Preview: How to Make a Boat Mooring System – with Wayne Hamilton
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June 5, 2014
Email this Video to a FriendWayne Hamilton has spent his working life keeping boats secure against the elements in Searsport, Maine’s open harbor. In doing so, he has gained immense practical knowledge about how to construct effective, durable moorings. A mooring should never be a second thought – something as small as the right shackle can save your boat. Wayne shares his best practices for how to make a boat mooring system.
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20 Responses So Far to “How to Make a Boat Mooring System – with Wayne Hamilton”
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Claudia Dengler says:
Awesome detail! Just saved me hours of figuring. So practical and knowledgeable! Really appreciate it.
Chris Waters says:
We have a place on a large mountain lake in western Canada. It is a nightmare for mooring boats. Rocky bottom and shores and 50 degree slopes from shore to the 300 foot bottom.
We used to chase boats , with moorings attached, after storms. The system here changed all that. We have now put in 5 moorings with no more issues. We made 400 # pyramid anchors and self deployed them from a small raft which they were hung from. The only change we made was a shore tie. This gave the anchor time to dig in to the slope and not tumble in to the depths. I dove them in the spring and all were fully buried. Just the very top of the shaft was visible.
Michael Lehner says:
Wayne’s idea of using pipe insulation to make a floating pendant is brilliant! I have had exactly the problem he described several times, that of my mooring pendant in slack weather getting tangled with my mooring chain, and I was always worried about that. I immediately ordered his very inexpensive kit and am delighted by it.
Captain Nemo says:
I almost didn’t open this video, thinking, “I know how to rig a mooring – its not that hard”. Then I thought – “You know, the other videos were interesting – lets just see if this fellow can teach me something.” Well let me tell you brother — boy did he ever! This is what true professionalism is all about! Sure – the Hamilton rig is seriously over-engineered — but then what is your boat worth? I especially liked the figure-8 wire trick – I hadn’t thought of that before and I will use it from now on. I also liked how Mr. Hamilton suggested that you could use fire hose for chafing gear – which is what I prefer. He COULD have said “You need to use only our special products” but he was honest. That counts for something in my book. Another fine video.
Greg
Steve Bryant says:
Great Video. It’s a pleasure to listen to a Harbour Master as knowledge and conscience as Wayne Hamilton. Thank you
Andy Reaves says:
Excellent video.there truly is no substitute for experience.
Bill Madsen says:
I’d be interested in knowing what purpose, if any, the spoons at the top of some of the mushroom anchor stocks viewable in background have…
Fran Mcmillen says:
Additional weight to keep the mushroom laid over. Helps the heavy chain.
Edmund Woiszwillo says:
What a great video! No nonsense, right on about the subject at hand. I now have a greater respect for the divers who check on things down below. Thanks.
Steve Stone says:
Maynard had some big surprises this year when he had his moorings hauled and inspected. He’ll put together a blog on it. Seems incredible the amount of trust (or denial?) we place in these things that corrode and twist and kink and hockle doesn’t it?
Rick Van Valkenburg says:
What tape is used over the pipe insulation?
Steve Stone says:
Hi Rick. It’s an “electrical” type tape that Hamilton Marine sells in a kit with the insulation (check the size of pendant line for right kit). You could call them to determine the exact tape used. I just used this kit on a new mooring for the Caledonia Yawl. Seems to work great at keeping the pendent etc from tangling around the mooring buoy and swivel etc.
Fran Mcmillen says:
Vinyl electrical tape. One of the best uses for pipe wrap insulation ever!!
Gene Cohen says:
Great video! I learned a lot. At the Nyack Boat Club we are exposed in the Hudson River with little protection and strong tides so we appreciate the perspective.
We use 2 Pendants for redundancy – I noticed you only use one in the video – is there a reason for this?
Steve Stone says:
Hi Gene. Thanks for your note. Wayne did discuss the option of using different pendant setups for storms and/or heavy current areas, but we felt adding that discussion made this first video on the topic too confusing, so perhaps we’ll cover that at a later date.
Peter Marshall says:
Don’t forget the swivel! I made a mooring once with a 900# railroad wheel and axel with 1/2 long link chain in a quiet harbor and mud bottom, but I did not include a swivel. One calm night at low tide the ralph winslow ketch that was tied to it and spun around with the current cockling the chain and at high tide the boat lifted the mooring off of the bottom and drifted through the harbor….DON’T FORGET THE SWIVEL! great video thanks.
Tom Witter says:
Excellent! Very informative – in addition to reading about proper mooring set-ups in “Chapmans” and/or the “Annapolis Book of Seamanship”.
Stephen Frederico says:
Wayne Hamilton’s discussion of mooring engineering is the finest imaginable presentation on this topic. Bottom-up details, construction, demonstration and explanation – all trustworthy and proven.
Thanks
David Tew says:
+1!
Colin Sarsfield says:
What Stephen said is spot on. Top notch video and explanation on many points.