring. I had just enough room between us and the island to swing if the wind had done a 180 in the night.

I would have gladly anchored in a different area of this small anchorage if I felt there was a better spot.

I guess the point to my OP was the fact that a private organization comes along and drops a private mooring in public water at the very best spot to anchor. They could have easily placed their tackle on the edge of the anchorage. In fact, it would have been better for them if they picked the windward(prevailing) edge of the anchorage which would have assured them little chance of another boat dragging.

Was I supposed to pick a less suitable spot to anchor? What if no one used the mooring that evening. Do they automatically have that spot reserved because they dropped permanent gear?

This is part of a much bigger problem in Maine where we are seeing more and more private moorings popping up in private spots. Some even charge money to use the mooring. When there is no place left to drop an anchor, what do we do?

 

[tommays]

Long Island is a bit unique in that a good bit of bottom is owned by various towns from colonial times

Northport would be a good example i would guess as its on the charts as Federal anchorage area (if that's the correct term) and the Moorings are elbow to elbow which allows at least 700 boats to use the harbor

There is still open space in the outer area of the Anchorage and plenty of large boats still drop the hook

In Huntington harbor it is residents only on moorings but you can do a transit rental with ZERO Anchor space

 

[Sailm8]

Down here in Florida you need the blessing of the Pope for a permit to put in a mooring. Must be really easy elsewhere.

 

[Merlin Clark]

Tim,
Is placing a private mooring in public waters even legal? Doesn't seem like it would be any more acceptable than claiming a plot in a park as private.

 

[Gunni]

If you had your scope set to match the mooring, no problem Tim. However rope rode anchored boats swing a lot differently, so if you had rope out, you may swing when the moored boat didn't, and probably have more scope. Chain rode boats easily anchor with a 3:1 scope, ropers need more. But effectively a mooring is nothing more than a single anchor scenario. You were 60 feet off the moor and the two of you will swing together.

 

[Fly_H23]

You were there first and left a reasonable amount of room. The YC doesn't own the anchorage right?

 

[Alan]

Not quite sure I'm realizing the problem?? you anchored with 60' of separation in front of an unoccupied mooring. Then another boat takes this mooring which would increase the distance between your boat and the mooring to well over 60'. Assuming you had more scope out than the mooring that would give ample room for both vessels. Am I missing something..??

 

[Stu Jackson]

Alan, this is just like the anchoring topic. In this case, the dumb 50 footer that picked up the mooring ball. No clue, too.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Newport Harbor in So. Cal. has dozens, perhaps hundreds, of moorings that are controlled (if not owned) by some of the yacht clubs there. Basically, it's probably a matter of who's running the city council as to what is, or is not, allowed in public areas. However, there can be economic justification for private use of public areas; happens all of the time, actually. I'm not saying it's always a great thing, but there may not be anything intrinsically wrong with it either. Case by case.

 

[Maine Sail]

This is part of a much bigger problem in Maine where we are seeing more and more private moorings popping up in private spots. Some even charge money to use the mooring. When there is no place left to drop an anchor, what do we do?

Tim,

Most of the islands are in a specific town. If that town issues a mooring permit then it is legit. For example Harpswell continues to issue mooring permits for the Goslings despite the fact that very few of the moorings there are used by island land owners, and, despite the fact that these are not the owners permanent "home base" moorings.

You can always file an appeal with the Army Corp of Engineers and they will discuss it with the town. It is getting pretty ridiculous out there. Long Cove is now filled with "rental" moorings that leave you little room to anchor, and I strongly disagree with this, but the town of Vinalhaven has issued the permits and given their blessing.

A similar situation happened at Harbor Island in the Merchant Row and Duck Harbor on Isle Au Haut. The ACOE examined the complaints and the case and then ordered the moorings removed!

Where was this and what YC? I would email the YC first and express your concern. I will do the same once I know where...

It is simply ridiculous that boat owners are too lazy to use their own ground tackle and are cluttering up the coast with permanent moorings in places where there is no need for them. It is not so muc th fact that they are permanent that they represent differing scope and a place holder for "visiting" boats. I dislike moorings in places where boats do not permanently reside placed for the sole reason of laziness and PLACE HOLDING... Quahog Bay is another one where the presence of moorings is growing.

