Swinging morring, or fore and aft ? Decision, decisions...

[sarabande]

Swinging mooring, or fore and aft ? Decision, decisions...

Following the QHM's re-organisation of mooring limits, the mooring association where I keep my boat is reducing mooring numbers and changing some from F&A to swingers.

I kept the boat in overwinter last year, and enjoyed a dozen visits on fine days. The river is tidal, c 3 knots at times.

As far as I can see, the pros and cons are as follows:

Fore and aft
No change to position under sheltering low cliff and trees
Monthly maintenance charge is double (?) that of a swinger
I don't like leaving the boat moored bows downstream on a flood tide
No change to existing mooring lines and winter chains
Boat held away from floats
Within rowing distance of the access quay



Change to Swinger
Some capital cost as sinker, riser and possibly buoy will be needed
It's inevitable that sometimes the boat will override the buoy
Easier leaving. None of the joining line hassle
Possibly easier making fast when single handed
Position may change to slightly less sheltered and more distant from quay
Cheaper (well, less expensive ) maintenance charge
Some loss of solar charging capacity



Assuming that the risk of failure of a single mooring laid by a very experienced contractor with a history of preventing 'escapees' is pretty near to nil, can anyone think of a compelling reason to stay F&A please ? Or give experiences good or bad for a single point mooring, please ?


thanks

 

[grumpy_o_g]

Following the QHM's re-organisation of mooring limits, the mooring association where I keep my boat is reducing mooring numbers and changing some from F&A to swingers.

I kept the boat in overwinter last year, and enjoyed a dozen visits on fine days. The river is tidal, c 3 knots at times.

As far as I can see, the pros and cons are as follows:

Fore and aft
No change to position under sheltering low cliff and trees
Monthly maintenance charge is double (?) that of a swinger
I don't like leaving the boat moored bows downstream on a flood tide
No change to existing mooring lines and winter chains
Boat held away from floats
Within rowing distance of the access quay



Change to Swinger
Some capital cost as sinker, riser and possibly buoy will be needed
It's inevitable that sometimes the boat will override the buoy
Easier leaving. None of the joining line hassle
Possibly easier making fast when single handed
Position may change to slightly less sheltered and more distant from quay
Cheaper (well, less expensive ) maintenance charge



Assuming that the risk of failure of a single mooring laid by a very experienced contractor with a history of preventing 'escapees' is pretty near to nil, can anyone think of a compelling reason to stay F&A please ? Or give experiences good or bad for a single point mooring, please ?


thanks

Swinging every time unless you think some of the other moorings are too close. The other real risk (which I define as something I've known happen, so isn't necessarily a good measure) is that something way bigger than you intended comes along and uses your mooring and does some damage - I don't think that's too common though. The boat riding over the buoy is inevitable occasionally but shouldn't cause a problem if you have the set up right. I used to work in yards in Burnham-on-Crouch as a teenager and there was little hassle from either the ground tackle or the gear if it was set up properly and maintained. There were some beautiful varnished Dragons laying on swinging moorings and they used to sail on and off with no damage. I still prefer moorings to marinas in places like Poole and even Christchurch some 40 odd years later. You get a lot more "marina rash" style damage than any other kind I reckon and the hassle of rowing out can be forgotten when can just sail on or off your mooring. Fore and aft trots just combine the hassle of getting in and out of a marina with hassle of rowing out to a mooring for me.

 

[mrming]

Agree with the above. Having used both in a tidal river it's swinging mooring every time for me. Fore and aft single-handed with a cross wind and the tide running hard is a lot of hassle. With a swinging mooring just copy the direction of the other boats and you're golden.

 

[lw395]

Swinging moorings can need a little bit of 'optimisation' to get the boat lying nicely if they are at all exposed.
Swivels can be a wind-up.
People are IMHO far more likely to 'borrow' a swinger.
The most significant problems we have had with swinging moorings are related to people, mostly sailing schools, lassoing them and damaging the buoys.
If the are has historically been trots, people won't know what they can get away with in terms of swinging room.
Some smaller boats may sit subtly bow-down if the buoy is tight to the bow roller. Weed on the bow and possibly even poor draining of the cockpit in extreme cases.
A boat on a swinger can be lively to board in a gale.
Being a bit further away and more exposed, you might want a better tender and/or outboard?
I'd choose a swinging mooring every time.

 

[rwoofer]

Not quite sure of the logic in the OP as FA allows more mooring spaces IMO.

FA are better for arranging solar charging. They are also less prone to accidental collisions from people threading their way through moorings. Otherwise advantages seem to be with swingers.

 

[MonniotC]

I've used swinging moorings in various parts of Chichester Harbour for several decades now. They are far and away the easiest moorings to leave and pick up single-handed.

 

[ghostlymoron]

I've had both and much prefer swingers. They are easy to pick up and leave whereas fore and afters have complications if the wind is from port or starboard. Also fore and afters put unfair strains on the boat if wind and tide are beam on. This can cause damage as I know to my cost.

 

[PetiteFleur]

As grumpy_o_g says earlier, there is a rare possibility of a much larger boat using your mooring and damaging/moving it. This happened to me over last winter when the boatyard informed me that my mooring had 'moved' over winter when we were ashore. They are pretty sure who did it but cannot prove it so I had to have my mooring re-laid which of course I had to pay for. I'm going to put a notice on it such as 'Maximum 10m yacht' or similar... This was on the River Deben on the East Coast.

 

[theoldsalt]

Contrary to popular opininion I much prefer F&A. I've spent a total of 20 years on F&A in a tidal river with no problems. Last season I borrowed a swinging mooring for just a few hours, with strong wind against a strong current. What hell. The boat kept surging upstream with the wind and the mooring chain wrapped around one of my bilge keels leaving me moored broadside. The chain would then clear the keel and the boat would fall back with the current only for the cycle to repeat. At the end of the season, when lifted for the winter, I discovered deep gouges made by that mooring chain in my epoxied underwater hull.
I shall definately avoid a swinging mooring in future under the same coditions.
F&A every time for me in a strong tidal river.

 

[KAL]

We've had both on the Dart and I would never want to go back to F&A. So much easier to arrive and depart, swing to the most powerful element, although that's mostly the tide, so I'm never too worried if there's a flood, as you're generally pointed towards any larger debris. Just less faff and hassle all round. Never found the buoy-riding to be an issue. You can always haul the mooring buoy up higher if you're worried.