Am I The Only Guy Mad When I See A Mooring?

[rebel heart]

It's happened more than a few times now. You go to some bay and invariably the absolute best spot is taken up by a (typically unoccupied) mooring. They obstruct the swing of an anchored boat. A single mooring can easily interfere with the swing of 3-4 other boats.

A mooring field I can completely understand because (like on Santa Catalina Island) you can pack way more boats into a bay than you can having them all anchored.

And I suppose in some very tricky anchoring spots it makes sense, but who would really trust a mooring in a foreign country?

There's a town here in Baja (San Evaristo) that has two moorings, exactly dead in the center of where anyone would try to anchor. Both empty but there are little signs on the floats stating they are reserved (in English).

[Boatguy30]

If you had a cat you anchor directly over the mooring.

[rebel heart]

Is that a joke? You'll twist all over the thing and spend half an hour unwrapping chain the next morning.

[ShaunJ]

Is anyone on the morrings? Hell, if they are not being used by all means anchor away.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by ShaunJ

Is anyone on the morrings? Hell, if they are not being used by all means anchor away.

With the swings you end up wrapping your chain around the mooring. Add in some wind and it can be really tricky extricating.

[bene505]

Is it possible to run a separate anchor to the invading mooring and use it to pull the ball tight in the direction away from where you want to anchor?

Maybe that's too much effort, but it might work.

Regards,
Brad

[Boracay]

It peeves me somewhat too.

In Broken B (nr. Sydney, Oz) boat owners sometimes literally fight over desirable public moorings while nearby bays have dozens of unoccupied privatly owned ones that get little use.

I'd like it made a condition of a mooring that (say) it be listed on a website and owners be made to advise leaving and returning times so that they can be used by other boats.

Sydney Harbour is overrun by moorings tied to boats that never move to the extent that it is impossible to anchor in many desirable spots. Again I'd like to see them all listed on a website and if they're not used or the boat does not move for an extended period then the occupation license is cancelled.

[rebel heart]

The crappy thing with them too is that some-guy's-mooring is the last thing I'd tie off to and feel comfortable throughout the night. The properly managed fields, where the whole thing is being hauled out of the water for water blasting and inspection is one deal, but the littering of crap on the seabed is just nonsense.

And like you're saying, it's always in the place that people would want to go.

La Paz, Baja has that kind of stuff going on. Derelict or otherwise abandoned vessels sit directly in front of the prime spots, forcing traffic to go around them, and stopping other vessels from using that space.

It makes me appreciate USA waterways. If you drop a private mooring down in a navigable waterway that gets any type of use, you'll get in some serious trouble that will certainly include removing the mooring.

[44'cruisingcat]

Rarely bothers me. I can almost always go and anchor in shallower water than the moorings are in.

[Wanderlust]

In NSW there is a rule that you can't have a permanently vacant mooring, otherwise your entitlement will be cancelled.

The vessel must not be absent from its mooring for more than 28 consecutive days unless Maritime has been notified in writing and written approval has been given. Whilst the licensed vessel is absent from the mooring no other vessel is to occupy the site.

How much that rule is enforced probably depends on if the local officer has noticed the absence, or if someone complains.

[salty_dog_68]

I know two wrongs don't make a right but...if they bother you that much...just unhook the float and let the chain sink to the bottom. If the inconsiderate boat owner was smart he marked the spot of his mooring with his gps so he can go for a swim and retrieve the chain and anchor. It is a little spiteful but doesn't seem much worse, to me, than leaving a stupid unattended mooring ball in the middle of every ones favorite spot. It is a public waterway. No one OWNS that spot! What really irks me is all the damn lobster trap floats in the keys during lobster season. It is literally impossible to navigate the keys, during season, without running over a trap float(they are EVERYWHERE). I got one wrapped in my prop once and it bent one of the prop blades. It cost me $300 to have the prop reconditioned.

[scoobert]

couldn't you just use a bow and stern anchor and sit right next to it?
thats how i anchor in the river, and i don't even move 3' side to side.

[psneeld]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

The crappy thing with them too is that some-guy's-mooring is the last thing I'd tie off to and feel comfortable throughout the night. The properly managed fields, where the whole thing is being hauled out of the water for water blasting and inspection is one deal, but the littering of crap on the seabed is just nonsense.

And like you're saying, it's always in the place that people would want to go.

La Paz, Baja has that kind of stuff going on. Derelict or otherwise abandoned vessels sit directly in front of the prime spots, forcing traffic to go around them, and stopping other vessels from using that space.

It makes me appreciate USA waterways. If you drop a private mooring down in a navigable waterway that gets any type of use, you'll get in some serious trouble that will certainly include removing the mooring.

I agree against the "pirate" mooring concept...if not a city mooring or on a private waterway/land...then one should not have the audacity to hog the spot....

But there seems to be 3 kinds of towns even in the US...at least East/Gulf coasts where there's lot's more protected waters...

1) some care about their waters and restrict moorings or provide them for reasonable rates and allow anchoring where practical

2) some that demand you use their mooring, charge a fortune (though usually provide services) and discourage anchoring

3) and those that turn a blind eye to their waterfront and it's a free-for-all....

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

makes me appreciate USA waterways. If you drop a private mooring down in a navigable waterway that gets any type of use, you'll get in some serious trouble that will certainly include removing the mooring.

Obviously you have not been to Maine where every anchorage that was listed in the guide books 10 years ago is now filled with Private moorings. No place to anchor left at all. With 10ft + tides one needs a little swinging room. I'm in RI right now and it would seem that they have a similar problem here. Any spot that even resembles a sheltered anchorage is filled with private moorings.

[scoobert]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

Obviously you have not been to Maine where every anchorage that was listed in the guide books 10 years ago is now filled with Private moorings. No place to anchor left at all. With 10ft + tides one needs a little swinging room. I'm in RI right now and it would seem that they have a similar problem here. Any spot that even resembles a sheltered anchorage is filled with private moorings.

as the economy falls it will get worse, as more people realize that living on a boat is the ultimate freedom, and most economical way to live.