DIY Boat Mooring?

jammer777

Seaman
Joined
Aug 13, 2014
Messages
68
Hey guys and gals!
Any of you have any advice or pointers for making your own mooring? im about 30 or 40 feet from shore where i want to put it, its a fairly protected bay at our cabin on a lake and want to put down enough weight to hold about a 20 foot fiberglass ski boat, nothing too crazy, ive seen the publications online as far as weight and what not, but looking for some fellow iboat'r opinions, what you've done and whats worked best, My initial thought is to build a concrete form full of rebar to be able to hook some heavy chain on and sink her, but not really sure whats overkill or not and i don't have a sense on how much extra chain there should be between the actual anchor and the top float, seems like there should be a bunch extra, but don't really know

anyone have any thoughts?

thanks everyone!
 

shrew

Lieutenant
Joined
Dec 29, 2006
Messages
1,309
I would start by verifying the requirements for moorings in the body of water where you're installing it. Whom is the governing body? State? Fish and Game? Town? Are there permits required? Do they have minimum sizes or restricted materials? People used to use engine blocks, but almost everywhere restricts that now.

What Country, state?
 

jammer777

Seaman
Joined
Aug 13, 2014
Messages
68
hey Shrew, this is in the interior of bc canada, oh i think theres lots of requirements, the environmental governing body's around here are pretty strict, i know concrete is a no go in the water, but everyone uses it anyways, haha ya some of the old timers out here have car engines down there holding there buoys!
 

cptrick3

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Apr 11, 2015
Messages
157
Why is concrete a no go in water? I live in a floating home community and we use blue barrels filled with concrete to secure our no wake markers.
 

jammer777

Seaman
Joined
Aug 13, 2014
Messages
68
I think its polymers and chemicals in the concrete that slowly leach out into the water and fisheries department has outlawed it in dock construction etc, ( i think)
 

bruceb58

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 5, 2006
Messages
30,454
I think its polymers and chemicals in the concrete that slowly leach out into the water and fisheries department has outlawed it in dock construction etc, ( i think)
So what is used for launch ramps then?
 

Bondo

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Messages
70,464
haha ya some of the old timers out here have car engines down there holding there buoys!

Ayuh,...... Exactly what I did to moor my houseboat,.....

For the Southwest moorin', which is where the prevailin' winds come from,.....

I sanitized a 351 Ford long block for the base anchor, 'n a 3.0l OMC for the 2ndary anchor,....

The 2 sanitized long blocks are chained together with 'bout 4' of 3/8" chain, 'n then 'bout 20' or so of 1/2" chain,....

On the end of the 1/2" chain is the 1/2" moorin' line to the boat's bow,.....
'bout 10' back towards the anchor is a 20" steel cable tied to the 1/2" chain, 'n another 20" moorin' line to tie to mid-ship cleats for a spring line,......

For the Northwest moorin' block, is a sanitized ole 327 Chevy long block,.....
I'd run outa junk motors by then, so I welded up a few hundred pounds of scrap steel together outa the scrap dumpster,...
No particular shape, just alota heavy pieces welded together, stickin' out in all sorta directions,....
It's chained to the SBC with a 4' piece of 3/8" chain, 'n still has a couple cables from it to the stern line, 'n forward spring line,.....

Those cables are gettin' replaced with 3/8' chain this year,... 'ell probably this week,....

My theroy is, if it can pull or lift the 1st little anchor, it'll Never be able to move the 2nd heavier anchor,.....
Usin' mostly chain, also loads the lines against the wind too,...
 

jammer777

Seaman
Joined
Aug 13, 2014
Messages
68
haha awesome Bondo! thanks guys for all the responses, im going to throw something together this weekend and see if i can get her to stay! appreciate it guys!
 

rallyart

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Jun 7, 2008
Messages
1,175
The main part of my anchor is a drive wheel from a Cat bulldozer. Hard to find but they are big, flat, have holes to run chain through, and weigh the almost the same underwater as they do out of it. Concrete is not nearly as dense as steel. Engine blocks are great if you can use them also. Use a good chain or stainless aircraft cable to tie several things together and make sure you have a good stainless link to attach the riser chain to your buoy so replacing that is not a hassle. It BC they tend to wear out about 3-4' down from the buoy.
 

