Taking a Cat to a Mooring

[markpj23]

So excuse the stupid question, but how do I keep the boat from riding up on the bridle and playing pinball between the hulls while tied to a mooring ball? I've considered a stout piece of PVC pipe used as a stand-off but that is cumbersome.

So please enlighten me... gently.

[Ram]

Thats a very good Question - I assume with out putting a stern anchor out or tieing her from the stern-

[fla.sailor]

We were on a mooring for 10 days in Marathon this spring and never bumped a hull once.... We used a short bridle to each hull.

-dennis

[markpj23]

Originally Posted by Ram

Thats a very good Question - I assume with out putting a stern anchor out or tieing her from the stern-

Yes just using a bridle off the bows and no stern anchor / ties.

[imagine2frolic]

You can shorten the bridle, or just tie off to one hull. I have used both ways with no preference over the other.

[Ram]

Originally Posted by imagine2frolic

You can shorten the bridle, or just tie off to one hull. I have used both ways with no preference over the other.

The troble is when you have a shift of wind you bump into the boey and it makes a lot of noise- Ive found nothing that works short of tieing off or anchoring the stern

[markpj23]

Originally Posted by fla.sailor

We were on a mooring for 10 days in Marathon this spring and never bumped a hull once.... We used a short bridle to each hull.

-dennis

OK - "short" may be the key word. How short is the mooring bridle as compared to your regular anchoring bridle? In my case I use about 20ft legs to each hull and since we're only 21ft beam I know that we could bump using that length to the buoy.

So the more I think about it, using a bridle where each leg is shorter than the distance between the hulls should prevent any contact.

[svcattales]

I second "Fl Sailors" idea about the short bridle. We are on mooring right now in Key West and haven't bumped in 2 weeks. We don't use our anchoring bridle for moorings because the "legs" are too long. We just use dock lines and shorten them up enough so the ball doesn't bump in the night. The only time this is an issue is when you have a wind against tide situation or dead calms.

[imagine2frolic]

I never heard any noise, but then again I do not remember the conditions. It was 5 years ago passing through the BVI?????????????????//..........i2f

[cchesley]

The use of a shorter bridle will solve the problem--- of noise and buoy bumping. However, as you shorten the legs of the bridle, you increase the load on those legs. you might want to consider a heavier size of line if you expect to be on a mooring during any significant blows.

[svcattales]

Originally Posted by cchesley

The use of a shorter bridle will solve the problem--- of noise and buoy bumping. However, as you shorten the legs of the bridle, you increase the load on those legs. you might want to consider a heavier size of line if you expect to be on a mooring during any significant blows.

Good point. Its a good idea to use heavy lines (I use dock lines) and adjust the length of legs based on conditions. When winds are honking, extend out the legs and reduce the load on the lines. When winds are light and current is a problem, snug em up and trap the buoy halfway between the hulls. This is another advantage of a cat. On my mono, I had several sleepless nights listening to "bump...bump...bump..kerploosh" as the bouy hit one side of the hull and popped up on the other side.