Cheap Fast Way to Make a Mooring

[angela micinski]

Good post Klem.

[Kettlewell]

A lot of areas in the U.S. have no mooring regulations whatsoever--I know it is hard to believe after being in New England where every harbor has a harbormaster and harbor regulations. Personally, I would much rather have a mooring made up of a couple of Danforth anchors than any mushroom--much greater holding power, cheaper, and easier to set and remove. I have photos taken in several New England harbors with most of the moored fleet lined up on the beach with their mushroom moorings right next to them after they dragged ashore during Hurricane Bob and Hurricane Gloria.

[sww914]

I'd be really careful to research this a bit more. We used to have about 40 home made moorings in Morro Bay. Every winter 3-6 of those boats would go away.
The professionally made and maintained moorings were nearly trouble free.
I don't think that what you first proposed will be enough, I'd feel much safer with 1/2 a dozen engine blocks chained together.

[jenny2]

Just had a 30 cal get blown into me, on a 55 gallon drum mooring. We had 47 knot gust The botom here is around 15 feet of nasty silt then hard gumbo clay, and if he had just put the anchor out we would not have had no prolbems.

[Sailmonkey]

Hmmmmm, an el cheapo mooring made of rip-rap, a derelict boat with no engine........sound great, just don't moor near me!!!

[Captain-Shawn28]

4 55 gallon ph acid testing plastic barrels with 250 pounds of concrete in each and 3/4 inch galavenized chain with a zinc on top and bottom has held my cascade 36 for 2 years no issues. With 40knot+ storms every winter. The trick is it has to be soft mud. My friend has a 40ft steel 600hp commercial tug we built it on the beach and dragged it carefully across the harbor. Once it sank in the mud after a few days he couldnt move it with the tug again it sets permently.

[onestepcsy37]

I put down a mooring 3 years ago that is still holding, although it's now another boat. When I switched to a 45lb manson supreme I surplused a 45lb cqr and a 66lb bruce. This is in a tidal river on the icw with the current alternating north and south. I connected the two with 100 ft of chain and connected a vertical chain at the midpoint for the mooring ball. Then I sunk it north and south on the river so that each anchor is taking the strain depending on the tidal flow.

Others in the anchorage use brake drums from large trucks. They are fairly common in junk yards in florida because, or so I've been told, they cannot be reground, they must be discarded. They are pretty heavy and are easily linked together with chains. They bury well in the deep mud we have. They're also cheap. I know of one that has been in continuos use here for at least 6 or 7 years.