Hello, looking to determine how to moor my boat to a mooring. Sounds simple ok, but I have never moored a boat before (trailer sailer). Is there a single line from the mooring and on the mooring that attaches to the boat? Or do I attach my own line to the mooring? Any help, instruction, procedures and recommendations appreciated, thank you.
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A few tips
The rope that goes from the mooring ball is called a pennant. They are usually from 5-15 feet long. The pennant is usually shacked to the chain that comes up through the mooring ball. I assume that the mooring ball already has a pennant on it. If not, make sure that you use a large enough shackle and use something (like a piece of stainless steal wire) to keep the shackle from coming undone. The pennant then goes (usually) to a cleat on the bow. A few tips: 1.) MAKE sure that the pennant is of sufficient size - a 5/8 pennant is probably good for a boat up to 30 feet or so. In general go as large as you can. 2.) make sure you have a chafe guard on the pennant! If it rubs on the rub rail or anywhere else it could cut through the rope. 3.) Make sure the mooring is large enough for your boat. Your local harbor master might publish minimum weights based on boat length. Hope this helps a little
The rope that goes from the mooring ball is called a pennant. They are usually from 5-15 feet long. The pennant is usually shacked to the chain that comes up through the mooring ball. I assume that the mooring ball already has a pennant on it. If not, make sure that you use a large enough shackle and use something (like a piece of stainless steal wire) to keep the shackle from coming undone. The pennant then goes (usually) to a cleat on the bow. A few tips: 1.) MAKE sure that the pennant is of sufficient size - a 5/8 pennant is probably good for a boat up to 30 feet or so. In general go as large as you can. 2.) make sure you have a chafe guard on the pennant! If it rubs on the rub rail or anywhere else it could cut through the rope. 3.) Make sure the mooring is large enough for your boat. Your local harbor master might publish minimum weights based on boat length. Hope this helps a little
Whatever you do...
Don't grab the mooring by hand, or it could rip your arm off. Use a hook and take the advice offered above.
Don't grab the mooring by hand, or it could rip your arm off. Use a hook and take the advice offered above.
Thats not all
I recently bought my first mooring. It came with two peenants both the same lengths.Some use a snubber that like a rubber stretcher intertwined with the pennants. my neighbor has small floating fenders to help keep the pennants out of the water and make it easier to snag when trying to pick up the lines in higher waves.
I recently bought my first mooring. It came with two peenants both the same lengths.Some use a snubber that like a rubber stretcher intertwined with the pennants. my neighbor has small floating fenders to help keep the pennants out of the water and make it easier to snag when trying to pick up the lines in higher waves.
Mooring...
I have moored boats on Lake Aurthur in SW PA for about 8 years. I have found that I like (For a 25' boat)a single 1/2" well spliced 10' long double braid nylon line with a loop on the mooring ball end and a thimble and a locking snap shackle on the boat side. I have a bow eye about 18" to 24" below the bow deck that is used for Trailering. I connect the Stainless locking snap shackle ( more like a "D" ring) to that bow eye. I also use a "d' ring connected opposite the locking snap shackle for security. I think the most important part of all this is the swimming noodle ( the long 3" diameter foam noodle that is about 5' long found at Kmart or Walmart) that I put on the mooring pennant. This keeps the pennant floating ( while also Identifying my mooring) from wrapping around the mooring ball and chaffing. I have had two problems mooring in the 8 years that I have moored. Problem #1: Other people don't know how to moor and their boats get loose. If not regulated, some people will use polypropolene(sp) which chaffs when looked at. What happened in this instance was another boat got free during a large storm and tangled in my mooring line and chaffed it through. Both my boat and his boat and 8 others ended up on shore. I was glad that his boat chaffed through my mooring line because minimal damage occured when my boat went aground. But the bow of the boat was scratched and would have been destroyed if the other boat had not chaffed through the mooring pennant. Problem #2: This year I put the boat in April 15th and for the next two weekends had graduations etc. I did not get a chance to install the noodle on the mooring pennant. When I got back to the boat, the mooring pennant ( Double braided Nylon) had chaffed through the outer braid because it had wrapped around the mooring ball. In fact the boat had circled that mooring ball in the same direction so many times that it created knots in the chain that comes up from the anchor to the ball and it was so tight that the boat was bow down and I almost could not unwrap pennant. Inspect your pennant every chance you get and replace it if you see any wear. Hope all this talk helped. r.w.landau
I have moored boats on Lake Aurthur in SW PA for about 8 years. I have found that I like (For a 25' boat)a single 1/2" well spliced 10' long double braid nylon line with a loop on the mooring ball end and a thimble and a locking snap shackle on the boat side. I have a bow eye about 18" to 24" below the bow deck that is used for Trailering. I connect the Stainless locking snap shackle ( more like a "D" ring) to that bow eye. I also use a "d' ring connected opposite the locking snap shackle for security. I think the most important part of all this is the swimming noodle ( the long 3" diameter foam noodle that is about 5' long found at Kmart or Walmart) that I put on the mooring pennant. This keeps the pennant floating ( while also Identifying my mooring) from wrapping around the mooring ball and chaffing. I have had two problems mooring in the 8 years that I have moored. Problem #1: Other people don't know how to moor and their boats get loose. If not regulated, some people will use polypropolene(sp) which chaffs when looked at. What happened in this instance was another boat got free during a large storm and tangled in my mooring line and chaffed it through. Both my boat and his boat and 8 others ended up on shore. I was glad that his boat chaffed through my mooring line because minimal damage occured when my boat went aground. But the bow of the boat was scratched and would have been destroyed if the other boat had not chaffed through the mooring pennant. Problem #2: This year I put the boat in April 15th and for the next two weekends had graduations etc. I did not get a chance to install the noodle on the mooring pennant. When I got back to the boat, the mooring pennant ( Double braided Nylon) had chaffed through the outer braid because it had wrapped around the mooring ball. In fact the boat had circled that mooring ball in the same direction so many times that it created knots in the chain that comes up from the anchor to the ball and it was so tight that the boat was bow down and I almost could not unwrap pennant. Inspect your pennant every chance you get and replace it if you see any wear. Hope all this talk helped. r.w.landau
use 2 pennants,different lengths
The chafe guard for the pennants is essential. We use leather, some people use rubber hose. In Maine, most people use 2 pennants from the mooring ball but they should be 2 different lengths, that way if one fails you have a slightly longer one that has not had as much stress on it as the other. Joanie
The chafe guard for the pennants is essential. We use leather, some people use rubber hose. In Maine, most people use 2 pennants from the mooring ball but they should be 2 different lengths, that way if one fails you have a slightly longer one that has not had as much stress on it as the other. Joanie
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