Making a Mooring?

[Craig_B]

My wife and I purchased a 30' Carver Santego this spring which came with a complimentary slip for the season.
Next spring I am hoping to build a mooring at our property on the lake.
I don't want to spend the bug bucks on a dock since we will most likely not have the property in a few years.


Can anyone give me some insight into the project I will be undertaking?


The situation is this:


The bay I wish to place the mooring in is rather small and protected from 3 sides with the exception of the north. Don't get many storms from that direction during the summer.
However there is not a lot of swing room between the shore and a small island in the bay.
According to the chart its about 100' from the shore to the island. Bottom drops off fast in both areas.

Water depth about 5' boat draft is under 3'.
I was thinking of using two mooring "screws" one off the bow and one off the stern to keep it in position and not allow it to swing.
We would not be staying on the boat when its on the mooring.
My question is how much or how little chain can be used from the anchor to the boat?
Or if this is even a reasonable idea at all.


Any sort of positive input will be appreciated.


Thanks.

[CaptTom]

Around here getting a mooring on a lake is either totally illegal, or very difficult. I assume you've already resolved that issue.

I'm not a fan of bow-and-stern moorings, unless absolutely necessary. Far better to be able to swing with the wind. If I'm thinking of the right boat, your Carver will have quite a bit of windage.

I've heard rave reviews of those helix moorings. Never tried one myself, I'm an old granite block guy.

The length of chain depends on the amount of lake level change you usually see. Everyone has a rule of thumb; depth times some multiple, depth plus some number of feet, or some combination of those. Best bet is to ask around the area and see what others are doing.

[Craig_B]

Thanks for the reply.


Lake level never really changes throughout the season. A little higher in spring perhaps.
Have not looked into the legality of the mooring but not too concerned. We own the property that surrounds most of the bay and its common to see floating docks way off the shore of many cottages here. Besides "easier to ask forgiveness than ask for permission"


I agree with the windage part but really no room to swing safely.



Any other suggestions?


Perhaps some type of attachment to the shore as well?

[sailormed]

If there is no room for swinging then your solution with fore and aft is the only solution. If you did construct a jetty you would have the same situation, boat orientation is fixed along the jetty, no swinging.

[RaymondR]

Drop a good sized block to the North for the bow line then two stern lines to buried dead men on the shore with about 120 degree spread for two stern lines. The only waves you will ever see will be from the N.

[Craig_B]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

Drop a good sized block to the North for the bow line then two stern lines to buried dead men on the shore with about 120 degree spread for two stern lines. The only waves you will ever see will be from the N.

Yes the only time I have seen rough water in the bay has been when its a north wind.
I have never even hooked up to a mooring so I greatfull to all who have responded.
My biggest concern was what the effect would be when the weather hits the boat from the side.

Bear in mind this is a relatvley small freshwater lake in Ontario.

[acem]

A friend made a mooring from a barrel filled with rocks and concrete with a chain. In his freshwater lake it lasted for years. Thx-Ace

[admiralslater]

You can make a simple form out of plywood and 2x4 with a rebar loop set in .
Our club has 40 boats on moorings that use this method since1972 You might be able to skid it on to the ice . Concrete in fresh water is about 86 lbs cubic foot .you will need bigger than you might thinkbecause the boat is fixed

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by admiralslater

You can make a simple form out of plywood and 2x4 with a rebar loop set in .
Our club has 40 boats on moorings that use this method since1972 You might be able to skid it on to the ice . Concrete in fresh water is about 86 lbs cubic foot .you will need bigger than you might thinkbecause the boat is fixed

It's better to avoid putting a metal connection on the block, they wear fairly quickly. Moulding a loop of poly pipe big enough for an endless line to be threaded through works better as the line can be pulled through and checked without going into the water and the wear points moved.

[Craig_B]

Interesting insights on a few different approaches.
I think I am going to try one or two of those Helix screws.
They seem to be the easiest to obtain and install and don't take up any room on the bottom.


Another question I have is how to attach to the mooring. I have heard the calculations for the amount of chain needed but what about the connection between the ball and the boat?
I assume you attach with some dock line but how much do you normally use?


Thanks again everyone.

[wsmurdoch]

I have a mooring in the lake in front of my house although I have not used it in years.

I went to a tire store and asked for and was given a large tire. I put a sheet of plastic down in my driveway with the tire on top of the plastic. I stood up a short piece of pipe in the center of the tire then filled the tire with stone and Quikrete. When hard I slipped a long piece of pipe into the pipe in the concrete and levered the tire up onto its tread. Balanced on its tread and with the second pipe removed, I threaded a short length of chain through the pipe with a shackle on each end so it would not pull out of the pipe. I gave the tire a push and it rolled into the lake mercifully missing the dock. Resting on its side in a couple of feet of water, I fastened another chain to the shackle that ended up on top and pulled it tight to the bow of my motorboat. I dragged it to its appointed location in deeper water and dropped it to the bottom where it rests today.

Bill

[BenBowSirocco]

Bill, thats a great way to make an inexpensive mooring.. Thank you for sharing.

The OP sounds set on the helix screws, although having seen them installed, I am curious to his ideas/method of installation. The ones I watched being installed in a small cove used a drill derrick (proportionately the size of a pontoon) with 4 hard set jack legs put down to twist them in. I have also heard of hydraulic twisting rigs used underwater to set dive spot moorings. I have no doubt this is very dependent upon the lake bed density, but would be a bit commercial for a homeowner.

I have installed pilings with the jet method and its important to understand, professional companies wont build your dock usually for weeks afterward in order allow the seabed to "harden" or set up after jetting the pilings in.

There are mooring weight and size charts/guidelines and you can use the mushroom style weight recommendations and then convert them to any hard sided object you create. Be sure to accommodate for material density lost due to immersion. Charts are available online for immersion conversion. As mentioned earlier, concrete loses lots of its weight once submerged and the "dry" block will be much larger than what may seem needed.

[DefinitelyMe]

I used to build moorings for a living. Bear in mind that this was in Bermuda, so salt water and hurricane proof, neither of which apply to you.

As Bill said, tyres make great forms. Or plywood, or sheet metal, or barrells. Since you don't intend to swing you also have the option of using awkward-shaped objects like engine blocks or big old anchors because the strain will always be from the same direction and there is no risk of tangling your chain around the weight.

I've never used screws so can't comment on them.

You have two options for setup assuming no swinging room (100 feet is just enough space to swing your boat in 5' of water, just use heavy chain (something like 1 1/2" going to 1/2" up-chain) to make up for reduced scope). The first is bow and stern. The second is a bahamian moor, with a swivel installed in the system.

What are your max. wind speeds?

I'm happy to elaborate further if you're interested. Good luck with the project. I might be a bit weird but I kind of enjoy moorings. :-)