lasso-ing moorings

[lw395]

Does anyone else suffer from this?
Is there anything you can do about it?

The problem is this: I have a swinging mooring in Portsmouth Harbour. It is sometimes vacant. Sailing school yacht use it to practice picking up, don't have a problem with that, except when they use the lasso method and damage the bottom of my inflatable mooring buoy. I do have a problem with that, it costs me about £150 plus labour twice in two years. Plus the risk of losing the mooring.

Why is damaging other people's gear on the RYA syllabus?
Should I fit a rope cutter to the bottom of my buoy?
Any other ideas for avoiding this problem?
Are there any soft buoys that are more oik-proof?
Chris

 

[bobgoode]

The problem is not using the lasso method to pick up the mooring, it's not securing correctly immediately afterwards.

Hope you actually catch one in the act...then you can deliver a well deserved bol*ocking.

 

[Sans Bateau]

Sorry, I dont understand, can you explain a little further, how can lassoing a bouy damage it?

 

[xstucker]

I don't know LW395's exact problem, but the one I had in Poole was people lasso-ing the mooring, then not immediately attaching properly and removing the lasso immediately. What I think happened was that the shackle on the bottom of the buoy jammed their lasso rope, having been there for some time, and then they had to try a few heavy-handed things to get it free. That's when they damaged the buoy where the inflatable part joins the eye. The second time it happened, it was clear that someone had been using a pole and hitting the part where they thought the rope was, as hard as they could. It resulted in the flange being cracked on my 4-week old buoy and the thing deflating very slowly. I think it's just an 'occupational hazard' when you have a mooring in a popolar spot, but it is a pain.

 

[lw395]

The buoy is a plastic inflatable type, either danmarine or norfloat. The sort with a rod through the middle and a metal ring on top. If the lassoing rope goes around the plastic part, near the bottom, and then a lot of force is applied, as can easily happen with a 35 foot yacht in a significant current (and chop), then the plastic is damaged.
Or is there some other mechanism for these buoys failing near the bottom? The material is pretty tough and thick.
The mooring is quite exposed, and I don't want a rigid buoy that will knock against the hull.
Chris

 

[Searush]

I suspect that they tie off the lasso directly which will put excessive strain on the plastic loop on the bottom of the buoy. Send complaint, with invoice for repairs to sailing school. or offer to rent its use to them. Or suggest that they replace your buoy with one that has a metal rod thro' it shackled to the riser.

Very poor seamanship to teach newbies. After lassoing, one should make fast to the riser or other suitable strong point.

 

[Sans Bateau]

mmm

I can see the problem if the lasso goes around the pick up buoy (that is what your suggesting isn't it?) but lassoing then 'just letting go' which the sailing schools are going to be doing shouldn't cause a problem. Of course anyone who lassos a buoy for the night then fails to attach a secure warp to the riser is totally incompetent, IMO.

 

[Sy-Revolution]

[ QUOTE ]
Why is damaging other people's gear on the RYA syllabus?

[/ QUOTE ]
Hi All,
I was told last year by an eminent RYA instructor (East coast) that lassoing was now not supported by the RYA and he refuses to teach it.........

 

[Billjratt]

We have people who have made up special Lasso gear with a meter of chain in the middle to give weight for the throw and stop chafe on the rope - transfer it to the buoy!! but no-one lies to that - I hope. This seems a wee bit like the company car - if you don't own it - abuse it. One of our club members has a mooring in a popular local area. We know who pays, we use with respect, and are greatful when it's blowing a hooley.
Ideally,if you're going to pick up a mooring, you should have contributed one to "the pot" and be aware of the cost and anguish of others using yours. just a thought.

 

[William_H]

It seems to me that lassoing an inflatable buoy is simply vandalism. The buoy is not made to take any load except to support the chain in the designed way. Take action accordingly.

Around here the moorings are licenced by the river authority which is state government. There are stated, fine penalties for using any mooring for any purpose except mooring the boat which is registered to that mooring. Mind you people still do. I think a phone call of complaint could see action fairly quickly. Fortunately the authority have provided a few picnic moorings for short term stopping where it is OK to hook on. These do however provide long floating warps permanently correctly fixed to the mooring. olewill

 

[Gunfleet]

I know it's a pain, but if you fit a pick up bouy perhaps they'll use another method. It's the high topsides of modern boats and a bit of ignorance that causes it. I single hand onto bouys from the cockpit with a line from the bow. Once it's tied on you can adjust.

 

[toad]

Lassoing a inflatable buoy should never be necessary as they have large rings on top to hook on to, but it is something that needs to be taught (on appropriate hippo type buoys ) as a method of last resort. Two times this year i have lassoed a visitors buoy of the hippo type with just a small shackle on top in a cross wind when single handed, once in Qweenbrough and once outside the tide-mill on the Deben. Considering these are laid by the Harbour master or marina as visitors moorings why do they not put strops on them.

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

[ QUOTE ]
Around here the moorings are licenced by the river authority which is state government. There are stated, fine penalties for using any mooring for any purpose except mooring the boat which is registered to that mooring.

[/ QUOTE ]Thats completely different to the UK (and a bit sad IMHO), where it is accepted practice that a buoy might be 'borrowed' if the owner is away.... and i'd strongly argue for that to remain the case.... its a system that generally works very well...

It doesn't however excuse poor treatment of the mooring.

 

[ditchcrawler]

I have a length of chain with rope each side for lassooing & have used it twice when mooring to a buoy in rough conditions.Once secured I fix a permanent line & take it off.I was taught never to leave it on as it may chafe a riser.

 

[Piddy]

There are a number of training boats operating in Portsmouth Harbour that are quite unpopular with Gosport Boat yard as they have a habit of hanging on to the pick up buoys with a rope passed through the handle.
After a few minutes in a breeze the buoys are stretched out lengthways and eventually split so when the unfortuante tenant of that mooring returns, they find the pick up under water with the strop and have to lasso the buoy to try and sort it out.
That's not so easy with the big moorings as the strops are heavy and sink a long way down.

And yes, it's happened to me!

Cheers

 

[davies]

Doing damage in this way simply isn't acceptable. However, I can't see that there is anything unseamanlike about lassoing provided that the lasso is replaced by a proper attachment as soon as the mooring is secure. Lassoing isn't a universal solution - it doesn't work well for cylindrical moorings (eg Braye) as the top ring leans away from you as you pull in the lasso. A lasso weighted with a short length of chain is more controllable in high wind - I have such a chain ready-covered with a thick polythene tube to avoid damaging the mooring or the riser. Needless to say, this comes off as soon as I can secure the mooring with a warp.

 

[lw395]

So in general, this kind of damage is rare?
Perhaps there is something about the size of buoy/weight of chain/location that makes my buoy vulnerable.
It's a shame because the boat sits really nicely on her mooring, not jerking or snatching on the chain etc, when other boats are rattling about a bit! I moor the bow up short to the bow roller, which is also good in wind over tide.
BTW I leave a strop on the buoy which people are welcome to use in the intended manner, so long as they are happy to evaporate if I return.
Thanks for your thoughts,
Chris

 

[Billjratt]

Photograph, name and shame the trainers. They are perpetuating the problem by instilling the method to new users. The school should be charged for damage, with an extra levvy per pupil.