Mooring aids - Swiftie, Bosco, Moorfast?

Don't know if you are time rich or money rich, but if the former and slightly practical, the handy duck looks like it could be self made from an aluminium screw gate climbing carabiner or other similar 'clips' and some cellotape to hold the carabiner to your current boat hook (with line attached of course)

There used to be a wooden boat hook and t'other side had a groove to hold a stainless steel carabiner type 'clip' that slid out of the groove. (Just like the ducky one, but older and stainless.

Just found them:

But at this price: http://www.seamarknunn.com/acatalog/kong-snap-on-mooring-hook-200mm-6100.html#.VNVRm52sWSo

I'd be buying a wide mouthed second hand climbing carabiner and cellotape.

$420 ?! give me strength.
http://www.greenboatstuff.com/dacobrgbo.html
 
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parsifal said:
The website is harder to use than the boathook!

I tried to find prices but couldn't. But I found some prices at:

http://www.outdoorgb.com/p/the_handy_duck_mooring_hook/

Not sure if they are the cheapest though.
Click to expand...

At that price (£13) even I would be tempted rather than my pbo method. I think I have used GB outdoors before and found them a good company.

edit that:
http://www.outdoorgb.com/p/the_handy_duck_mooring_hook/
£36 for the clip, £13 for the bit that attaches to your boat hook - in my position I'd be back to a £3 carabiner and a roll of cellotape.


Edit again:Their instructions seem to think one would use this for a long term attachment to mooring buoy:

Instructions for Use

Tie your mooring line onto the Handy Duck.
Fix the Handy Duck to the Handy Duck boat hook.
Attach the Handy Duck onto the mooring ring just by pulling it.
Release the Handy Duck from its boat hook with a sharp tug. Your boat is now securely moored.
To leave your mooring, simply slip your boat hook into the Handy Duck trigger and pull! Handy Duck will release the mooring ring.
Alternatively to slip your mooring from a distance, thread a light line through the trigger eye and pull.
The trigger mechanism can be locked with a cotter pin or padlock.

PASTIC?! I think most users would simply use it to pick up the mooring before securing boat properly, wouldn't they?
 
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Sailingsaves said:
Don't know if you are time rich or money rich, but if the former and slightly practical, the handy duck looks like it could be self made from an aluminium screw gate climbing carabiner or other similar 'clips' and some cellotape to hold the carabiner to your current boat hook (with line attached of course)

There used to be a wooden boat hook and t'other side had a groove to hold a stainless steel carabiner type 'clip' that slid out of the groove. (Just like the ducky one, but older and stainless.

Just found them:

But at this price: http://www.seamarknunn.com/acatalog/kong-snap-on-mooring-hook-200mm-6100.html#.VNVRm52sWSo
Click to expand...

I found the Seamark Nunn type on the boat when I bought her, and it must be 30+ years old but so simple that it still works after a good oiling. All you need if you don't need releaseability.
 
Not an entirely independent testimonial (we saw and tried Stork_III's Handy Duck before buying) and we have not used it a great deal yet, but when we have done we have found it very good to use. We use it for pick up only, and then secure in the normal way. The releaseability is very helpful to us; indeed, it is an important aspect of its convenience.
 
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We are not comparing like with like, are we?

The Handy Duck just clips you on. The robship threads the line through an eye, or under a cleat - much cleverer and more useful.

I've got a moorfast. It works, but every time I use it I think it's going to break (but it never does)
 
oldvarnish said:
We are not comparing like with like, are we?

The Handy Duck just clips you on. The robship threads the line through an eye, or under a cleat - much cleverer and more useful.

I've got a moorfast. It works, but every time I use it I think it's going to break (but it never does)
Click to expand...

I have a moorfast & a bosco both aquired from very nice local forumites. both work very well
 
The three main features of the Handy Duck are (1) it's very light, so easy to use when extended, (2) as soon as you clip on to something, it's completely secure, and (3) it releases easily under load.
 
We have had a Moorfast for the past ten years, it works well even in some quite nasty conditions....

Excellent customer service- they guarentee it for life and mean it- when the 'bar' broke for us it was immediately replaced with an entire new head! I agree that it looks fragile but experience proves that it is very robust ( our breakage was probably due to extended exposure to tropical sun).
 
YBW did a review of the Seamark Nunn style hook
http://marinedirectory.ybw.com/Mari...sumer/full_review.jsp?r_id=137&category_id=20
Personally I dont like the hook style, as once attached to the buoy, I would have trouble retrieving it as my bow is high and I can't reach the buoy eye.
Donkeys years ago I bought a plastic wishbone style buoy catcher, I cant remember its name. It has a nifty bar across the top that has a messenger line attached, you push the bar against the buoy eye, the wishbone snaps onto the eye then you pull and the line is through the eye so you have control of both ends of the line on the boat.

PS it's the Swifty 50, just found the link http://www.seaswiftproducts.com/
it has come on a bit since I bought mine!
I see it also goes under the name Mini Hooker
http://www.aspli.com/products/1915/mini-hooker-mooring-buoy-retriever-hook-cw-pole
 
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