laying own mooring groundtackle

[gtuson]

Have possibiity of tidal mooring in Langstone harbour for 36ft/9ton bilgekeeler..but have to lay own groundtackle. Harbour authority too busy to do for me. Never done it myself before. Anyone know of a company/person in area who might do it for reasonable price? Have a go myself? Harbour master has specification which has to be followed...dont know what it is yet.

 

[Lakesailor]

Try a search as there have been quite a few moorings threads.
But first. Check with your insurance. They will likely require it's done professionally (which usually means they want to move claims over to someone else's insurance)

 

[capt_courageous]

Hi
Try getting in touch with Tudor Sailing Club in Langstone Harbour. They have moorings at the top of the harbour and should be able to help. They have a website - see Google.

 

[William_H]

Yes do it yourself. You may need to get to the bottom weights so a drying or shallow mooring place is easiest.
The weights should be anything you can get cheap and you can manhandle or get moved to location. Concrete cast blocks are an option not the best but DIY. Fill old tractor tyres with concrete. But railway wheels gear wheeels etc are favoured. Best is a kind of fishermans anchor with one fluke and small or no stock fabricated out of heavy steel railway line) The fluke can be set into the mud and the shaft has chain attached. You will need at least 2 but best is 4. The very best is oversized anchors of any type. If you limit yourself to say 100kg max of weight that you can carry /move then you will need several weights chained together and layed out in various oposing directions. Particular up and down tide and up and down wind. Each is chained together to join in the centre of the mooring position from whence a riser chain goes up to the buoy. It is important however to fit one or more swivel shackles in the chain to enable the the boat to rotate without twisting the chain. All shackles should be moused lockwired and as big as possible.
The chain especially at the bottom needs to be as heavy as you can find. it provides the mooring power but also wears with movement. The chains to each weight are not so critical as they won't move so much but the riser is the chain having all the weight and will wear rapidly. Hopefully you can find old inch chain (the thickness of the steel in the links) it doesn't have to be galvanised or new. Well worn really heavy chain is OK. It is the metal left on the wearing surfaces that matter. (between links)
If it is a drying mooring you need to make sure that all the hardware is flush with the mud surface so that nothing can damage the boat should it settle on the weights etc. Lastly it may be worth scouting around the area as often weights are left unused. You can run a chain quite a long way from another mass to your position so providing one of your weights. The distance between weights is not citical at least 3 metres and as far as you have chain to connect.
Be prepared to get dirty. It may be worth investing in a wet suit and scuba tank if it is a deep mooring. Just look around take your time and ask lots of questions. Of course if your insurance company or water authority have formed a closed shop requiring proffessionals to do the job this may give you some ideas when asking questions. olewill

 

[kds]

If the mooring is in mud, you need nothing like as big as a tractor tyre - our club has used car tyres full of concrete for generations, but does rely on them sinking into several feet of mud. These hold even in Bristol Channel tides. You would need heavy lifting gear and a mooring barge to move and lay anything heavier.
Ken

 

[neil_s]

Eric Hiscock quotes 50 lb for every tonTM of the boat for the mooring clump. My self help friendly boatyard thinks that that is a bit light, though. 1/4 ton for up to 30 ft boat length was mentioned, with about half the riser in 1 1/4 in chain and the rest in 3/8 in. The mooring clump should also have a large flat base so that it can 'glue' itself down to the mud. It is also best to dig it in to give it a head start if you intend to use it straight away.

I am presently making up tackle for my mooring site next door to you in Chi harbour.

Cheers! Neil

 

[hylass]

I will suggest two solutions:

1°) -The first one: a bloc of concrete. For your 36’ / 9 tons boat you need at least a bloc of 1800 kg (0. 72 m3) a 10 mm chain or 18 mm rope . (The 1800 kg bloc of concrete can be split in two x 900 kg or 3x 600 kg attached by the biggest chain you can find)

2°) A Permanent mooring anchor SKREW SEE HERE

 

[KREW2]

Concrete is not ideal, the reasons are given on this link, along with a lot of good tips. You must bear in mind this is only a guide, and local conditions to you may require something different.
http://www.ccsc1.f9.co.uk/