Mooring question

sogood

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 11, 2016
Messages
361
In plain English if possible , what would the recommend length be for a mooring pennant . I'm talking specifically about the mooring line from the boat to the actual mooring buoy and would apply to my 25' Wellcraft Sportsman. Either with or without a pick up buoy. I would be mooring on a single line from the bow with a swinging mooring , with plenty of room to rotate around the actual buoy.
Thanks in advance.
 

tpenfield

Moderator
Staff member
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Jul 18, 2011
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17,624
30 degrees would be about 2X the height of the deck above the water.
 

Lou C

Supreme Mariner
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Nov 10, 2002
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11,802
On a boat that size I might suggest 2 lines to the bow, one on each fwd cleat....in case a storm pops up...
 

sogood

Petty Officer 1st Class
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May 11, 2016
Messages
361
I never thought about mooring a boat using the cleats. I have two smaller cleats, either side of the bow on the gunwale and a larger on up on the bow itself. Would have thought, from what I've seen, that the mooring would always attach to the towing eye? To this end, I attached a larger reinforced eye further up the prow, as the original eye would be almost at the waterline when the boat is in the water. This is the fixing I would intend to use for mooring. By mooring, I mean the permanent mooring when the boat is out in the harbour, as opposed to being at a wall or dock.

​I also read about using two mooring lines, with one being a little longer than the other, so that they wouldn't both wear at the same rate and presumably, possibly fail at the same time. If the shorter one fails, the longer one takes over and gives you some warning. Just what I read somewhere.
 

tpenfield

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I use the cleats . . . can't reach the bow eye from the deck
 

Lou C

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Nov 10, 2002
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11,802
I asked the guy who runs our boat yard and he said to use the cleats, I'm not sure if the towing eye is not intended for those loads, or what but I and most other people who moor in our harbor use cleats. It would be nice to know the real reason though.
 

b.gagnon

Master Chief Petty Officer
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Apr 28, 2001
Messages
835
For pendant length you need to look up the regulations for your area . Where my boat is moored the Harbormaster requires 2.5X the distance from the waterline.
 

shrew

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Dec 29, 2006
Messages
1,309
I never thought about mooring a boat using the cleats. I have two smaller cleats, either side of the bow on the gunwale and a larger on up on the bow itself. Would have thought, from what I've seen, that the mooring would always attach to the towing eye?

Mooring Pendants go to the bow cleats. The padeye is too low and would make it very difficult or impossible to pick-up and drop the mooring easily. On my previous boat the padeye was down at the waterline. I don't have one on my current boat. Also, when you're picking up and dropping a mooring, you are essentially 'underway'. I wouldn't want someone hanging that far over the bow to reach the padeye. Too easy to fall in. Now you're in a tight mooring field with a man overboard situation and more than likely underway. (by underway I mean, not docked, not anchored, not moored, floating free subject to wind, wake and current).
 

QBhoy

Fleet Admiral
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Mar 10, 2016
Messages
8,286
I Defo would not use my cleats on my wee boat. Pop up type and wouldn't trust them.
I'd use the trailer eye on the bow and a shock absorber on the line.
 
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