Hi,

I am wondering what ideas or techniques people know of regarding DIY installation of a swing or buoy mooring. Any suggestions or insight would be much appreciated?

Step 1) Check the requirements your insurance imposes...

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Jethrow said..
Step 1) Check the requirements your insurance imposes...

Step 2, check the requirements of the jurisdiction where you propose to locate the mooring requires.

Certainly agree with steps 1 and 2.
For background on mooring companies installed moorings see good doc here;
gcwa.qld.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/BuoyMoorings-Review-Mooring-Infrastructure-2014.pdf

We did it a couple of times when I was a kid. As far as I remember, the technique went like this;

1- Make up a ply box. Fill with cement and put a bit of bent rebar into it to take the chain.
2- Get heavy ply box up ramps into box trailer.
3- Somehow get heavy ply box of cement into dinghy.
4- Connect chain and mooring line to rebar.
5- Tow dinghy to mooring site. Lift bow of dinghy. Box falls out and chain and mooring line sizzle out.

Optional step 6 - Lift bow of dinghy. Watch dinghy fill with water and head to the bottom of the harbour, near its deepest spot, with the mooring still inside.

6B - see tiny speck far below in the clear water. Watch speck suddenly become much bigger, like the scene in Moby Dick, as the dinghy comes to the surface after the box fell out.

6C - hear and feel dinghy doing a good imitation of a Polaris missile being launched from a submarine, as it comes up under the stern of the yacht at about Mach 1.3.

6D - Decide that this is all too bloody dangerous.

I had mates who made up their own gear for doing moorings, but you're dealing with heavy weights and the consequences of a mistake can be pretty dire. Unless you really want to save money and have a soft bottom in shallow water and a fairly small boat, I'd give it a miss.

The hard part as I see it is getting the really heavy thing with big chain attached from land / vehicle to water, then heavy thing could be floated on a drum raft and cut loose when towed to location. Big tidal range would make it a bit easier. I built my own apparatus and had a contractor put it on the bottom. For a light boat a ridiculously big anchor & buoy would work

If you have a friend with a big cat - do all the things CT said but make the darn thing in a box trailer and put trailer in water at ramp. Tie mooring (when in trailer) to forebeam of cat. Reverse and retrieve wet trailer (take light board off if possible). Or if you have a quiet waterfront, then make the mooring at the waterfront (low tide would be good) and then get the cat over it at mid tide and let the tide pull it up. Lots of bar through the ship chain in the mooring middle when you concrete it up.

Take to place of mooring with all chain and stuff attached. Throw all chain and stuff overboard and get someone in dinghy to lay out a bit. Then untie or better yet cut ties. Ensure dinghy person is well clear.

I did this for my mooring at first. Then a mate had a proper mooring barge to move it again. Now I just pay someone. If I was a long way from a contractor then I would do it - it aint rocket science. Also taking proper video of you renewing mooring pieces may be fine for insurance purposes. In out of the way places this would be better for me than paying someone huge bucks to travel in the slow barge.

cheers

Phil

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Jethrow said..
Step 1) Check the requirements your insurance imposes...

Thanks...in progress

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UncleBob said..

Jethrow said..
Step 1) Check the requirements your insurance imposes...

Step 2, check the requirements of the jurisdiction where you propose to locate the mooring requires.

Done

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r13 said..
Certainly agree with steps 1 and 2.
For background on mooring companies installed moorings see good doc here;
gcwa.qld.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/BuoyMoorings-Review-Mooring-Infrastructure-2014.pdf

Cheers, will look into that. Proposed spot is a bit remote and would cost a bomb for a barge or mooring contractor to travel to.

Not saying to try it but the Romans tried salt water cement.
Do some test of your own. Just don't add any metal.

Dive down and bury a brick in the mud. If the boat is any bigger it's going to cost you.
If you can't afford that you shouldn't h?ve bought a boat.

In an Irish accent taking the piss. Don't take it seriously .

