Storm Coming? Please Stow Your Anchor...

[Maine Sail]

Some of you may remember some of my rantings about folks leaving anchors on their bows, in exposed mooring fields, during rough weather. If your mooring field has the fetch to build waves that can pitch the bow of your boat then would be rather inconsiderate to the boaters around you, who may get hit by your drifting boat, to not remove your anchor when a blow is expected. Many times chafe comes from the chocks but after motoring around the anchorage the morning after this short storm I saw that most of the chafe was anchor related.

For some time now I have been trying to capture the "moment" on film to really drive the point home about REMOVING your anchor if a storm is coming. Some folks actually get it, but still many don't. I think this Island Packet is a PRIME example of "my anchors are protected by a bow sprit, I don't need to remove them" line of reasoning.

Here it goes:

Both pendants still intact but hooked on a Delta. It was still holding but chafing badly:


And DOWN!!!


And UP! And SNAP!!!!!


The Parted Port Pendant IS Blowing Back Against The Hull:


Notice The Delta Anchor Holding The REMAINING Pendant And The Bend In It:


This boat owner was VERY, VERY lucky that the storm was winding down as these pics were taken. The remaining pendant actually held and was still holding as of the next morning after the storm quit. Let's hope it holds till his/her boat is hauled.

PLEASE, if not for your boat, think of the others around you and what your boat would do in 30+ knots drifting through an anchorage after the anchor has sliced through the pendants. I watched it happen in real time, it leaves a pit in your stomach. Thank god MOST moorings in Falmouth are dual pendant rigged. This boat owner came very close to owning a pile of off white fiberglass splinters..:doh:


For the rest of the photos, 5 pages of them, and more commentary feel free to see the entire write up.

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/mooring_prep

[M. R. Bober]

Not having had much experience with long term mooring, I learned a lot from your post and pictures.
Thanks.

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster (where every day something new floats past), VA

[Tod Mills]

One thing I've noticed in my east coast cruises is that a LOT of moorings are located in areas with quite a large fetch. I guess that comes from overcrowding, mainly.

I'm not surprised to see the extent to which that boat in your pics was pitching, and I'll bet a lot of moorings see even worse, and with cross wind/waves/currents, I'll bet there are times/places where that pitching sometimes becomes rolling.

[SurryMark]

Really good job of reporting. When I read MS's subject line, I thought it doesn't apply to me. Now I think it may, even though my Rocna is held tight by both the chain lock and a separate line to the pulpit.

[bottomscraper]

Let's say you have a neighbor boat that happens to be an
Endevour 37 Ketch (wooden bow sprit similar to a CD) and the
owner runs his mooring lines over his bow roller rather than
through his chocks. Let's say that he also has a danforth anchor
mounted on the bow so that it rubs against the mooring line even
in light chop. Let's say you have mentioned it to the owner twice
and also mentioned it to several people at the boat yard and
nothing was done about it? Lets say it was in the same harbor
that Maine Sail took his pictures.

What do you do next?

[Klem]

Great pics Maine Sail, I can see why it took you so long to capture them. I think that it is really illustrative because it isn't that rough in the pictures, I have seen many New England harbor get rougher.

My own rule is that if I decide to do anything like extra sail tie downs or removing sails, the anchor gets removed from the pulpit unless of course I am on a cruise and actually using the anchor (although I guess that qualifies as off the pulpit too). Lucky for me, my mooring field only consists of 5 boats and none of the others are large enough to have an anchor roller.

[Russell]

Let's say you have a neighbor boat that happens to be an
Endevour 37 Ketch (wooden bow sprit similar to a CD) and the
owner runs his mooring lines over his bow roller rather than
through his chocks. Let's say that he also has a danforth anchor
mounted on the bow so that it rubs against the mooring line even
in light chop. Let's say you have mentioned it to the owner twice
and also mentioned it to several people at the boat yard and
nothing was done about it? Lets say it was in the same harbor
that Maine Sail took his pictures.

What do you do next?

Make him up a chafe guard, leave it in his cockpit with a note in a zip lock bag explaining what its for and how to put it on and how it would be far better for his own boats safety, to put the line through the chock.

If after he next visits his boat it is not in place, if it was me, I would go aboard and change it myself. Some may think this is out of line, but I dont, I consider it my responsibility if I see boats in a marina inproperly tied causing them to rub docks/pilings, to adjust their lines for them. If I see a boat in an anchorage dragging anchor with no one aboard, I go aboard and reset their anchor. I would hope if my boat was in danger people would do this for me as well.

Granted this person is conciously chosing to do it poorly, but the arguement still is valid when causing danger to other boats. I have many times in bad storms gone aboard and retied other peoples poorly tended to boats, out of kindness to fellow boaters but I also admit primarily to protect my own boat. His not giving a crap about his own boat does not give him the right to endanger yours. So dont feel like you are overstepping any bounds by changing his mooring setup.

Honestly, I am suprised he still has a bowsprit at all if he ties it that way in a harbor that sees a fetch like photos posted.

[Maine Sail]

Let's say you have a neighbor boat that happens to be an
Endevour 37 Ketch (wooden bow sprit similar to a CD) and the
owner runs his mooring lines over his bow roller rather than
through his chocks. Let's say that he also has a danforth anchor
mounted on the bow so that it rubs against the mooring line even
in light chop. Let's say you have mentioned it to the owner twice
and also mentioned it to several people at the boat yard and
nothing was done about it? Lets say it was in the same harbor
that Maine Sail took his pictures.

