How to hook up to a mooring ball

[Bash]

If you've got a lot of freeboard and a walk-thru transom, a good alternative is to approach the ball stern-first, loop a dock line through the ball and then walk the line up to your bow.

I've never understood what the appeal of a mooring is. Unless you dive it you won't really know how well it's going to hold. At some time during the night, if there's no current or wind, your boat is going to rock up against the ball and begin to bang on it just softly enough to keep you awake. Give me a well-set anchor and a snubbed chain rode any day.

[RBEmerson]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

Anyone ever use that "easy" mooring hook thingie with the spring loaded lok? Think is called something like Grab and Go.

IMHO, yet another boat show ''better mouse trap''. A simple bronze boathook tip (from ABI, etc.) on a stout pole has a lot going for it when the going gets weird.

[RBEmerson]

Originally Posted by bashful

[...]I've never understood what the appeal of a mooring is. Unless you dive it you won't really know how well it's going to hold. At some time during the night, if there's no current or wind, your boat is going to rock up against the ball and begin to bang on it just softly enough to keep you awake. Give me a well-set anchor and a snubbed chain rode any day.

In some places, moorings have eaten up all the good anchorages (insert rant about greedy mooring people here!) and there just isn't much choice. For examples, look at Edgartown on Marthas Vinyard or Nantucket Harbor - the alternatives are very limited. Even in the Caribbean, some days they just plain have you by ...ah... the short and curlies. At least those moorings can usually be inspected on a simple dive. But, yeah, I'd rather ride to my own ground tackle and know what's holding us in place.

Originally Posted by bashful

If you've got a lot of freeboard and a walk-thru transom, a good alternative is to approach the ball stern-first, loop a dock line through the ball and then walk the line up to your bow.

Bravo!

It is so easy to assume that just because you tie up to the bow that ist he right place to pick up the mooring. Especially singlehanding, the sern or the quarter makes a lot more sense. The helmsman can see, the freeboard is lower, almost everything about it is easier.

The other assumption is that because "everybody does it that way" the bow pickup must be right....

Of course, if you are doing it under power, it requires you to have enough control over your boat that you don't wrap the prop with the mooring line.

Bill

[Badsanta]

you mentioned doing this single handed. Do all the above and add a step. Tie the line you are going to hook to the mooring, Tie one end to your port bow cleat loop the line around and over your bow rigging and lead the line aft to the cockpit. Approach the ball as described but stop when the ball is next to the cockpit lean over slip the running end to the mooring and tie it to your starboard stern cleat and now back down wind. Stop the boat and reposition the line to your stern bow cleat. You can do this from the side instead of trying to run to the bow by your self.

Planing and preparation is the thing. Stop somewhere clear of the field, rig your boat for the mooring, When ready then approach the ball and tie off.

[MarkJ]

There should be a World Standard mooring ball!

Every different place we go in to Nicolle yells from the pointy bit: "How do I pick this one up?"
Like I am some magician? How the hell should I know how these dills decide to stuff up the minds of bow-persons and skippers? Can I see 100 meters from the back of the boat and gaze underwater trying to outwitt a brainless twerp who is sitting on shore watching and laughing?
And the balls that stay in the water scratch the blazers outta the boat. Much better a hoistable one even if its crustation filled.

The ones with the sticks up whit a hook at the top holding the mooring line are good. At least someone has paid some money and thought out a good idea.


Mark

[Brent Swain]

I once had a line saw thru from leading it to both sides of the bow. I woke up on the beach.
I found it easiest to hit the mooring float on one side of the bow, let it slide down the topside and loop a line thru it when it reached the cockpit. Under sail it was easiest to drop all sail to windward and drift slowly downwind to the float.I took it foreward when the wind died , or if it didn't, I remained moored by the stern.
Powerboats make the neatest job of it when they pick it up from the swim grid,With a line led from the bow.
Brent

[Sandero]

If you pick up an unknown mooring use the painter to judge the holding strength. Not scientific, but it helps. It's not a good idea to NOT tie a proper knot when you secure to a mooring and trying to fashion a bridle without a knot will lead to chafing and eventually parting the line when you need it most - in a blow.

