Re: Pontoon Boat Mooring Options
Am reviving this thread because I need some similar advice, only my situation is slightly different.
I need suggestions for mooring my 21? Sweetwater pontoon boat to fixed dock in an inland lake with moderate wake activity (from pleasure boat traffic). These are my limitations:
- The dock is 16 x 16 feet.
- The boat can only be moored in one spot ? along the end of the dock (east side) facing the lake, with boat orientated north-south. This is the most exposed location. The boat traffic runs north-south, and there are regular north and south winds along the lake.
- The cleats on the boat deck are about 17 feet apart. In other words the cleats extend slightly beyond the length of the dock itself. They cannot be located anywhere else given the design of the boat.
- Any mooring solution must accommodate the mooring cover.
- The dock is located off a rather steep rocky shoreline. A boat lift or ramp with a winch to get boat out of the water is not an option.
I have just installed Dock Edge mooring whips and though they cannot be installed to spec (which requires the cleats on the boat to line up with the whip base ? in my situation they flare ever so slightly out), it seemed within tolerance, so I gave it a try. They do the job perfectly when there is no wind. It handled large wakes from passing boats just fine. But with a strong northern or southern wind it seems to put a lot of stress on the whips. More important, I discovered that the whips cannot be used with the bimini canopy up (the canopy interferes with the lines) and ? even more important ? the lines cannot be attached with the mooring cover on. That?s basically a non-starter.
I am now investigating docking arms and would appreciate some suggestions.
Other options I have investigated will not work because of the cleat placement on the boat deck and/or length of the dock. These include:
- Dock Edge mooring arms: the dock is not long enough. They have to be mounted 24? more then the length between boat cleats.
- Pontoon mooring arms (Pontoon Mooring Arms) and brackets (American Muscle Docks & Fabrication — Pontoon Mooring Bracket) that attach to the ends of the pontoons: will not work because the dock is not long enough.
- Wake Watchers mooring arms: will not work because of the length of the dock and the location of cleats on the boat. It needs to be installed 18? more than the length between the cleats.
- SlideMoor system: will not work because of the cleat placement on the boat and length of the dock.
Possible options I have come across:
Moor King arms
Stowaway Holdaway (which looks rather cheap)
I once came across some sturdy arms that looked like giant shock absorbers, but I have googled and can?t seem to find them.
Any advice is appreciated.
Am reviving this thread because I need some similar advice, only my situation is slightly different.
I need suggestions for mooring my 21? Sweetwater pontoon boat to fixed dock in an inland lake with moderate wake activity (from pleasure boat traffic). These are my limitations:
- The dock is 16 x 16 feet.
- The boat can only be moored in one spot ? along the end of the dock (east side) facing the lake, with boat orientated north-south. This is the most exposed location. The boat traffic runs north-south, and there are regular north and south winds along the lake.
- The cleats on the boat deck are about 17 feet apart. In other words the cleats extend slightly beyond the length of the dock itself. They cannot be located anywhere else given the design of the boat.
- Any mooring solution must accommodate the mooring cover.
- The dock is located off a rather steep rocky shoreline. A boat lift or ramp with a winch to get boat out of the water is not an option.
I have just installed Dock Edge mooring whips and though they cannot be installed to spec (which requires the cleats on the boat to line up with the whip base ? in my situation they flare ever so slightly out), it seemed within tolerance, so I gave it a try. They do the job perfectly when there is no wind. It handled large wakes from passing boats just fine. But with a strong northern or southern wind it seems to put a lot of stress on the whips. More important, I discovered that the whips cannot be used with the bimini canopy up (the canopy interferes with the lines) and ? even more important ? the lines cannot be attached with the mooring cover on. That?s basically a non-starter.
I am now investigating docking arms and would appreciate some suggestions.
Other options I have investigated will not work because of the cleat placement on the boat deck and/or length of the dock. These include:
- Dock Edge mooring arms: the dock is not long enough. They have to be mounted 24? more then the length between boat cleats.
- Pontoon mooring arms (Pontoon Mooring Arms) and brackets (American Muscle Docks & Fabrication — Pontoon Mooring Bracket) that attach to the ends of the pontoons: will not work because the dock is not long enough.
- Wake Watchers mooring arms: will not work because of the length of the dock and the location of cleats on the boat. It needs to be installed 18? more than the length between the cleats.
- SlideMoor system: will not work because of the cleat placement on the boat and length of the dock.
Possible options I have come across:
Moor King arms
Stowaway Holdaway (which looks rather cheap)
I once came across some sturdy arms that looked like giant shock absorbers, but I have googled and can?t seem to find them.
Any advice is appreciated.
