How do you set a mooring for a 13' Boston Whaler?

I have a 13'6' 1980 Boston Whaler Sport. I've kept her in my garage for years but now I need to set a mooring on a lake in about 8-9 feet of water. It's a muddy bottom. It's not sheltered but the lake isn't very wide (about half a mile). It is long, however and it can get snotty if the wind is coming in the right direction.

I have a 100# long shank mushroom. The guy at the marine store said rule of thumb in the ocean is about 10# per foot, so 150# would be the recommendation, but in a lake, 100# should work. Is this accurate?

I have about 14' of 1/2" chain. I thought the water was more like 7' when I got the chain, then rechecked it the other day and it was reading between 8-9 feet. Will that be enough or should I attach another couple feet of smaller chain? The guy at the store said they usually go from 1/2' chain shackled to a lighter chain in deeper waters. He said in shallow waters, one piece of 1/2' chain should be fine. I have about 10' of painter line as well. Could I use that to extend out my angle?

Finally, are there any rules of thumb as far as where to drop it? How close to other boats can I get? It's a little tight. Is there a way to "set" the mushroom? i.e. hold the ball and run circles around the mushroom. Anything else I should consider?

Thank you in advance for looking at my questions.

Re: How do you set a mooring for a 13' Boston Whaler?

Wow, interesting question. Initial reaction is that you are 'only as strong as your weakest link' ....ie: going to a lighter chain is a mistake. The chain keeps the rode on the bottom.....the longer the chain the better it is for you....when achoring the rule is 5 to 7 times the depth.....10 feet of water depth equals 50 to 70 feet of rode.....Now, the challenge is when you boat swings to the wind what will it bump into....if you are going to bump into something.....then you need to shorten the rode...try something...and see if it works...a whaler doesn't have much of a freeboard...so you should be ok.

Re: How do you set a mooring for a 13' Boston Whaler?

Thanks for the info **** Sorensen. Because of the big shift in tides around here, it is common to have a heavy chain on the mushroom connected to a lighter chain just for weight reasons. I believe it's a 3/1 ratio with the tides considered, so it can be a long chain. Better inspect those shackles regularly!

I know the rode is very important. That's my concern. They guy at the store recommended 14 feet of 1/2" chain for 7' of water but said on a lake I could "probably" get away with 12'. It looks like the water is actually 8-9 feet and was wondering if this will be long enough. Would using a longer painter help? I just remembered, the shank on the mushroom is a 3-4 feet long as well.

Re: How do you set a mooring for a 13' Boston Whaler?

Providing the mushroom remains up-right......

What about moon tides?

You never mentioned your buoy? I have seen people use cable and a slide on the cable so the buoy would adjust .

Re: How do you set a mooring for a 13' Boston Whaler?

**** I think your response fits anchoring, not securing a mooring bouy, which will be more vertical than the typical anchor scope. I started to anwer the question the same way until I re-read that he had 100 POUND anchor, not 100 FEET of line--which would have been wildly excessive for a 13' boat in 9' of water!

Juggo, the best information you can get is local knowledge; if the guy in the store seems knowlegable you are set; if you have doubts ask some of the other local boaters.

Re: How do you set a mooring for a 13' Boston Whaler?

Try this link:

http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/mbuoy/mbsetup.html

Re: How do you set a mooring for a 13' Boston Whaler?

Try this website

http://www.mushroommooring.com/Mooring_requirements.html

I bought a mooring setup from this company for my son's 14' sailboat and they were great to work with.