Hook & Moor Boat Hook?

Ian_Edwards

Ian_Edwards

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Has anyone used the Robship Hook & Moor Boat Hook?

It was recommended in a recent thread, it seems to retail at around £130.

Before spending the money, I'd be interested to know if it works well on typical West Coast of Scotland mooring buoys, where there's no pick-up line and buoy, and the shackle is on it's side and usually corroded, so that it is difficult to pass a rope through with one of the simpler and cheaper mooring aids.

The video is quite convincing, but all the mooring eyes, shackles and cleats look in good condition, and don't represent much of the real world, or at least the bit I regularly see.
 
I have a very similar device which I bought from Salty John.
It works well because the snapshackle opens wide enough to clip onto the ring - unlike some.
 
I bought a mooring buoy grabber for about £20 which I put on the end of a deck broom handle which has worked really well. I don't ever use it for the initial grab of a bouy under load as I prefer to secure the boat with a lassoo first but can never reach down to a bouy even when lying on a deck so the grabber is great and means I can let the lassoo go much more quickly.

The other end of the old handle is even more useful as I've attached an upside down double coat hook to allow me to move the anchor chain around the locker as it comes about to avoid piling up and jamming the windlass.
 
Hook and Moor worked at treat on things like Loch Ranza buoys, which previous devices struggled with if at wrong angle. Great device and unlike the snap shackle types it threads the ropes so saves a lot of leaning over and threading ropes then removing clip if high topsides.

However jaws aren’t huge so a really big ex-Queen Mary shackle might be too big for it - which is when the very big snap shackle helps. We carry a snap shackle also, having both is best
 
Dunedin +1.

Ours was particularly useful at Canna. There where long streamers of kelp on the mooring buoys which prevented lassoing.

Regards,

John.
 
I bought one from Force4 a couple of years ago.

It does seem very well made. Oozes quality and when fully extended it seems to be just as strong.

I've demonstrated it no end of times and it always amazes... Unfortunately never yet used it in anger.

I wouldn't get one of the cheaper ones though, unless as a backup.
 
Martin_J said:
I bought one from Force4 a couple of years ago.

It does seem very well made. Oozes quality and when fully extended it seems to be just as strong.

I've demonstrated it no end of times and it always amazes... Unfortunately never yet used it in anger.

I wouldn't get one of the cheaper ones though, unless as a backup.
Click to expand...

I've used a cheapo one in anger many times and so far so good
 
The big advantage to having a cheaper version is that you'll not worry so much if it does go overboard...

And I'm sure we've all seen boat hooks go overboard...
 
That Robship looks the business but £130 .......!!!

I've been fortunate in not having had sufficient mooring debacles to justify that expenditure. :rolleyes:
 
Martin_J said:
The big advantage to having a cheaper version is that you'll not worry so much if it does go overboard...

And I'm sure we've all seen boat hooks go overboard...
Click to expand...

We have indeed :o

The one I really grieve over was a Simpson_lawrence 'Boatcrook' (now no longer made) that I had had for many years. I found out the hard way that it didn't float and it lies underneath Arzal-Camoel marina. I wasted a whole afternoon dragging the seabed with a grapnel in the hope of finding it but to no avail. :(
 
I have a Hook and Moor boathook, and it is a real quality piece of kit compared to the cheaper short plastic ones.

The last time I used it on a mooring that two other fully crewed yachts had failed to pick up, but I managed it on my second pass as I was singlehanded. Then the other two yachts moored alongside and were most impressed with the Hook and Moor but disliked the cost.

The reason I have a Hook and Moor is that I day sail with my Labrador. She wears a life jacket with a handle on the back, so if she goes overboard I can pass a rope through the handle and get her back onboard as there is no other way to get her back onboard. The 3 metre reach is a huge bonus compared to a normal length boat hook and would be the only way it would be possible to make a recovery.
 
dunedin said:
Hook and Moor worked at treat on things like Loch Ranza buoys, which previous devices struggled with if at wrong angle. Great device and unlike the snap shackle types it threads the ropes so saves a lot of leaning over and threading ropes then removing clip if high topsides.
Click to expand...

+1. Great bit of kit. Additionally when mine got a bit stiff I emailed the factory. The quick, comprehensive and explicit reply was signed off 'Inventor'!!! Worth every penny for me.
 
Ian_Edwards said:
Has anyone used the Robship Hook & Moor Boat Hook?

It was recommended in a recent thread, it seems to retail at around £130.

Before spending the money, I'd be interested to know if it works well on typical West Coast of Scotland mooring buoys, where there's no pick-up line and buoy, and the shackle is on it's side and usually corroded, so that it is difficult to pass a rope through with one of the simpler and cheaper mooring aids.

The video is quite convincing, but all the mooring eyes, shackles and cleats look in good condition, and don't represent much of the real world, or at least the bit I regularly see.
Click to expand...

Yes. Found after a while it requires periodic fresh-water washing & PTFE spray on the plastic roller bearings to keep it moving freely. Otherwise I was jabbing offensively (and quite dangerously for anyone standing behind me) at the stick to make it work.

Brilliant invention though. Get the 3m (telescopic) not 2m version unless the boat is small.

The other downside was that the aperture is small. This limits the range of bars or devices it’ll work on, and means you can need a frustratingly precise aim if you’re operating from a pitching foredeck.

Mine succumbed to Neptune’s magnetic grasp up a tidal river some moons ago. I hope someone enjoys it.

My preferred alternative is this: https://swi-tec.ch/en/anlegemanover.../mooring_buoy_hook-art_1031_standard_up_to_8t: see the video.
 
I use a http://www.wrino.com boat hook which I am very happy with. About £50 I think.

It grips a snap shackle or mooring line. I use it predominantly for a mid ships line which I hook over a cleat when mooring to pull us alongside the dock using the motor. That has vastly reduced the stress of mooring single handed, it almost looks like I am an expert to the gathered crowds who always seem to be there when I am mooring short handed.

On a mooring bouy I lasso it and use the boat hook to attach the snap shackle to the ring which works well except when the ring is too wide for the shackle.
 
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I use a http://www.wrino.com boat hook which I am very happy with. About £50 I think.

It grips a snap shackle or mooring line. I use it predominantly for a mid ships line which I hook over a cleat when mooring and motor against to pull us alongside th dock. On a mooring bouy I lasso it and use the hook to attach the snap shackle to the ring which works well except when the ring is too wide for the shackle.
 
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