What is a trot mooring ???

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AlistairM

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PLease excuse my ignorance. I have seen many of these advertised at various clubs etc. They often appear to be the least exspensive alternative.

There is probably a good reason for this, could some one please explain;

What they are exactly
and the pros and cons of them.

Sorry to be so novicy

Thanks
 
Bow and stern moored to a bouy....as far as I am aware...as opposed to a swinging mooring. Usually used in strong tidal streams or where there is limited space.

Sometimes shared, you will have two boats beside each other, so maybe thats why they are cheaper? No better or worse than a swinging mooring really.
 
Fore and aft between posts or buoys in a continuous line. Pros - you get a lot of moorings in a given space. Cons - you can't get between moored boats, they can be awkward to pick up particularly if wind or tide are across the moorings and there can be chafe damage to mooring lines and boat on, for example, a transom mounted rudder.
 
I'd post a picture for you but photobucket is down for maintenance! If you do a google you will see plenty of pictures - or someone else will help out soon.

A trot mooring basically consists of a securly anchored line/chain terminating at the surface in a small buoy. By way of rope and some fancy helmsmenship you attach your craft to said buoy.
Trot moorings are cheaper - but you will have to have some means of getting out to your boat - either club ferry or by means of your tender and then transfer to your boat. The trot moorings are often in harbours or out of the main channel on rivers - places like the River Orwell are teeming with moorings like this.
Personally I prefer something solid to tie up against, with a water point not far away and a shore power supply too!!

Hope this helps.

I'll post a photo for you later.
 
Pile mooring is similar to a trot mooring, i.e. you tie up fore and aft, but to piles instead of buoys.
A pile...... can be a steel pipe or square wooden post driven into the ground
 
untitled.jpg

As promissed - sorry the pic's a bit small..
 
While trots are being discussed can I ask a question? Are they suitable for mooring where there is a very strong tide say up to 4 knots? and if ok do they cause problems when stern on to the tide?
 
[ QUOTE ]
Most moorings consist of a ground chain attached to a heavy object that is buried in the sea bed or to anchors at either end, on some moorings this weight could be a block of concrete or old engine block. The moorings may be individual or on a "trot", that is a line of moorings attached to a long heavy chain on the bottom.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's how I understood it. The ground chain is common to many moorings. Source http://www.sailtrain.co.uk/anchoring/buoy.htm
 
I've not seen trots in a strong tide - but then I've not seen many trots - we do have strong wind against tide in our stretch of chi harbour - and the best bit of advice I can offer is to tie off the tiller - we put it amidships, others put it hard over one way - either way, as long as it can't bang around it will stop the boat from swinging around so much and prevent damage to the end stops for the tiller.
 
Certainly a swing mooring is far better than a trot mooring. The problem being a swing mooring needs a huge amaount of free water to permit the boat to swing. Basically a circle the radius of the distance stern of the boat to the anchor. As you can imagine this is not possible in crowded areas.
A swing mooring means the boats bow is always facing the strongest of wind or tide. Tethered by the bow presents the less resistance to wind or tide and so less strain on the ropes and boat fittings. It also makes the cockpit quite sheltered from the wind.
I am fortunate to have a swing mooring with very little tide. This means that I can easily rig and hoist sails and sail off the mooring and sail back to the mooring then pull sails down. Yes I need a dinghy to get to the boat but I don't need a motor.

A boat tethered bow and stern with the wind off one side or stern is a terrible situation where you can't hoiist sails and the boat is constantly trying to swing to the wind but can't. good luck finding a mooring...olewill
 
Oh dear oh dear...

Misinformation Superhighway strikes again.

Trot in this context (ie from the dictionary) means a succession .

Moorings on the 'trots' means you are one of a succession - or line - of boats.

They could be a line of individual swinging moorings, either with individual sinkers or a heavy chain sinker with risers spaced for each boat accordingly.

Or they could be arranged as fore and aft moorings - that is two risers per boat, one for each end. that reduces swing and means a few more boats can be fitted in a given space, just makes mooring particularly, and departing a bit more of a faff.

They could even be piles, though piles never seem to be refered to as trots, but as piles!
 
Trot moorings are usually assumed to be a buoy at each end of boat and you moor fore - aft between.

In fact a trot mooring can be single point mooring or the above two point mooring.

A trot is a series or line of moorings ....

Therefore you could have a heavy long ground chain held by sinkers at intervals and riser mooring chains coming of that ... it may be that a single riser to a boat or a riser at each end of boat....

In one club I was in - they actually laid out ground chains interconnected like a grid pattern with fore-aft risers coming of ... it meant that a greater number of boats could moor up in that small harbour than otherwise possible.

I would suggest that a boat lie with bow towards strongest prevailing current / wind as normally found at that location.

Anyway - if its a mooring in a designated area - then it has to conform with Harbour Masters requirements - irrespective of who lays it ... so contact HM and get a copy of his specs ... then check that any mooring you are offered conforms ... (note that each HM has his own dependent on tide rise / weather and openness of harbour etc.)
 
Moorings - A definative guide

Swinging mooring>
Swinging.jpg


Trot moorings>
trots.jpg


Trot moorings on a river>
Trots_02.jpg


Boats rafted on trot moorings>
Trots_rafted.jpg


Pile moorings with some trots in foreground>
piles_and_trots.jpg


Boats rafted on pile moorings>
Piles_rafted.jpg


Fore and aft morings>
Fore_and_aft.jpg
 
Re: Moorings - A definative guide

If you ask a mooring contractor to set up a pile of trot moorings you would end up with the 3rd photo down. One big bit of chain in a line with risers off that. The risers can run 'along' the line of chain or sometimes at right angles between 2 lines of chain. On the odd occasion big weights all in a line with 2 risers off each (to stern of one boat and bow of other behind).

Piles in a line are called pile moorings.

For n Aft moorings are a bit like Trots with a riser off each end of the boat but each riser goes to its own weight and the whole mooring is stand alone.

Swing moorings are boat and weight with something in between i.e 1/2 a Fore n Aft mooring and stand alone.

Thats what you'd get if you asked us anyway.
 
Our club rules are ,that you cannot sail off our club moorings, you have to use your engine to leave ,then sails up. USC Upnor.
 
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