jammer777

Seaman
Joined
Aug 13, 2014
Messages
68
Thanks again guys, i ended up pouring about 600 pounds of concrete into a big garbage can and put some rebar through it with a couple loops at the top to run some chain through, im in about, well its not about, its 20 feet of water, question for you guys, do you guys do the bottom chain / top chain thing? ive seen some of the guides out there that mention that the bottom heavy chain should be the length of the depth of the water and just sits on the bottom then the lighter chain that goes to the bouy runs up from there connected to the bottom chain, but i was thinking about doing about 10 feet of 1/2inch bottom chain then 20 feet of 3/8 top chain to run up to the bouy, anyone have any opinions or thoughts on that?

thanks as always guys!
 

Triangleboater

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Mar 5, 2013
Messages
207
You already have overkill with the 600lbs and rebar. To hold a moving floting dock I used 400lbs total, 200 on each side in five gallon buckets with rebar. It holds it fine and more. I used 30ft of heavy chain. This docks sees very heavy winds.

If I were you I would throw on 10 feet or so of heavy chain and then good rode, attach that to the mooring bouy and call it a day.
 

UncleWillie

Captain
Joined
Oct 18, 2011
Messages
3,995
I think its polymers and chemicals in the concrete that slowly leach out into the water and fisheries department has outlawed it in dock construction etc, ( I think)


I suspect the problem was the Old Rubber Tires that were commonly used to cast the concrete.

There are no polymers involved in making concrete.

Imagine building a bridge over a waterway if you weren't allowed to use concrete.
 

Bondo

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Messages
70,464
im in about, well its not about, its 20 feet of water, question for you guys, do you guys do the bottom chain / top chain thing?
ive seen some of the guides out there that mention that the bottom heavy chain should be the length of the depth of the water and just sits on the bottom then the lighter chain that goes to the bouy runs up from there connected to the bottom chain, but i was thinking about doing about 10 feet of 1/2inch bottom chain then 20 feet of 3/8 top chain to run up to the bouy, anyone have any opinions or thoughts on that?

Ayuh,.... That sounds like a Good plan,..... The buoy will only have to float the end of the 3/8" chain, insteada the 1/2" chain,....

No buoys on my moorin's, just the houseboat,.... Once there, it stays,....
 

jammer777

Seaman
Joined
Aug 13, 2014
Messages
68
hey thanks for the replies guys! i found some 1/2 inch mooring chain, and 3/8 for the top chain, im in the the interior of bc canada and not the largest of centers, but it pays to check around for different places, i found a direct chain supplier, if anyone is doing this in vancouver or kelowna bc, go check out a supplier called westco, they do lost if industrial / mining stuff but will cut you any lengths you need of whatever you need, 2.50 / ft for 1/2in mooring chain compared to over 5.00 / ft everywhere else, and 1.64 /ft for 3/8 all galvanized, less than half price than everywhere else, direct importers gotta love,

Im gonna try and sink this thing this weekend, if i havent managed to tangle myself in chain and get dragged to the bottom of the lake ill post some pics and video!

thanks guys!
 

jammer777

Seaman
Joined
Aug 13, 2014
Messages
68
No Title

Well just an update, I did get the whole thing out on the lake, I wish i had of taken a couple more pictures and some video, but I had my hands full haha, I ended up finding a really large bouy from a local manufacturer that was cheaper than all other options, big enough in fact that I was able to attach a rope to it and the garbage can full of concrete and float it out to the desired spot and cut the rope and watch her sink to her new home, Oh and i put a backup small float on the bottom chain that has just enough buoyancy to stay partially afloat about 20 feet down as a backup which you cant see in the pictures
 

Attachments

  • photo222703.jpg
    photo222703.jpg
    138.9 KB · Views: 1
  • photo222704.jpg
    photo222704.jpg
    126.6 KB · Views: 1
  • photo222705.jpg
    photo222705.jpg
    149.4 KB · Views: 1
  • photo222706.jpg
    photo222706.jpg
    153.3 KB · Views: 1
Top