Recently (2015 season), the Keyport Yacht Club mooring field had a number of boats break free from their moorings, so last year they ordered an inspection of all moorings. Back when I purchased my (used) mooring, I thought I was buying something that was a permanent installation. Of course, they can fail... that's why boats break free.
Last spring (2016 season), I thought I had passed the inspection. Maybe there were two inspections, or perhaps there was a miscommunication, but I got the go ahead to put Seas The Day on the mooring and we had a fine season. So I was surprised last fall to find out mooring inspection reports were mailed - I had not received one, and even more surprised when I received the following report.
So clearly, I had to invest some money in a mooring.
After getting some quotes, I decided to stay with Dan from Brother's Diving (yes, Diver Dan) and after some weather delays, my mooring was placed yesterday. Here are some photos Dan supplied.
We start with a 500 lb pyramid anchor. These are the 2nd strongest type of mooring anchor (only the helix screws that screw into the seabed are stronger - they're MUCH more expensive). Any lateral force tips this over and the sharp edges dig right into the mud underneath Seas The Day's home.
A length of heavy chain (right) is connected to the pyramid with some shackles (visible above) and the heavy chain is connected to some lighter chain by some shackles and a swivel.
At the end are two Dyneema (rope) pendants that hook onto our bow cleats. Each fall when they winterize our mooring, they save the best pendant from the year before (the dirty one on top left) and we're required to get one new one (clean one on bottom left) each season.
This year we also got a new mooring ball. We switched to a newer style that has only recently been allowed at KYC. This ball will stay in the water and the pendants (shown above with their swimming noodles - to keep the ropes from chafing on the mooring ball) will simply be picked up and placed on our cleats.
Dan (pictured below with his helper) also supplied a photo with is all nicely laid out on his rig (at the top of this post). Finally you can see 3 of the pickup sticks (the white with red stripe is mine - I think) which hold the pendants ready to simply pick up as we approach the mooring.
So here's a diagram borrowed from Chapman. We have a pyramid instead of a mushroom anchor, but the rest is the same. On a typical day, the heavy chain resting on the bottom pretty much holds Seas The Day in place. The chain length is several times the deepest we expect the water to get. So the mooring allows for a lot of movement while keeping Seas The Day in place. If the wind gets strong, then everything slides and the edge of the pyramid digs in to keep us in place.
There's a lot I like about being moored (instead of staying at a slip). The disadvantage is one of convenience... we don't have power hookups (extension cord would be too expensive) and Vicky misses having water right there to clean the boat with (we have to go to the KYC dock to fill up our water tank). An advantage is the mooring results in Seas The Day always pointing into the wind - even small breezes will swing her around, so you always have a breeze coming in the front hatch.
The big advantage to me is one of security. The marinas in our area don't really have good dock security (gates, etc.) and even when we stay at a place like Liberty Landing, I'm aware that pretty much anyone can just step aboard Seas The Day. On a mooring, a significant amount of water separates you from the casual passer-by. (And we have KYC launch operators keeping an eye on things.)
Finally is the issue of privacy... in a marina you're right on top of your neighbors so you hear everyone quite clearly (if I sneeze, I get a "God bless you!" from the boat next door). Here on a mooring, I'm separated from neighbors by a fair amount of space so the boats can swing around on our mooring.
So now that the mooring is in place, we have to wait for another weather system to pass and they will launch us!
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