Mooring The anatomy of a mooring


A mooring is a permanent attachment to the seabed. It may take the form of two or more heavy anchors interconnected by massive chain, or it may be a single large block, often of concrete. It connects to the surface via a ‘riser’ of chain or nylon attached at its upper end to a buoy. Boats moor up either by securing to the buoy if it is designed for this purpose, or by picking up and lying to a strop attached to the riser. This is usually attached immediately below the buoy. If no strop is evident and the buoy has a ring on top, it is generally safe to secure to that. A strop is often evidenced by a small ‘pickup buoy’ with a plastic handle which can be grabbed with a boat hook. The pickup is attached to the strop with a light line. Do not attempt to put any weight on this. Pull it in until the strop itself is in hand, then lie to this if it appears to be adequate for your vessel. If you have reason to doubt the suitability of a mooring, assume the worst.


Picking up a mooring


The process Approach up-tide just as though coming alongside a berth. If there is no tide, come in up-wind; if the tide is weak and the wind strong, it may be necessary to make some sensible compromise. If in doubt, inspect the way other boats in the vicinity are lying. If there are no boats the situation might be less than crystal clear, but there is generally plenty of room for error.


If you see a pickup buoy, use the boat hook to grab the bight of light line that joins it to the mooring strop. This is far easier than trying to grapple the little buoy itself. When you have the pickup line in hand, use it to bring the strop aboard. This may be chain or rope, but either usually ends in a loop which you can drop over your foredeck mooring fitting. If it’s too short or the loop is inappropriate, pass a rope through it and make this fast instead. Securing to a mooring A mooring with no strop usually has a ring on top of the buoy. Grab this with the boat hook and secure it with a line led out through the bow roller or fairlead. You might pass the line as a slip rope if you’re not stopping long. The convenience of this both for picking up and letting go is obvious. The technique is also convenient if loads are high and you need to secure rapidly. Don’t be tempted to lie to a slip rope overnight, because there is nothing to stop the rope worrying at the ring and chafing. At best, your line will be weakened right in the middle. At worst, it will wear through and away you will go. The solution is to pass a slip initially then secure more permanently using a round turn and a long bowline. The slip can be left on as backup and the round turn takes out any tendency to chafe. You might expect that two half hitches would be recommended, but while this might be acceptable, the bowline has a couple of advantages: First, because the loop can be as long as you like, it can ride well clear of the buoy. Should a sea get up,


Pick-up buoy


Riser


Mooring line or stop Ground chain


84 | MANUAL OF SEAMANSHIP


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172