Picking up mooring buoys

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Another post with reference to Bankes Arms buoys in Studland Bay, but also on picking up buoys in general. The BA ones have a label (ignored by almost everyone ) indicating in pictorial form that mooring lines should be lassooed around the buoy rather than passed through the pick up ring. I followed this advice last week, and indeed have successfully lassooed buoys elsewhere. It seems to me that the many posts on the forum about the best boat hook/device/pick up technique are left redundant if you simply lassoo the buoy with your mooring line, allow the line to sink below the buoy and then make fast over the bow roller. I can't think of any circumstances in which the line could work its way over the top of the buoy, or am I being dangerously naive here?

Thanks to all
Martin
 
...I can't think of any circumstances in which the line could work its way over the top of the buoy, or am I being dangerously naive here...
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Probably not, but you're perhaps at risk of the mooring line being frayed through if there's any unseen sharp edges below the buoy. I remember once lassoing a buoy whilst on a sail training boat in the Solent, which wedged/jambed onto the buoy or more probably its ground chain - we were forced to cut it away.

Perhaps after lassoing the buoy as a temporary measure, you could then secure a seperate line through the buoy's eye before removing your lasso loop.
 
The ring and attachment on the buoy is designed to take the strain - a line round the buoy will stress the buoy in a weaker area, and as BobnLesley says, may fray your line on the chain. So some harbourmasters will not like to you to stay on the lasso. Also if you make a round turn through the ring your own line will chafe less.
 
Yes of course its just temporary!

And lassoing far easier than any gadget, it's what I do every time.

My wife will successfully lasso a mooring buoy, or marina cleat, as long as I get her within about 10 ft of her target. You then pull yourself in and sort yourself out at leisure

You know that hopeless "pass the rope through the ring" gadget you bought at the boatshow? It's useless because the buoy moves away when you try and make it work, but you can even dust it off and use it to put the permanent line on the buoy (which is held steady by your lassoo) if you have high topsides.
 
A lassoo is useful for pickup as you say; but you should not leave that as your only line. Securing a line to the ring on top of the bouy ( if there is one ) is the right thing to do. Prolonged pressure from under the bouy with a lassoo places stress and wear on the bouy and your line. Furthermore a lassoo can unwind itself as the yacht swings to the tide. I know of instances where that has happened in the middle of the night!. So, lassoo only until you secure a line where it meant meant to go. I would also advocate taking the lassoo off at that stage - it can get itself into a jamming turn all too easily. I agree with the earlier replies by the way. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
Our mooring gadget works every time, at least on a mooring buoy. If it came to a choice between ditching me or the gadget, SWMBO might not choose me.... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

But she can lasso as well, so maybe I will survive.
 
You elicit a posting on my lastest plan. Many of our East coast moorings have a hard-to-penetrate rope loop, or a difficult to reach ring. Often we're all but successful but fail in the fumbling attempt to stuff a flaccid warp in the hole.

I'm contemplating dipping the end of a warp in epoxy to create a rigid end to shove into difficult mooring eyes.

Will it work?
 
The point about the Bankes Arms buoys is that they are marked with a sign indicating that lassoing is the way to moor up to them, which suggests (a) that the ring on top is not designed to take the load, and is only there to hook on to initially, and (b) that the underside of the buoy is designed so that the lassooed line will not chafe, snag etc.
But your replies lead me to think that with other (more conventional) types of buoy I will adopt the technique of lassoing initially and then securing to the loop at my leisure. Never did like boathooks...
 
Lassoeing is a great technique but someone wrote to the RYA recently to complain that it was being taught as some buoys have a solid chain and loop through the centre but the float is lightweight polystyrene or similar and were often ripped off by larger boats so caution is required if relying on a lassoe for a longer period. I wouldn't trust a lassoe overnight unless perhaps you wrapped it around twice. Having said that i was puzzled by the Bankes arms buoys which contadicted that. I can only guess that the pick up ring doesn't go right through to the main mooring...
 
I have had a lot of problems with mooring buoys being destroyed by sailing schools using them for lasso practice. I think if the line does not get below the buoy, it rips the bottom out of the buoy, particularly as my mooring is in a bit of current. Norfloat etc won't honour their guarantee in these circumstances, which I can understand. I'd be interested to know who makes the buoys at studland?
I'm all for people borrowing my mooring when it's vacant, but I'd like it in one piece!
Lassoing is ok if done properly, but getting it wrong can do damage, particularly in current or if the buoy is carrying a heavy riser at HW.
Far better to put the buoy alongside the cockpit and then drop back on a line imho.
Be warned, if you lasso a buoy in Portsmouth it may have a rope cutter or other countermeasures!!! Where can I buy really nasty tar?
 
A fair point. I have nothing against anchoring, but in the case of Studland the kids like to be able to swim ashore to Joe's beach cafe, and the BA buoys are well placed for this. Having said that, I noticed a Westerly anchored even closer in and plan to emulate this next time (the joys of twin keels....)

M
 
Martin,
I am afraid you are being dangerously naive.
Taught by a sailing school I used to be keen on lasooing bouys.
But thankfully I was taught to use it only as a temporary measure.
I stopped for lunch, lasooed the bouy, fed my face and was having a post lunch coffee when I realised that I was slowly drifting across the harbour.
The tide had turned, and I had drifted up to and beyond the bouy releasing the slack lasoo as I passed.
Spilled the coffee as I fended off another boat.
Lesson learned !
 
[ QUOTE ]
The point about the Bankes Arms buoys is that they are marked with a sign indicating that lassoing is the way to moor up to them, which suggests (a) that the ring on top is not designed to take the load, and is only there to hook on to initially, and (b) that the underside of the buoy is designed so that the lassooed line will not chafe, snag etc.
But your replies lead me to think that with other (more conventional) types of buoy I will adopt the technique of lassoing initially and then securing to the loop at my leisure. Never did like boathooks...

[/ QUOTE ]

Depends on the buoy. Those with a rod through the middle arent reliable enough and you should always tie to the chain below if you are stopping for a while. And that advice came from Plastimo who sell them.. On the other hand the Hippo type where the mooring chain goes through the middle of the buoy in once piece are reliable and you're OK tieing to the top fitting.

Lassoing is definitely a good way of picking up the buoy in the first place but not for a stay. You risk damaging the buoy, rope fraying on rust, barnacles etc not to mention drifting loose unless you haul the buoy half way up your bow.
 
However you attach a rope to a buoy there is always some risk of chafe causing the rope to fail. Some years ago we had two cases of this hapenning in Braye Harbour Alderney and in each case a person died. Dart Harbour insists that boats are attached to it's Buoys by chain. This solves one problem but causes another; noise at night. This is relatively easily dealt with though.
If you insist on using rope then you can reduce the chances of failure by using some form of closable hook with the rope attached to it using a hard eye and a very good splice.
An even better idea is to use a long 80 - 130 cm. Scandinavian buoy hook with a closable hook at one end and a loop for the rope at the other. It makes catching the buoy much easier, particularly with a high sided boat. Like all methods its best used from amidships.
 
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