Mooring vs. Docking

Crazy Dave Condon · Mar 26, 2015

Look at the mooring whips that you can affix to your dock which keeps the boat away from the dock and allows the boat to float up and down too. One line will pull it in and then you can release the lines from the mooring whip at the dock. No need for a mooring and dinghy.

Don S/V ILLusion · Mar 26, 2015

It's hard for anyone here to argue with 'the locals' who know more about the lake than we can imagine.

Bill1565 · Mar 26, 2015

Don S/V ILLusion said:
It's hard for anyone here to argue with 'the locals' who know more about the lake than we can imagine.

Come on Don, its not hard for this group to argue with anyone about anything.

patrickince · Mar 26, 2015

Could you build a L shaped dock and tie up to the inside of the L.? Use the dock parallel with the shore as a break water. I guess it depends on the size of the lake. I have also seen hoist systems to lift it up and out of the water at the dock

Sailavie1 · Mar 26, 2015

The L shape dock works well. We used to tie the bow to the inside corner of the L shape dock which also pointed the bow in the direction of the prevailing winds. The stern was tied of to the shore. Even in a cross wind the L shape provided more stability. Having a snubber may also help reduce the stress.
Andre

Kermit · Mar 26, 2015

Bill1565 said:
Come on Don, its not hard for this group to argue with anyone about anything.

+1
- or -
Yes it is!
- or -
We NEVER argue!
- or -
He started it!!!!

Bill1565 · Mar 27, 2015

Kermit said:
+1 - or - Yes it is! - or - We NEVER argue! - or - He started it!!!!

Kermit, you frog you

isaksp00 · Mar 28, 2015

Our club has slips with fingers that bracket the boat. If you could create a u-shaped slip (finger pier on either side) you can center the boat and use good snubbers, using the bow eye or bow cleats and stern cleats (and proper spring line or lines) and it should be oK. We get some real chop from winds and motorcraft, and mine has not been damaged. use decent docklines (3-strand nylon) and hefty stainless snap shackle if you go with the bow eye.

CLSailor · Jun 8, 2015

mooring w/o using a dinghy

S. Shaner said:
Greetings all.

I will be moving my Hunter 22 from Lake Arthur in PA to Lake Chautauqua in NY in a few weeks. At Chautauqua, we'll be keeping it at a house we just purchased with a dock.

I've been told by a couple of locals that I won't be able to tie the boat to the dock due to the roughness of the lake and the consequent damage to both the dock and the boat. The recommendation is that I purchase a mooring and a dingy to get about in.

If that's what's needed, that's fine with me. But - and I ask you all - is it necessary?

Thanks,

Steve

I live on a very busy/choppy lake and moor my Hunter 18.5 with chain and rope bridle. But I have a floating poly "stern" line that I use to pull the boat into the dock to get aboard, then clip it to my mooring line. This way I sail on and off my mooring w/o having to use a dinghy of motor. The boat swings about 120 degrees before fetching up on the stern line. You have to set the mooring so that when it faces into the strongest winds (NW here) the stern line will be slack and taught when into lighter winds to take the strain off this stern line.

It takes some adjustment time - so the boat won't swing into the dock, nor be too far off the dock as well as the stern line being too long so that it may wrap around the mooring float. That's why the swing is limited to about that 120 degrees +/-.

Jackdaw · Jun 8, 2015

Don S/V ILLusion said:
It's hard for anyone here to argue with 'the locals' who know more about the lake than we can imagine.

exactly.

Needmoretime · Jun 19, 2015

Our Hunter 23.5 is moored on the east side of Canandaigua Lake in the Finger Lakes Region of upstate NY. The east side is by far a windier place to moor than the west. Hence the cost of lakefront property from one side to the other...The boat did fine last year with approx 400 lbs of weight and a 6/1 until this May when we had a storm blow through with steady 35-40 Mph winds and gusts passing 60 Mph. The boat pulled the mooring in enough to have the rudder bouncing off the bottom. At that point we were in crisis mode. I found temporary docking on the west side for a week to give me time to work on the situation. I researched the Internet and talked to the local marinas. This is what I found. The new system is much more robust with 1,000 lbs of mooring and an 8/1 and a sturdy snubber. We also moved the entire setup about 60 feet further out to give the boat more water when the lake level drops from August onward. (10 ft vs. 6) Heavy winds on a mooring will take you down a road you don't want to travel. I learned a valuable lesson and went big. 1/3 of the total boat weight for mooring weight and a long enough chain and snubber to safeguard the system. Even a relatively small boat can do some serious pulling in a heavy wind.