I am new to sailing (and Mooring) and just purchased an o'Day23. I am a convert from the trailerable powerboat world where I always trailered it. I will be in a Mooring field in a fairly large lake off of Lake Michigan for the summer. I have a 3-strand double pennant that was made at a local marina sized for the boat. I believe I know the answer, but I wanted some confirmation. When leaving the mooring ball for day sailing, do I leave the pennent in the water? It seems like I would, thus all the suggestions seen online of some type of flotation for the lines of the pennant. Thanks in advance for suggestions, etc.
Mooring ball pennant question
- Thread starter carlc376
- Start date
Yes. Just drop the pennant and go sailing.
Attaching some kind of float to the pennant will make picking it up easier. Attaching a Pick-up stick makes it ever easier. The stick is left on deck while on the mooring.
Attaching some kind of float to the pennant will make picking it up easier. Attaching a Pick-up stick makes it ever easier. The stick is left on deck while on the mooring.
What @dlochner said!
I highly recommend getting the pick-up buoy. I used to keep a previous boat on a mooring ball and had a pick-up buoy. Makes getting back on the mooring ball so much easier.
dj
I highly recommend getting the pick-up buoy. I used to keep a previous boat on a mooring ball and had a pick-up buoy. Makes getting back on the mooring ball so much easier.
dj
Boys... don't go all twitchy faced
with this sailor geek lingo comment, but it's always been my understanding that in the nautical world a pennant is a tapered flag, often swallow tailed, that is most commonly seen at a ships masthead, usually to denote something to do with commanding officers or ship's status. Whereas....... again... don't shoot me, because no one cares about me or the damn word difference anyway... I just like nit picking sometimes..... to continue, whereas a pendant is a piece of rope or wire that attaches one thing to another. A jib tack pendant, for instance, is a piece of wire or line that allows the sail to be set higher off the foredeck by raising the tack's connection point.
I looked to Google for some clarification before posting this comment and the result indicated confusion in the literary community also. Some authors will claim that the words are one in the same. Others seem to think that pennant with an "N" is simply an evolution of pendant with a "D", making the "n" version an obsolete term. Many seem to think that people having difficulty separating the two pronunciations led to a merger of the "d" version into the "n". In the end I had no real definition of why people get those two terms mixed up. Seems plain to me.
Anyway, I thought you might enjoy this because.... well... we can't confuse a small flag with a piece of rope, can we?
with this sailor geek lingo comment, but it's always been my understanding that in the nautical world a pennant is a tapered flag, often swallow tailed, that is most commonly seen at a ships masthead, usually to denote something to do with commanding officers or ship's status. Whereas....... again... don't shoot me, because no one cares about me or the damn word difference anyway... I just like nit picking sometimes..... to continue, whereas a pendant is a piece of rope or wire that attaches one thing to another. A jib tack pendant, for instance, is a piece of wire or line that allows the sail to be set higher off the foredeck by raising the tack's connection point. I looked to Google for some clarification before posting this comment and the result indicated confusion in the literary community also. Some authors will claim that the words are one in the same. Others seem to think that pennant with an "N" is simply an evolution of pendant with a "D", making the "n" version an obsolete term. Many seem to think that people having difficulty separating the two pronunciations led to a merger of the "d" version into the "n". In the end I had no real definition of why people get those two terms mixed up. Seems plain to me.
Anyway, I thought you might enjoy this because.... well... we can't confuse a small flag with a piece of rope, can we?
I blame spell check. Besides if a pennant is flown off the pendant it will be easier to identify the mooring ball and the mooring field will look pretty with all the little flags.Boys... don't go all twitchy faced
I looked to Google for some clarification before posting this comment and the result indicated confusion in the literary community also. Some authors will claim that the words are one in the same. Others seem to think that pennant with an "N" is simply an evolution of pendant with a "D", making the "n" version an obsolete term. Many seem to think that people having difficulty separating the two pronunciations led to a merger of the "d" version into the "n". In the end I had no real definition of why people get those two terms mixed up. Seems plain to me.
Anyway, I thought you might enjoy this because.... well... we can't confuse a small flag with a piece of rope, can we?
Nice! Very interesting! Thank you.Boys... don't go all twitchy faced
I looked to Google for some clarification before posting this comment and the result indicated confusion in the literary community also. Some authors will claim that the words are one in the same. Others seem to think that pennant with an "N" is simply an evolution of pendant with a "D", making the "n" version an obsolete term. Many seem to think that people having difficulty separating the two pronunciations led to a merger of the "d" version into the "n". In the end I had no real definition of why people get those two terms mixed up. Seems plain to me.
