Make a mooring with a rubbish bag?

[Mike Banks]

Not what I would normally recommend--but if you mix in 200 kg of Portland cement and as much scrap mesh as you can find--and a huge eye bolt set into a metal plate about 300 mm square and embedded in it, thou art on the right track, and once it sets--take away the bag.

Now the REAL way of making a sound mooring which should be approved without problems. You may need a drawing of it to submit to the local harbour master in order to get an approval--so get the plans approved first. They may even have their own plan which MUST be used--so if they do--that is the way to travel if you want an easy life, and all of us want that if we can get it...

Dig a hole as round as you intend your mooring to be--say two metres, tapering towards the middle of a depression so that the edges are about 150 mm deep, and the centre of the depression is from about 450--500 mm deep. You can do this on the beach above high tide mark if you obtain permission, or chance your luck over a weekend.

Put a sheet of plastic in the depression. In the centre of this depression, one punctures the plastic and digs a small hole to accept a large diameter galvanized (preferably Sheridized) bolt of about 20 mm diameter minimum, which is terminated in a square metal plate about 300 x 300 mm. Failing that, a looped length of 20 mm bar, which is fabricated in advance in a workshop so that it resembles a large staple with the ends splayed and having pieces of reinforcing mesh welded to it, and the whole is hot dipped galvanised. It can be welded or bound using concrete fixing wire to a circular piece of reinforcing mesh so that it fits inside your circular dug mold with about 100 mm to spare all around. Put that in place in the hole, with the mesh resting on pieces of concrete tile wetted with water-based epoxy resin.

Now pour the concrete into this depression until the hole is FULL, puddle it until there are no bubbles in the mix and screed off the top.

Leave it to set for about two days. You now have a mooring block which will stick to the bottom, so that it has not only mass, but the suction effect that will make it even better. It should cost you about $300.00 or less to make and about a grand for the mooring permit and another grand to lift it and place it.

Moorings have to be inspected by a diver every couple of years, sometimes more frequently, or some authorities require them to be lifted by a floating crane and inspected.

I link any chain to the mooring using a polypropylene link made from turns of orange polypropylene net cable wrapped and frapped so it exceeds the strength of the mooring chain. If you do not do this, the chain will corrode where the galvanising on the mooring eye and the chain rub. The polypropylene rope bundle when frapped fits tightly to the chain and eye, so it flexes rather than rubs, solving that corrosion problem. For obvious reasons, do not substitute a soft shackle for this link.

[captlloyd]

I have heard that in a good chop a small rowboat is capable of moving an engine block. Could be some folks are underestimating the power of flotation. I put seven yards of concrete mixed with steel punchings in my sixty four foot steel sailboat and it didn’t seem to make a great deal of difference. I think I could have hauled a small tank on that boat. Funny thing though, when people looked at the boat during construction many said it would sink, being built our of steel which doesn’t float of course. When I first launched it it bobed around like a cork.

[Scotty Kiwi]

Truck Tire, enough few backs of readymix cement, heavy chain, swivel, less heavy chain, sufficient rope, you buoy.

Lay the tire on the ice, shackle the chain around it, fill it with the now wet cement, do the obvious. and bake. Bingo.