Installing a Mooring - Questions

[sv_isara]

Hey all!
I am looking at getting a mooring near where I live. I want y'all's takes about the options that I have. This would be for my next boat; my current boat (O'day 23-2) is in my driveway, but i usually store it at a marina seasonally.

I found a place to install a new mooring and there are 2 basic options: one out in front of a launch/restaurant kind of in the middle of nowhere, where there are exactly 0 other boats moored and 0 moorings. I'm concerned that my boat would be a sitting duck essentially. That would be 30 minutes away. On the NOAA chart, it looks to be about 5-6 feet. The bar to get into this bay is 6 feet. My question though isn't whether that's too shallow a depth for the boats I'm looking for (I'm looking for shallow draft, probbly 4.5 to 5 feet), but rather whether the keel would end up smacking the mooring. The type of mooring would be 2x55 gallon drums.

The second options is further down the road at an old run-down boating facility which has probably 12 boats moored and a restaurant as well. Would cost the same to install. looks like 7+ feet depth. The place doesn't necessarily look too inspiring, but it feels more reassuring to think that maybe i could become friendly with some boaters who can look out for my boat a bit like at the marinas I've been at.

So my two concerns are safety (i'd probably look into video surveillance either way), and depth. And any other comments.
Thank you!

[Jim Cate]

You don't specify the location, so this is a unsupported opinion: near SF any depths like that are likely to be somewhere in the Delta. If so,be aware that depths can change pretty rapidly, and where the chart says 5-6 feet (hardly enough water to float a bath tub toy!) it maybe significantly less. I'd be pretty leery of that location myself.

And I have to agree that an isolated boat in a "rural" area is an easy target for mischief.

Finally, the use of drums, likely full of concrete, as a mooring anchor isn't best practice. Besides the risk of becoming an obstruction, they don't bury well and good attachments are awkward. IIRC in the States cast iron mushroom anchors are favored in this role. Here in Oz old railroad car wheels are used very successfully. They lie flat and create "suction" attachment to the bottom before settling into the muck. A good and inexpensive solution IMO.

good luck with your decisoin.

Jim