What do you do next?

Let's say that same boat yard does not even care to comply with some of the town mooring regulations and feels entitled to be above them, such as top swivels.. Lets also say that in every storm in Falmouth it is ALMOST ALWAYS their moorings causing the problems. I will leave it nameless and just say they would NEVER touch my mooring. Go around them and talk to the Harbor Master!


Further steps:

1- Send the owner a link to the article on my web site.

2- Take pictures and give them to the Harbor Master explaining your conversations with the offender and his refusal to even listen. By that point the Harbor Master should have seen my article.

3- Send him a certified letter with return receipt, and an email, if you can get his email address, documenting your problems with his mooring setup. List all the potential problems and potential failure modes as yous see them. This will document it for any future episodes so you can claim NEGLIGENCE on his part and recover all the money he owes you in damages.

4- Check with the harbor master to see if his mooring is meeting ALL town regulations, Eg: top swivel, correct weight, correct type granite, mushroom or screw, has been doing yearly MANDATORY winterizations as required etc. etc. If any of these have not been kept up with DOCUMENT IT in your certified letter.

5- Simply ask the harbor master to send him a letter notifying him that his mooring practices have been deemed questionable.

Even if his boat broke free it is up to you and your insurance company to document NEGLIGENCE in order for HIS insurance company to pay out. He HAS to be at more than 50% at fault. Take pictures, date them etc. and let him know you are building a case for negligence in case his boat hits yours.

Short of that, scuttle the pig...

[DaveCD28]

If after he next visits his boat it is not in place, if it was me, I would go aboard and change it myself. Some may think this is out of line, but I dont, I consider it my responsibility if I see boats in a marina inproperly tied causing them to rub docks/pilings, to adjust their lines for them. If I see a boat in an anchorage dragging anchor with no one aboard, I go aboard and reset their anchor. I would hope if my boat was in danger people would do this for me as well.

Granted this person is conciously chosing to do it poorly, but the arguement still is valid when causing danger to other boats. I have many times in bad storms gone aboard and retied other peoples poorly tended to boats, out of kindness to fellow boaters but I also admit primarily to protect my own boat. His not giving a crap about his own boat does not give him the right to endanger yours. So dont feel like you are overstepping any bounds by changing his mooring setup.

Honestly, I am suprised he still has a bowsprit at all if he ties it that way in a harbor that sees a fetch like photos posted.

Although your intentions are good, the only problem with this is that if his boat were to break free and be damaged or cause damage after you messed with his lines you open yourself up to major lawsuits from him and anyone who's boat or dock would be damaged by his vessel, with certainly him saying that his setup would have been fine and your modification caused it to fail.


If I were worried about it, I would probably just try to avoid mooring downwind of him. People like that just don't care.

[Joe Myerson]

Maine Sail:

You've done it again: Those pictures tell it all!

I tend to agree with your suggested remedies: Contact the boat owner first, then the harbormaster.

Rich:

Not knowing how diligent the Falmouth harbormaster might be, I can only extrapolate from the attitudes of the Bourne, MA, DNR. Here they tend to leave it to the mooring contractors (locals, all), but they get very picky about mooring inspections.

Presumably if your harbormaster received a letter that called his/her department's due diligence into question, he or she would act in some way or other.

Anyway, it seems just plain stupid for a boat owner not to correct an obvious problem. Even if he doesn't care about potential liability, he should care about his own boat.

--Joe

[Kevin_P]

Hi, that was a great post on your website. My Dad was wondering if it could be printed. I tried myself, but the formatting was not good for print... i.e. one page spreads over several pages. Might you be able to post a printable PDF of it so that others who are less computer-savvy could print it for future reference?
Thanks,
Kevin

[Maine Sail]

Hi, that was a great post on your website. My Dad was wondering if it could be printed. I tried myself, but the formatting was not good for print... i.e. one page spreads over several pages. Might you be able to post a printable PDF of it so that others who are less computer-savvy could print it for future reference?
Thanks,
Kevin

Kevin,

If you find a good way to create a .pdf off of pBase please let me know. I am NOT in the web site business and not very tech savvy!

I would however be willing to pay someone a nominal fee to convert ALL my articles into .pdf format!!!

[JWSutcliffe]

Maine Sail:

Send me a PM with your e-mail address and I will send the PDF file.

[Maine Sail]

Maine Sail:

Send me a PM with your e-mail address and I will send the PDF file.

compassmarineservices AT gmail DOT com

Thanks!!!

[mahalocd36]

If I were worried about it, I would probably just try to avoid mooring downwind of him. People like that just don't care.

We don't really have that option. We own our mooring, it's not a rental, and we cannot move it - it's location is assigned by the harbormaster. Maybe we could get it reassigned - but that would be at great cost to us to move it. Maybe we'll get lucky and he won't be back next year (he wasn't there the year before).

I also don't like the idea of going on his boat and fixing his mooring lines - with our luck they'll be "almost" worn through and his boat will break free and we'll be blamed. Plus, he does use his boat fairly often, and I'm sure he'd just put it back the way it was the next time he came back to the mooring; and I don't want to get into the game of fixing it every time we go to the boat.

I think if he's back there next year we'll talk to him 1 more time. Explain how it rubs on his anchor in anything other than a light breeze, and that we feel his boat is a danger to ours, (he is the boat upwind of ours in prevailing winds) and that we are going to report him to the harbormaster if he won't fix it.. and if all that doesn't work, take photos (obviously, while he's watching and contact the harbormaster.