I'll be glad to help start a campaign and push this to the state level against this type of mooring use and I am sure we could rally huge support.

 

[Maine Sail]

Chain rode boats easily anchor with a 3:1 scope, ropers need more. But effectively a mooring is nothing more than a single anchor scenario. You were 60 feet off the moor and the two of you will swing together.

Remind me not to anchor near these boats in anything but the most benign conditions..

Moorings in Maine, depending upon whom the installer was, and the local regulations, are usually 2:1, 2.5:1 or 3:1 scope but 3:1 is more rare. Anchoring on 3:1, not mooring, in anything but the absolute most calm conditions, is simply a poor habit chain or no chain. Yes certain anchorages require short scope but 3:1 is certainly a much less safe scope if it starts blowing than 4:1 or 5:1.

3:1 scope puts your rode at about a 17 degree angle to the ocean floor. Going to 5:1 nearly halves this angle to roughly 10 degrees. 4:1 is about 13 degrees...

 

[okawbow]

I encountered yacht club moorings in a couple of remote anchorages in Maine this summer. I was told by another cruiser that it was ok to use the mooring, but if a club member wanted it, I would have to move. I used the moorings a couple times. Once a boat from the yacht club pulled in, and I got ready to move. However; they just waved and gave a freindly hello, and anchored about 200' away. I don't think it's a big problem, and it was nice to get away from pulling up the anchor by hand once in a while.

 

[Tim R.]

Ok, some of you think I should not have anchored so close to the unoccupied mooring even though there would have been no interference if we happened to swing together.

I had 100ft. all chain, 23' depth from chock to bottom at high tide.

The mooring was in the center of a small U-shaped inlet.

The anchorage was at Pickering Island in Penobscot Bay which is a private island. Property rights extend to MLW in Maine.

Not sure of the club but the burgee on the boat which matched the logo on the ball was a set of black descending pine trees on a field of white.

 

[Gunni]

Remind me not to anchor near these boats in anything but the most benign conditions..

Moorings in Maine, depending upon whom the installer was, and the local regulations, are usually 2:1, 2.5:1 or 3:1 scope but 3:1 is more rare. Anchoring on 3:1, not mooring, in anything but the absolute most calm conditions, is simply a poor habit chain or no chain. Yes certain anchorages require short scope but 3:1 is certainly a much less safe scope if it starts blowing than 4:1 or 5:1.

3:1 scope puts your rode at about a 17 degree angle to the ocean floor. Going to 5:1 nearly halves this angle to roughly 10 degrees. 4:1 is about 13 degrees...

3:1 with chain puts your rode at more like a 45 deg angle to the sea floor. I would suggest you confirm that for yourself, but in Maine it would be a hypothermic experience! Most of the chain is laying on the bottom and just the last leg lifts to the boat. I have no problem lengthening the scope if conditions call for it (and chain rode stretched at 17deg to the hook would be one), but the real problem for most boaters is they don't get their anchor set. Pull 7:1 scope of chain/anchor across the bottom and you can convince yourself the anchor is set. We taught ourselves to set an anchor by swimming on it. Initially it was a zig-zag of chain across the bottom to a upside-down plow laying on the bottom! Setting an anchor may be one of the greatest underdeveloped skills in boating.

 

[Maine Sail]

3:1 with chain puts your rode at more like a 45 deg angle to the sea floor. I would suggest you confirm that for yourself, but in Maine it would be a hypothermic experience! Most of the chain is laying on the bottom and just the last leg lifts to the boat.

Not when the wind pipes up and you lose all caternary in the chain.

I have confirmed 3:1 scopes and the resulting angles of the rode when drawn tight and posted it here as: Anchor Scopes Illustrated (LINK)

I have no problem lengthening the scope if conditions call for it (and chain rode stretched at 17deg to the hook would be one), but the real problem for most boaters is they don't get their anchor set.

Yes setting the anchor is a real problem and I only see about 2 in 10 boaters actually "set the hook". By "set it" I mean a full 80% throttle back down...