Moorings are often harder to deal with then an anchor (shorthanded) especially in a blow when the forced on the painter are enormous and untying a knot become virtually impossible. So you find yourself rigging a second line to take tension off the first which can be untied and then the second can be slipped (it's not tied).

Why not just do the anchor thing with a windlass of course? Then you know what's holding you.

[Curmudgeon]

I'll take a mooring any day. Even the smallest mooring has a 100 lb mushroom and it has had plenty of time to set.

[Brent Swain]

Comming in at hull speed and useing the mooring to stop ypu wil et you know how good it is. If it breaks, you may have done the owner a favour, or it could be his boat hitting the beach in the night.
Brent

[Kanani]

Originally Posted by henkmeuzelaar

It's one thing to tie onto a properly maintained mooring. Even then, though, some mooring pennant eyes may show more wear and tear than you should be comfortable with and, after tying up temporarily you may want to get the dinghy out and/or your snorkel gear and tie directly to a section of the pennant appearing to be in prime condition. To tie off to the pennant between the eye and the mooring ball a number of good knots are available, including the sheet bend, the rolling hitch or the Prusik (e.g. by using a separate Spectra sling).

If the mooring you are eyeing happens to be in a questionable state of maintenance altogether, as is often in developing countries and other backwaters of the boating world, it sure pays to dive on it first and check out what it's tied to as well as the condition of the riser chain (don't even consider unknown moorings with rope risers). If both are in good condition, your best approach may be to fasten the biggest shackle to the riser chain that will fit through the links and then attach one of your own lines. In case you happen to have a strong snubber line with a properly spliced thimble plus chain hook, the thimble will often accommodate a mooring shackle (without even having to remove the hook).

Have fun

Flying Dutchman

I would never take a mooring (over-night) without diving on it.

I was teaching sailing to a Church group in the Hauraki Gulf in NZ. As I approached the exposed anchorage at Motopapu Island, the Island Manager told me to take the large mooring that was set-up for the tug that brings supplies to the island. He said, "No worries mate, that big tug has set out some big blows on that mooring.". I learned many years ago....when a Kiwi says, "No worries mate", it's time to be worried. (no offence to my Kiwi friends....I love you all).

I decided to put out my big Fortress anchor and about 100' of chain as a back-up. That night the wind blew 30kts right into the anchorage (which was open to the Gulf). It was black out and the anchorage was littered with submerged rocks, so I wasn't about to go to the other side of the island. At about 2:AM....(It's always 2:AM when the crap hits the fan), I checked the mooring line and it was slack. The thimble turned around in the splice, where the painter attaches to the chain and cut it through. Thankfully, we fell back on my anchor and it held. I paid out more rode and in the morning found myself about 20' off of a big rock.

In Hawaii, in the early 90's they put in about 150 moorings in Keehi Lagoon. I had been there, on my own mooring for a couple years without issue. They forced us onto these moorings. I watched them lay the moorings and found the concrete block to be adaquate but the chain was Chinese fence chain. About 6 months after I went on mine, I dove on it because there was a storm coming. I found the chain badly chafed and the pin was half way out of the shackle. They used steel cotter pins on the shackle bolt & nut and they corroded to nothing. About 10 boats broke away from their moorings that night.

I always check any mooring that I take. I even carry a 20' piece of 1/2" chain and large shackles, in case I find the mooring set-up to be inadaquate (which is about 50% of the time).

[lookoutnw]

What I don't like is the maintenance schedule on many balls I have seen. From City, to State, if you dive them you may figure that your anchoring skills need to be honed more. SOme of the chains are so bad, some balls do not say how much they can hold. I always figure on using a ball in conjuction with an anchor if it is uncrowded. If not, I anchor out. I know my gear, I don't know theirs. Chafe protection is a must and a no brainer in all anchoring, mooring and storm tactics. I got lots of redundancy here.

[Calling]

If the mooring ball belongs to you and you can do modifications, then have a look at a new device called Catcher Snatcher. There is a youtube video if you search "mooring auto pick up system". Apparently it catches your mooring pick up line unassisted. It's a DIY project so it doesn't cost much.