Mooring virgin needs help!

[JBofBideford]

I’ve just been to a chandler who deals in second-hand stuff, and I bought a newish looking 10” diameter mooring buoy with a large ring on the top (presumably to enable you to grab it on return to the mooring), and a small ring on the bottom. Near the small ring there’s a white plastic screw-in plug, presumably to re-inflate it, but there’s no valve inside. My question is, is it supposed to be inflated, or just sealed at atmospheric pressure? If the first, how do you insert the plug after pressurising it without losing the pressure? Sorry if this is too elementary for most of you, but I need to learn from somewhere.
John

 

[Trevor_swfyc]

Buyer Beware

Buying second hand an item which you have little knowledge of is always a risk.
The inflation point should have a valve in it, as you point out how else can you blow it up and put back the cap.
It is also usual for this inflation valve to be on the top of the buoy rather than be on the underside submerged in the water.
Also this buoy sounds to small to be a mooring buoy sounds more like a pickup buoy. Which would be attached to a larger mooring buoy which either has the riser chain pass through it or it will have a metal rod with an upper ring which is part of the rod and a lower ring which is held on by a nut. The buoy would have a line attached which you pick up and cleat off to the bow cleat.
If you do use a small buoy it may not support the mooring chain and at high tide it will drag under and be a hazard to navigation.
It would probably be a good thing to get somebody you know give an opinion as its difficult without having sight of the buoy.
All the best
Trevor

 

[LadyInBed]

Re: Vigin buoy

This type of valve has a plastic ‘flap’ type end. Imagine the applicator nozzle from a mastic cartridge with a slit cut in the pointy end.
Yes the buoy is supposed to be inflated, but only slightly above ambient pressure.
As Trevor says, 10” diameter sounds more like a pickup than a mooring buoy.

 

[VMALLOWS]

Re: Vigin buoy

It sounds like the sort of pick-up used on shallow (half tide) moorings where the entire chain lies on the sea bed with a rope to the bouy just long enough to allow it to float at high water. Its rather large for a pick-up to the sort of mooring that has a large float that supports a riser chain.
I have two; one was a present and one found on the beach which serve as useful additional fenders.

 

[JBofBideford]

Yes, it's a pick up buoy - found one in a catalogue. Everyone else around here uses them on half tide moorings. Mine is for an 18 foot open boat, and the buoy would seem to be big enough judging by others. Thanks for your help - maybe I need to go back where I bought it for help or exchange!
John

 

[Ralph]

I bought a couple of mooring buoys at the weekend at a jumble. They were new and have a large metal rod going through the middle of the buoy with a ring at the top and bottom. To the bottom ring you attach the chain to the sinker and to the to the line to you boat. Near the end of that line you tie a pick up buoy which tends to have a moulded handle on the top and a stub with a hole at the bottom to attach it to the mooring rope. You pick the buoy up my the handle with your boat hook and drag the mooring line inboard to attach to a cleat. The pick up buoy doesn't need to be very big as it only has to float a small legnth of line but mooring buoy has to be able to float with typically (on a drying mooring) 15 metres of 5/16" chain dragging it down. When you take the plug out of a buoy it doesn't appear to have a valve but there should be a form of one way valve in there. One of the buoys I bought at the weekend has already gone down. :-((