Single Handed Mooring

[John A]

Originally Posted by osirissail

Sorry for the thread drift but I cannot resist - There is a perpetual problem in St Thomas Charlotte Amalie harbor with cruiser/charter boats anchoring in the auxilliary designated anchorage for cruise ships. These areas are well marked on the harbor chart. Once when I was there a 3rd cruise ship came in and so had to anchor. There was an old-time Brit with his yacht right in the middle of the cruise ship anchorage. The cruise ship pilot unsuccessfully tried to get him on the radio and finally sent the pilot boat to tell him to move. He came up on the radio and everybody heard him refuse to move saying "I was here first." The cruise ship put its long overhanging bow right over his midships and let loose a few feet of anchor chain. You never saw a guy raise anchor and scoot out of the way quicker.

Your thread drift gives me an oppertunity to voice a pet peeve of mine while in the Caribbean.
Some feel that putting down their private mooring ball somehow identifies ownership of that spot. Something like homesteading a ranch during the 1800's in the Weatern US.
Random private mooring balls in the best anchoring areas of a harbor/bay/cove with the owners absent are becomeing a concern.
More than once, I've anchored close to a vacant mooring and been told days later to move.

[nigel1]

Originally Posted by osirissail

The cruise ship put its long overhanging bow right over his midships and let loose a few feet of anchor chain. .

Something like this

YouTube - Ship drops anchor on tug boat.

[zeehag]

i use a pick up buoy to retrieve my lines so it works in snotty as well as smooth weather--merely pick up the pole and slide the lines onto the samson post----of course this works only on your own mooring--always make sure your bow is upwind from the ball so when ye has to run fwd, the boat smoothly speeds into th eball not away from it...lol....i believe in not being the entertainment tonight...gooodluck!!

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by John A

. . . Some feel that putting down their private mooring ball somehow identifies ownership of that spot. Something like homesteading a ranch during the 1800's in the Weatern US.
Random private mooring balls in the best anchoring areas of a harbor/bay/cove with the owners absent are becoming a concern. . .

I share that peeve in spades with you. Especially in areas where I know there is no "government regulation" of moorings. In St Thomas however, getting a mooring down is a long and very expensive process with the local government involving surveys and on-site approvals - so those moorings are actually sort of "owned," But then the person & boat leaves the island and now the mooring is "dead" but still hogging a good spot. You can't win.
- - In "non-regulated" islands it really is "wild west homesteading" with the first guy digging a mud screw in or dropping a truck engine short block with some chain and a buoy getting the good spot. Nothing to be done in those circumstances but just find another spot. However I have seen that Europeans seem to have a solution to the problem - they just motor on in, pick up the mooring and use until someone tells them to leave. 9 times out of 10 nobody does before they are ready to leave again.

[bewitched]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

How about a discussion on single handed mooring when the weather is a bit (or a lot) snotty.

Backing up to the mooring has to be the way to go doesn't it?

If you also have a walk through transom, it's the easiest manouvre to pull off

[osirissail]

Back to the original discussion - single hand mooring in rough weather - backing up to the mooring is not an option in such weather unless your boat is a "double-ender." In which case it would of no value anyway. Waves and wind would be crashing against your stern and could be pooping your cockpit. Indeed, even sending wave water up your exhaust pipe to stall the engine. Boats with an open transom passage would have a flood of wave water crashing into the cockpit.
- - I see the only viable technique is to put the bow - or the section of your boat forward of the keel - slightly upwind of the buoy at an slight angle to the wind and stop the boat. Then you hurry to the rail by the buoy and snag it and clip on your line as you drift back onto the buoy. You really don't have time to be running a line through the buoy ring and then back to the bow cleat. Your boat is pitching and raising and falling, as is the buoy so you have only a second or two to attach to the buoy ring or the buoy pendant eye.
- - The forces of the boat and buoy rising and falling will make hanging onto a "doubled thru" line unlikely and you could possibly be pulled over the side. Using a large carabiner snap shackle eliminates that problem as you instantly snap the buoy ring or feed the carabiner through the pendant eye and snap onto your bow lead line. Then let loose of the buoy. Speed is the essence of success.
- - After you are stabilized and shortened your single line to the buoy, you can then plan to feed another line down and through the buoy ring or pendant eye from both your port and starboard bow cleats.
- - These carabiners come in sizes up to 5 inch or more and are quite hefty and easy to grab in your hand.

[stillbuilding]

There is a commercial device comprising a 8" carabineer style hook which push-fits onto a pole of your selected length - usually 6' or so (but could be longer). Designed to push thru a large eye on the mooring buoy (or anything else like that) and then pull off the pole leaving the hook attached. I have seen it advertised in the UK yachting magazines. Never had occasion to use it but have crewed on a yacht that had one on board. Looked useful.

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by stillbuilding

There is a commercial device comprising a 8" carabineer style hook which push-fits onto a pole of your selected length - usually 6' or so (but could be longer). Designed to push thru a large eye on the mooring buoy (or anything else like that) and then pull off the pole leaving the hook attached. I have seen it advertised in the UK yachting magazines. Never had occasion to use it but have crewed on a yacht that had one on board. Looked useful.

I think you're referring to the Grab-n-go hook Grab 'N Go Hook

I own one and find it pretty handy if the mooring doesn't already have a pennant on it. OK for hooking up until you could set a proper pennant, not leave the boat on it though -- SWL is only 600 lbs. and it could conceivably unhook if twisted the wrong way.

BTW those posters who think it's OK to loop a line through a mooring ball eye are nuts if tying up for anything more than a lunch break. If you're going to leave the boat or endure a storm you need a metal shackle with chafe protection on the line from a thimble. Metal on metal.

[bewitched]

Originally Posted by osirissail

Back to the original discussion - single hand mooring in rough weather - backing up to the mooring is not an option in such weather unless your boat is a "double-ender." In which case it would of no value anyway. Waves and wind would be crashing against your stern and could be pooping your cockpit. Indeed, even sending wave water up your exhaust pipe to stall the engine. Boats with an open transom passage would have a flood of wave water crashing into the cockpit.

If it's that bad I think I'd find somewhere else to spend the night.

Most moorings bouys in this part of the world are located in sheltered anchorages

[Calling]

If you own the mooring, then have a look at a new device called Catcher Snatcher. It actually catches the mooring pick up line unassisted. It's a DIY project so it doesn't cost much. There is a funny video on youtube, search "mooring auto pick up".

[builder dan]

I find it handy to have a small line about 20 feet long attached to the mooring buoy with a second small buoy on the end of it makes it a lot easier to catch with a boat hook,there is a lot more room for error same as the crab fishermen use on there pots.

[Calling]

I think the idea is to stay safely at the helm and let the device do the job. Leaning to the side with a hook or running to the bow begs for accidents.

[Andrew Troup]

Backing up to a mooring is certainly doable in strong winds, even storm force, provided the fetch is not so much that you get washed off the stern scoop, and provided there's enough reverse thrust.

I've done this successfully in winds too strong for a conventional over-the-bow approach to be viable.

If your pickup point is aft, backing up is definitely safer with regard to wrapping, because it means the prop is always downwind of the rope(s).

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by Calling

If you own the mooring, then have a look at a new device called Catcher Snatcher. It actually catches the mooring pick up line unassisted. It's a DIY project so it doesn't cost much. There is a funny video on youtube, search "mooring auto pick up".

If they called it a "snatch catcher" they'd sell many more!