Recommendations for Typhoon mooring anchor

[john hoft-march]

I'm on the waiting list for a mooring spot and may be able to just purchase an existing mooring. If not, I'm looking for recommendations for ground tackle.

Chapman's and West Marine clearly recommend a heavy mushroom anchor (5 to 10 lbs per foot of length, so about 200 lbs for a Ty), a short length of very heavy chain, and a longer length of lighter chain leading up to the buoy. The anchor of choice around Door County, WI seems to be a train wheel, which weighs about 750 lbs and costs about $650 installed. I also know a few people who have gotten along just fine with a wooden form filled with 6 - 10 bags of concrete (at 80 lbs or so per bag), which would be a whole lot cheaper if it can be relied upon. Any suggestions?



john.hoft-march@appleton.org

[Geezer]

Be careful of concrete. It is not nearly as dense as iron, and immersed in water it weighs about half as much as it does on land. So if you want a 200 pound mooring you'll need to cast 400 lbs of concrete.

[John Lesage]

In Lake Champlain (sweet water) we used everything from discarded radiators to safes. The most common was a 55 gal drum filled with anything we could find plus some form of cement, with alot of rings driven into it for differing years. The best way to get the mooring in place was always to drive it out on the ice to the proper spot and wait for spring. Just not sure why my father always made me the designated diver in the cold water to attach the chains and float. I finally suggested we leave them on the ice also.



cdtyphoon@snet.net

[Chip]

I'm in Casco Bay, Maine, and use a 250 imported mushroom with 65 feet of 1/2 inch chain. I consider it a conservative rig. I don't know what your anchorage is like, but ground tackle isn't something that I would be willing to skimp on. Pick a reasonable plan, upgrade everything by a grade, buy new, have underwater inspections done at least every other year (inspections are required at my anchorage). I also use a fresh penant every year and have found that chafing gear is a necessity to protect the penant when it passes through the bow chock.

Also, I decided to use a single, extra long length of conservatively weighted change, rather than the heavy/light chain combination. Several vendors in my area suggested this as a way to simplify the rig and avoid problems with shackles. Only appropriate if you use a solid weight of chain, not "light" chain.

FYI: The written material from the municipal Harbor Master at my anchorage requires the following minimum standards: Note the signnificant weights recommended if you decide to go with a concrete block.

Boat Length Weight Mushroom Weight Block Weight Chain
22 1,500 75 300 5/16
26 5,000 150 500 3/8
30 8,000 200 1,000 1/2
35 12,000 250 2,000 5/8
40 ..... 500 3,000 3/4


Have a great season.



chipgavin@alum.colby.edu

[Tom]

First find out from the harbormaster what the town's mooring specs are. Don't use cement. I have a Dor Mor pryamid mooring they dig in like a mushroom. Don't skimp on hardware if your boat breaks loose in a storm and wipes out somebody elses boat not good for you.



tomb5050@aol.com

[Richard Stephens]

John,

If the holding is good, allowing an anchor to dig in deeply, go for a mushroom.

In my case, the bottom is a flat shelf of rock. I am relying on sheer weight to hold the mooring in place by friction, so I went with a 3000 lb concrete block. Yes, 3000 lb! The cost was $200, installed. Dollar for dollar, I think you can get more weight with concrete than scrap metal, even if the weight in water is only half the weight in air.

When huricane Floyd hit us a couple of years ago, my boat was the only one on this stretch of the lake that did not drag it's mooring.

Mooring chains get a lot of chafe at the point they touch the bottom, with the boat bobbing up and down with little or no strain on the rode. The galvanizing quickly wears off, and the chain will rust away gradually. If you use a light chain, make sure it is less than the depth of water, so the heavy chain takes the chafe.

Regards,
Richard.




richard@memory-map.com