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woko said..
The hard part as I see it is getting the really heavy thing with big chain attached from land / vehicle to water, then heavy thing could be floated on a drum raft and cut loose when towed to location. Big tidal range would make it a bit easier. I built my own apparatus and had a contractor put it on the bottom. For a light boat a ridiculously big anchor & buoy would work

Hi Woko,

agree...hardest part is transfer from land to water. As you said a great tidal range would help (but not at this spot) where I know people have made their own cement mooing block on the tidal flats attached to a raft like set up with metal or plastic 44 gallon drums....once tide returns and block floats....then tow to destination.

Another alternative is using a 'sacrificial' tinny with anchor block in it...tow on a calm day to spot....then pull out the bungs whereas she will tip over once a certain amount of water is taken on board. I have heard of some guys using ex-railway carriage wheels.

Interestingly enough regarding your big anchor idea....I know a lad that has a DIY mooring where he uses 3 yacht anchors all individually chained back to a single chain, which the single chain is then chained to a mooring buoy. From my understanding, he has laid the anchors in a star like fashion from each other (something that resembles a Mercedes or Mitsubishi emblem if you can picture that ). I personally think this method is quite clever whereas he can assess each individual anchor and chain himself when required. He told me that during the 10 years of anchorage, he has never had a problem. And being in the Mackay area...it has seen cyclones the likes of Marcia and Debbie recently.

Cheers

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Kankama said..
If you have a friend with a big cat - do all the things CT said but make the darn thing in a box trailer and put trailer in water at ramp. Tie mooring (when in trailer) to forebeam of cat. Reverse and retrieve wet trailer (take light board off if possible). Or if you have a quiet waterfront, then make the mooring at the waterfront (low tide would be good) and then get the cat over it at mid tide and let the tide pull it up. Lots of bar through the ship chain in the mooring middle when you concrete it up.

Take to place of mooring with all chain and stuff attached. Throw all chain and stuff overboard and get someone in dinghy to lay out a bit. Then untie or better yet cut ties. Ensure dinghy person is well clear.

I did this for my mooring at first. Then a mate had a proper mooring barge to move it again. Now I just pay someone. If I was a long way from a contractor then I would do it - it aint rocket science. Also taking proper video of you renewing mooring pieces may be fine for insurance purposes. In out of the way places this would be better for me than paying someone huge bucks to travel in the slow barge.

cheers

Phil

Cheers Kankama,

I have heard of the idea you propose but unfortunately, I don't know anyone with a big cat and me personally...If I had a catamaran, I would be super reluctant to do that to my boat

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tarquin1 said..
Not saying to try it but the Romans tried salt water cement.
Do some test of your own. Just don't add any metal.

Interesting theory.

Don't know if it is true or not, but I have was talking to a mooring contractor and he informed me that cement/concrete becomes 50% more buoyant in salt water. Can anyone confirm or not?

Absolutely!!! Far better and easier to handle a mooring weight made from steel or iron plus it only has a 10% buoyancy factor.
I built these from truck brake drums filled with brake discs and clutch plates.





I transported them to the launch site and a friend unloaded them.

Note there is NO CHAIN. The riser lines were looped as you can see to make it easy for a diver to go down with a knife and new line to replace when needed.





They were placed at the water's edge and I then placed the prebuilt raft over them attaching them with several turns of line to the central beam. The raft was secured in place with two anchors while waiting for the tide to lift the raft.








I suggest that, if you can get any, old railway line would be better and simpler from which to make a mooring weight. Say two pieces in a cross or maybe a square. Have a look around the scrap metal dealers to see what you can find. Lifting weights on a central bar??

Think outside the box and see what you come up with.







Google is your friend. www.google.com/search?q=making+a+mooring+block&oq=building+a+mooring+block&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0i22i30l3j0i390.26167j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Thank you very much Cisco,

absolute gold and some awesome ideas you offered above. I really appreciate it and the pics paint a thousand words.

How much life do you think you would get out of it regarding rust? I assume you are from the south when you mentioned divers being able to assess the condition of your lines.