Pull 7:1 scope of chain/anchor across the bottom and you can convince yourself the anchor is set.

The only way you'll convince yourself of that is if you are not "properly" setting your hook. The chain, in reality, adds very little resistance and this is just not the case with a proper set at all..

We taught ourselves to set an anchor by swimming on it. Initially it was a zig-zag of chain across the bottom to a upside-down plow laying on the bottom!

It was only like that because the anchor was not properly set to begin with. You are simply not backing down hard enough if the chain is still zig zagged.

Setting an anchor may be one of the greatest underdeveloped skills in boating.

I agree 100%! When we set our anchor, on all chain or rope/chain it goes basically as bar tight as can get. Of course we are applying over 500-700 pounds of reverse engine thrust plus any inertia in the vessel which is likely equates to well over 1000 pounds of setting force on our anchor.. Straightening the chain requires about 9/10th of what we set our anchor at...

I've also delved extensively into what the chain adds to the equation:

Can Chain Alone Anchor Your Boat (LINK)

Bottom line is if your chain is laying zig-zagged is has everything to do with improper setting of the anchor and applying loads that are far to light to do any good.

 

[All U Get]

Hi Tim,
We stayed in Newport, RI this summer at a mooring ball and could walk boat to boat to get ashore they were that tight. I suspect more boaters will mean more mooring balls especially in tight places. I can say having a boat on the ocean that we're one of them if there is no place to anchor. It's like a catch 22, twice.
All U Get
PS I was going to fly my burgee, but it was my last pair of shorts.

 

[Rick486]

What are your thoughts on the following situation:

We were cruising the last couple of weeks in Penobscot Bay. We pulled into a small anchorage(room for 4-5 boats) near an island and in the center was a mooring that had been placed by a local yacht club.

We were the first ones there so I anchored in such a way to allow for proper scope and with the prevailing winds we ended up about 60' away from the mooring(directly behind us). About an hour later a boat(50') from that YC picked up the mooring and were visibly upset that I was anchored in front of them. They never said anything but I certainly had a response prepared had they.

I was in a sheltered cove in Blue Hill Bay on a very blustery stormy day in August. We had taken shelter there with our local knowledge. A certain family maintains two moorings in this cove but there is plenty of room to anchor even with two large boats on the moorings, although it is deceptively so since the cove is quite small. Later in the evening a motor yacht arrived and tried to anchor multiple times on the outer edge of the cove. I recommended to him that he anchor inboard of the moorings which in this case was upwind. It would have been fine with me had he done so. Most of us would have done the same. I think what you encountered was an isolated case where these folks had expected to have the cove to themselves, and maybe that was the idea in placing the mooring exactly in the center of the cove, and your astuteness in anchoring just annoyed them. This happens a lot at Block Island where private moorings are scattered throughout the anchorage and one must think through that problem before setting the hook. If you try to fight this at the state level you may run afoul of riparian rights issues also.

 

[Gunni]

Maine Sail;

1. That is a very nice woodworking bench!
2. The entire point of lengthening chain rode scope is to induce catenary so as the "wind pipes up" the actual angle of the anchor shank remains zero. What is that 100:1?
3. Chain rodes achieve zero angle because of weight. Putting more/bigger chain out assures that consistent outcome.
4. Never-the-less it's about the anchor and the bottom. Down our way, a good plow anchor doesn't care if it is has a 3:1 or 7:1 in a mud bottom. They hold all the same.

I was looking at your evaluation of the claim made by the guy who said he held on his chain alone. That is some good, totally scientific stuff! Here's the thing - I think he actually had a 140 lb chain anchor by your calcs (52' of 1/2" BBB @2.7 lbs/ft) plus 190 lbs of chain on the bottom (70'@2.7lbs/ft) he was hanging on 330 lbs - enough to keep him anchored in 15kts. This conforms with a similar (frightful) experiences where I dove on an anchor after a night in the Trades only to find the anchor flukes up and chain rode akimbo across the bottom, right where the daywatch had dropped it...and the boat had not moved. I think you are missing some component of coefficient'o'friction and the angle'o'dangle.