Ken,
Thanks for the information on the moorfast. It looks like a fascinating tool. Because a boat can drop back on the wind very quickly and exert an extraordinary amount of force, I would prefer to use a combination of solid hook temporarily snapped onto a boathook and then the moorfast. In other words, I would come up to the mooring ball with a heavy line attached to the boat on one end and to the solid hook on the other. I would connect the hook to the ring on the mooring ball and then pull the boathook free of the hook. At that point the boat is temporarily secure no matter how hard the boat pulls back (assuming, of course that the mooring ball will hold). Then and only then would I use the moorfast to thread a more permanent line to the ring on the ball. If you just use the moorfast by itself, you have to pull the end of the moorfast back to you, disconnect the line, and secure the line before the boat gets too much way on. I'm not sure I am that fast when the wind is up. Also, the illustration of the moorfast seems to indicate a rather small messenger line. That would be fine if the boat is already secured with a heavy line and you are just threading the heavy permanent line. But my boat displaces 32,000 lbs. and has considerable windage. It could easily snap a small messenger line before I could thread a more permanent line. So, sign me up for both tools, the hook temporarily held on the end of a boathook and a moorfast. The hook/boathook tool would make the initial connection quickly and safely. The moorfast would help finish the job because my deck is well above the mooring ball level and I don't relish hanging off the bow by my toes. Lee Huddleston s/v Truelove From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of The Ken Pearce Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2011 2:21 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Liveaboard] Picking up mooring One of these came with my boat when I bought it and I love it: http://www.moorfast.com/ They don't appear to be available in the USA... mine is a variation of this that fits into the end of my boat hook so you might check for boat hook ends or accessories at your local marine store and see what they have. I like this type because it passes a pilot line through the eye of the mooring bouy and the pilot line is tied to a larger mooring line. When you get ready to leave, all you have to do is untie one side of the bridle and then pull the line through, as opposed to laying on the deck, bruising your ribs and unhooking a carabiner. I have a bridle line with heavy vinyl tubing in the middle acting as anti-chafe. I like to approach the bouy from downwind so that the boat is pretty much stopped when I head forward to grab the bouy. If you're not close enough or can't get a good shot at it, go around again, be patient. Lots of bad things can happen when trying to pick up a bouy in windy or high-current conditions, ESPECIALLY when you're by yourself. Now this may sound overly cautious, but I speak from experience (self taught), depending on conditions, consider tethering yourself to the boat so you can't fall overboard or be dragged overboard thinking you have the bouy and can hold the boats momentum. Boats are heavy! Give yourself a way to get back onboard the boat if you do fall overboard, like putting down your boarding ladder. :) Other things I've experienced when using a mooring bouy... A bridle line that is too long can (and usually will) get itself tangled under the bouy and then the razor sharp barnacles will try to saw the line in half. Once the wind dies down in the evening, the bouy will float next to the boat and the big metal ring will tap tap tap against the bow and sound like a drum in the v-berth. I take a small line from the ring on on the bouy to the end of my bowsprit and prevent that from happening in advance. And the final piece of sage advice is of course, never trust your vessel's safety to a mooring bouy during a blow. Who knows how the bouy is attached, and to what?? I feel a bit better using a bouy that I know is maintained by a State Park system, but always keep that in mind when conditions get nasty. Fairwinds, Ken Pearce Bellingham, WA s/v Gryphon, Fisher 37
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