I don't think we have that luxury up here in north Qld estuaries due to the chance or hazard of becoming croc fodder.

train wheels are pretty common for moorings

What is the mooring for and the depth.
As Cisco said multiple small things work.
Sounds like getting in the water isn't an option.
Large flat things work better. Like the last pic of Cisco, especially in mud. I would use that over a 44 gallon drum.
Old engines anything. Car or truck wheels.
I have seen some pretty sketchy stuff in the Carribbean that lasted for years.
A large metal plate, depending on size of boat, with one or multiple chains welded to it. Lower it down slowly! Have a float line on the chain. Lower wheels over chain or anything with a hole in it over chain, keeping chain tight.
Lots of ways of using lots of small things instead of one big heavy thing. This allows you to do multiple trips in a small dinghy/raft.
Helicopter? FNQ, doesn't everyone have one!
Another classic quote from an old boy, "engines are for making moorings".

All good ideas above but no-one has mentioned the overwhelming factor of the nature of the seabed. Particularly in mud but also in sand the tidal and current will eventually "bury" the mooring to a greater or lesser extent. The suction effect, particularly as others have mentioned, of flat material, is often a much greater contributor to the holding than the mass of the mooring block. It is for this reason that mooring contractors are most concerned about security of moorings shortly after they have been laid or pulled up for service. Some contractors claim an advantage of diving to service over the more common (around Sydney anyway) pulling up to inspect and service.

My mooring in the Sydney region consists of a pair of train wheels, stacked, 4m of heavy ships stud link anchor chain, 2m of lighter springer chain, steel swivel and 32mm rope riser. Laid in soft mud and has proven very successful, to the extent that it held my boat and a wayward 50 ft steel cruiser in heavy winds gusting to 55 knots. Just wish the other party's insurance club had risen to the occasion and repaired the damage done.

So the only issue I can see with using multiple weights is how they are connected, as Cisco's welded up drive sprocket and associated brake drums etc all become one owing to a hopefully good weld job, with a heavy integrated eye for the chain.With a pile of stuff slid down the chain all rests upon the chain connection to the initial weight. I've noticed that when moorings fail if it's not a chafed rope it's because of a deterioration of the thread on a shackle, mouse it & mouse it good. I used a cubic meter concrete mould and worked 10m of stud link into it, with enough chain protruding to reach the surface then a swivel and a more manageable chain, and rope. If you go down this path don't be stingy with the cement, a scabby block will wash away in a couple of years

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Wazzor said..
How much life do you think you would get out of it regarding rust? I assume you are from the south when you mentioned divers being able to assess the condition of your lines.

I don't think we have that luxury up here in north Qld estuaries due to the chance or hazard of becoming croc fodder.

Steel will not rust underwater as there is no oxygen there.
I am located at Bundaberg where we have not seen any crocodiles, BUT, in the Mary River at Maryborough south of here they have crocodiles. Figure that out.

If your going to use concrete make the base concave so it sucks on a the bottom.

A couple of things. Unless the water is reasonably clear, the annual mooring check is a crap shoot at best. Where I am in SE QLD the water is pretty murky. The professional mooring checkers, dive annually for the check. A proper inspection like this in low vis has proven problematic. Literally dozen of boats have broken their moorings here in the last 3 years. Of course it is never the contractors fault.

So that I can self assess my mooring, which is legit by the way, I use a large Trawler anchor 180 kg that I can just
Lift for inspection with the windlass, and a purchase a SLW on a calm day . You don't need to remove it completely from the water, just enough to check fasteners. Even new ,these anchors are less than a grand. Second hand very cheap. If you reckon 400 lb of anchor ain't big enough on a muddy bottom try dragging it around. Good luck with that.
Not only is the tackle self inspectable because you can lift it, you can also remove and on sell it. Not always possible with a stationary pile of junk.

Just a thought.
Works for me,

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cisco said..


I am located at Bundaberg where we have not seen any crocodiles, BUT, in the Mary River at Maryborough south of here they have crocodiles. Figure that out.

