Homemade Mast Buoy . . .

tpenfield

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I have been wanting to get a mast buoy this season to make snagging the mooring easier. I saw a mast buoy at West Marine a while ago, but it was a little pricey, so I waited.

This weekend while scrounging stuff in the shed and garage, I came across some 6' fiberglass rods . . . they look like driveway markers for the winter. Well, I thought to myself, what a great thing to make a mast buoy out of :thumb:

So, I scrounged up some hardware. . . found a thimble, some galvanized rod, plastic wiring shield, PVC pipe, and also sacrificed part of a floating 'noodle' to the cause. I assembled everything with a can of 'Great Stuff' foam, as it is a great adhesive. I also needed a significant weight for the bottom of the buoy. So, I used some cement that I had and formed a weight around the lower part of the 'mast'.

Here is a picture of what I came up with . . .
IMG_2846.jpg

I float tested it in a trash can to make sure there was enough weight and flotation. Then I wrapped the cement weight in fiberglass/resin that I had left over from other projects.

Here is the mast buoy after the fiberglassing . . .
IMG_2849.jpg

Then to finish the thing off, I painted the lower portion with polyurethane.
IMG_2853.jpg

Now I can run a line from one of my mooring pennants to the mast buoy, so it will be easy to grab from the deck of the boat. Currently I have to reach down in the water with a mooring hook . . . some time it goes better than other times.

The mast buoy draws about 18" of water and has an overall height of just over 6 feet.

Since I used things that I had lying around, my out-of-pocket cost was $0.00 :D
 
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smokeonthewater

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Re: Homemade Mast Buoy . . .

Not bad... I just gave a "mast buoy" away a week or so ago that came in my last parts boat..... didn't even know what to call it till I read your post....
 

GA_Boater

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Re: Homemade Mast Buoy . . .

Now that's one fine example of bottom feeding. No way to get cheaper than free leftovers. :D Looks nice too.
 

tpenfield

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Re: Homemade Mast Buoy . . .

Now that's one fine example of bottom feeding. No way to get cheaper than free leftovers. :D Looks nice too.

Yup, with the cost of boating, etc, I tend to look for every opportunity to make something for little/no cost.
 

tpenfield

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Re: Homemade Mast Buoy . . .

I have put the mast buoy into use with good results . . .

Here are a few photos.

Mast buoy secured to the deck.
IMG_2914.jpg

Here is the mast buoy as it sits in the water once I cast off from the mooring.
IMG_2876.jpg

So, far it has been really easy to pick up the mooring line. The orange 'mast' does not show up as well as I thought it would, but it is OK.
 
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GA_Boater

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Re: Homemade Mast Buoy . . .

Could you slide a bright colored pool noodle on the mast? But you might have to spend a buck at the Dollar Store which defeats the "free" unless you have one another one laying around.
 

tpenfield

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Re: Homemade Mast Buoy . . .

I do have some spare noodles, but probably just some bright colored tape would also make it more visible. Of course, that would probably cost me a few $$ :D
 

Jonnybbad

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Re: Homemade Mast Buoy . . .

Good work Penfield. More people should think like this, especially in the reality of today's world.
 

Volphin

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Re: Homemade Mast Buoy . . .

First and foremost, that is an outstanding job! Perhaps an old bike flag would work to make it more visible?
 

tpenfield

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Re: Homemade Mast Buoy . . .

Thanks guys for your kind words. A small flag might do the trick for better visibility. I generally need to see the mast from a couple hundred feet away in order to plan the 'approach' and pick-up.
 

kfa4303

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Re: Homemade Mast Buoy . . .

Awesome build! +1 on Great Stuff foam being a great adhesive too. I used some the other day and it's still stuck to me in places! How does the mast buoy get its name? Is it connected to the mast of a sailing boat? If so what is it's use? Sorry for the questions, I'm just not familiar with sailing gizmos.
 

tpenfield

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Re: Homemade Mast Buoy . . .

Awesome build! +1 on Great Stuff foam being a great adhesive too. I used some the other day and it's still stuck to me in places! How does the mast buoy get its name? Is it connected to the mast of a sailing boat? If so what is it's use? Sorry for the questions, I'm just not familiar with sailing gizmos.

The buoy has a 'mast' so you can grab it from deck height, rather than fishing the mooring line out of the water. Nothing specific to do with sailing.
 

Bondo

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Re: Homemade Mast Buoy . . .

Ayuh,.... Great job Ted,.... Ya know I just Love repurposed junk,..... ;)
 

kfa4303

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Re: Homemade Mast Buoy . . .

The buoy has a 'mast' so you can grab it from deck height, rather than fishing the mooring line out of the water. Nothing specific to do with sailing.


Ah, I see. Very handy if you have lots of freeboard, or a big shiny boat like in your sig. That's even cooler than I thought :)
 

tpenfield

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Re: Homemade Mast Buoy . . .

Ayuh,.... Great job Ted,.... Ya know I just Love repurposed junk,..... ;)

Ah, I see. Very handy if you have lots of freeboard, or a big shiny boat like in your sig. That's even cooler than I thought :)

Thanks Bondo & KFA . . .

The bow of my boat is about 4 feet up from the water level, and I dropped my mooring hook a couple of times in the early going, trying to fetch the mooring line. So, the mast buoy has been a lot easier.
 
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