Anyway, I thought you might enjoy this because.... well... we can't confuse a small flag with a piece of rope, can we?
dj
Thank you for the advice. The pickup bouy is a great idea. On the "Pennant" usage, the marina used this word in their instructions/suggestions for attaching to the mooring ball. I had considered using "buoy-to-boat rope", but decided against it.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,914
To some folks... Words Matter.
It does help to clarify what is being said.
How to manage your boat's comings and goings while day sailing depends as much on how you want to enjoy your boat as to how other boaters treat the mooring buoys on your lake. If some owners just randomly select a ball because it has a convenient line attached for tying up, ignoring the fact that the buoy might belong to a specific individual, then taking the line with you each time might be the best option.
I learned at a young age that if you want a line available while on your boat, you should best take it with you when you leave the slip or the mooring ball.
With a boat like the O'Day 23, it is pretty easy to approach a ball and reach from the cockpit/transom to attach a line to a mooring ball, then walk the line forward as the boat slides down wind from the ball and attach the mooring line to the bow.
Bigger boats with more displacement are safer approaching the ball from downwind. They ease up to the ball with the crew on the bow. The ball's mooring attachment is then pulled up to the deck, where the crew can safely attach a line. The crew then sets the line for the boat.
You will soon discover which technique or system works best for your boat.
Good Luck
It does help to clarify what is being said.
How to manage your boat's comings and goings while day sailing depends as much on how you want to enjoy your boat as to how other boaters treat the mooring buoys on your lake. If some owners just randomly select a ball because it has a convenient line attached for tying up, ignoring the fact that the buoy might belong to a specific individual, then taking the line with you each time might be the best option.
I learned at a young age that if you want a line available while on your boat, you should best take it with you when you leave the slip or the mooring ball.
With a boat like the O'Day 23, it is pretty easy to approach a ball and reach from the cockpit/transom to attach a line to a mooring ball, then walk the line forward as the boat slides down wind from the ball and attach the mooring line to the bow.
Bigger boats with more displacement are safer approaching the ball from downwind. They ease up to the ball with the crew on the bow. The ball's mooring attachment is then pulled up to the deck, where the crew can safely attach a line. The crew then sets the line for the boat.
You will soon discover which technique or system works best for your boat.
Good Luck
There are many different systems.
Another take: In the New Suffolk area of Long Island the practice was to drop the pendant as far as possible into deeper water - < 10 ft. This was to reduce the growth of marine life on the pendant There is less oxygen and light down there. That was particularly important for the parts of the pendant that would be on deck or rubbing against the hull. All that marine life can make a mess on the foredeck. So we would have a line, about the depth of water, from the pick up stick to the loop on the pendant. The pendant would sink and could easily be pulled back up after you pick up the stick.
it's not going to make a difference for a two hour sail. But for cruises, weekends etc. it was pretty effective.
Another take: In the New Suffolk area of Long Island the practice was to drop the pendant as far as possible into deeper water - < 10 ft. This was to reduce the growth of marine life on the pendant There is less oxygen and light down there. That was particularly important for the parts of the pendant that would be on deck or rubbing against the hull. All that marine life can make a mess on the foredeck. So we would have a line, about the depth of water, from the pick up stick to the loop on the pendant. The pendant would sink and could easily be pulled back up after you pick up the stick.
it's not going to make a difference for a two hour sail. But for cruises, weekends etc. it was pretty effective.
That would be a buoy-to-boat LINE.. I had considered using "buoy-to-boat rope", but decided against it.
Close, but no cigar. It should be floaty thing to boat rode, since it is sort of anchor and anchors have rodes.That would be a buoy-to-boat LINE.
Close, but no cigar. It should be floaty thing to boat rode, since it is sort of anchor and anchors have rodes.
"Hard evidence" to illustrate the confusion that exists between the literary world and sailing that i found in my googling foray. heh heh.
@carlc376 you should also put floats every 2 feet along the pendant, so the lines can’t sink beneath the mooring float when the wind dies. If they get under the mooring float and wrap the chain it will chafe and also shorten the effective length. Not good.
If the mooring float is a ball it should be sized so at least half of it is below waterline - this allows the floating pendants to ride over the top of the ball when the wind picks up again. If the mooring float is cylindrical (can shaped) it doesn’t matter as much how deeply it floats, but it should be big enough in diameter so it floats upright.
If the mooring float is a ball it should be sized so at least half of it is below waterline - this allows the floating pendants to ride over the top of the ball when the wind picks up again. If the mooring float is cylindrical (can shaped) it doesn’t matter as much how deeply it floats, but it should be big enough in diameter so it floats upright.