I was born and grew up in Maryborough. The croc sightings weren't massively common but a lot of sharks. Still as kids in the 70's and 80's we didn't think of them and swam in the river.

One of the reasons that was put forward for the sharks and crocs was the local abattoir backed onto the Mary River(the Pocket) and would be flushed out into the river. The abattoir is long gone but probably stayed a breeding ground.

You guys have the Rum Distillery backed onto the river so the crocs are probably too hammered drunk to go further!

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gwiongwion said..
A couple of things. Unless the water is reasonably clear, the annual mooring check is a crap shoot at best. Where I am in SE QLD the water is pretty murky. The professional mooring checkers, dive annually for the check. A proper inspection like this in low vis has proven problematic. Literally dozen of boats have broken their moorings here in the last 3 years. Of course it is never the contractors fault.

So that I can self assess my mooring, which is legit by the way, I use a large Trawler anchor 180 kg that I can just
Lift for inspection with the windlass, and a purchase a SLW on a calm day . You don't need to remove it completely from the water, just enough to check fasteners. Even new ,these anchors are less than a grand. Second hand very cheap. If you reckon 400 lb of anchor ain't big enough on a muddy bottom try dragging it around. Good luck with that.
Not only is the tackle self inspectable because you can lift it, you can also remove and on sell it. Not always possible with a stationary pile of junk.

Just a thought.
Works for me,

I like your approach solely for the fact that you can lift your mooring and check your fastening system yourself.

If you had to change the fasteners...how would you go about it? Also how did you get your anchor to your spot in the first place. Quite interested to know. What size is your vessel to be able to pull that 180kg anchor up and I assume one would need a certain size or rated windlass?

You mentioned the purchase of an SLW on a calm day...I don't understand this and what does SLW stand for?

Cheers

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woko said..
So the only issue I can see with using multiple weights is how they are connected, as Cisco's welded up drive sprocket and associated brake drums etc all become one owing to a hopefully good weld job, with a heavy integrated eye for the chain.With a pile of stuff slid down the chain all rests upon the chain connection to the initial weight. I've noticed that when moorings fail if it's not a chafed rope it's because of a deterioration of the thread on a shackle, mouse it & mouse it good. I used a cubic meter concrete mould and worked 10m of stud link into it, with enough chain protruding to reach the surface then a swivel and a more manageable chain, and rope. If you go down this path don't be stingy with the cement, a scabby block will wash away in a couple of years

I'm not saying it's the best solution. But I have seen it done. It sounds like it's a bit out of the way. Knowing the size of the boat and how long you plan to keep it would help.
They are replacing most of the blocks in the port in Antibes at the moment. There has been a company there for over 6 months.
They have metal boxes that bolt together. Line them with plastic then fill with cement. They use various different metal fittings, depending on what the block is for. Unbolt the metal box and you have a mooring block. Pick them up with a forklift or truck with a crane. Lower them into the water then pick them up with a float bag. Tow them where they need to be put and 2 divers go down with multiple tanks and and an air gun fitting and burry them.

I have no doubt that a lot of boat owners could build and maintain their boat moorings better than a mooring contractor.
However, I'd want to have RMS and my insurance company's written agreement with this arrangement before proceeding.
I dont trust those bastards.
Mike

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Schoonerriffic said..

cisco said..


I am located at Bundaberg where we have not seen any crocodiles, BUT, in the Mary River at Maryborough south of here they have crocodiles. Figure that out.

I was born and grew up in Maryborough. The croc sightings weren't massively common but a lot of sharks. Still as kids in the 70's and 80's we didn't think of them and swam in the river.

One of the reasons that was put forward for the sharks and crocs was the local abattoir backed onto the Mary River(the Pocket) and would be flushed out into the river. The abattoir is long gone but probably stayed a breeding ground.

You guys have the Rum Distillery backed onto the river so the crocs are probably too hammered drunk to go further!

I grew up in Kandanga!