mooring

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Securing a boat so it’s free to respond to wind and waves
Many owners prefer to leave their boats on moorings rather than in marinas, but the steady proliferation of boats places great demands on what little mooring space is left.A mooring consists of an anchor or a heavy weight on the sea bottom and a chain that rises to the surface, where it is attached to a floating buoy. Mushroom anchors are commonly used singly, or in a triangle when swinging room is limited. The rule of thumb is that the mushroom anchor should weigh at least 10 pounds (4.5 kg) for every 1 foot (300 mm) of the boat’s overall length; that is, 300 pounds (136 kg) for a 30-foot (9 m) boat. In some areas where the composition of the bottom is suitable, helix anchors are screwed in to provide secure holding. If you use concrete blocks for weights, they must be very large to be effective—at least three to four times as heavy as mushroom anchors— because they lose so much of their weight when they’re submerged.The riser chain is usually galvanized, although unprotected steel chain that remains underwater does not rust as readily as chain near the surface where more oxygen is available.The float or mooring buoy must be sufficiently buoyant to support the riser chain at the highest tides. It is often a hollow sphere of steel, plastic, or fiber-glass about 12 inches (300 mm) or more in diameter, with a steel rod running through the middle. The riser chain is attached to the bottom of this rod and a mooring pendant of rope—which is taken aboard the boat and made fast at the bow—is attached to the top end.Because the floating buoy often fetches up against the side of the vessel in light wind or contrary currents—and may damage it if the buoy is not well fend-ered—some boaters prefer to bring the buoy on board and attach the boat directly to the chain.

Typical mooring configuration.

In that case, a lighter chain pendant may be used, long enough to reach the bottom at all normal tides.The pick-up buoy should have a large ring or loop on top so that you can hook it with a boathook, and it should be strong enough to take the weight of the boat temporarily during mooring operations. An alternative to the ring on top is a long rod or “wand” standing up vertically, which may be grabbed by hand from the foredeck.When you approach a mooring single-handed under sail, it is handy to prepare in advance a fairly light line made fast in the cockpit and running forward to a single pulley block at the bow, then outside the lifelines and rigging, and back to the cockpit. The line should terminate in a snaphook.Then you can luff into the wind, stop with your mooring buoy alongside the cockpit, and simply reach over to snap the hook on the ring. Haul in the other end of the line that is made fast in the cockpit; the buoy will move forward and you are immediately made fast by the bow. Drop the sails at your leisure and then finish mooring properly.The advantages of moorings are privacy, low cost, and the ability to sail on and off without the need for an engine. The fact that a boat almost always faces into the wind can also help with ventilation. Furthermore, a boat free to swing on a mooring and dance in the waves is more lively and appealing than one crammed into a marina, at least in most owners’ eyes.Among the disadvantages of a mooring are the swinging space it requires and its dependency on a single line from the bow. If it’s a rope pendant, it could chafe badly in heavy weather. The vessel herself usually has less protection from the weather and from other boats maneuvering nearby. Electrical power and fresh water are not available, as they are at most marinas, and you either need a tender (and a place to keep it) or a ferry service to get you to and from your boat.See also Chafe; Fenders; Slips Versus Moorings; Ventilation.

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For a list of words related to mooring, see:

• Seamanship and Port - mooring: place where vessel is secured by lines or cables, esp. dock or slip; such securing lines or cables

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See words rhyming with "mooring."

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - fortøjning, fortøjningsplads

Nederlands (Dutch)
aanlegplaats, houvast, meertros, aan-/afmeren

Français (French)
n. - mouillage, débarcadère

Deutsch (German)
n. - Anlegestelle, Vertäuung

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αγκυροβόλιο, ρεμετζάρισμα, δέσιμο, (πληθ.) πρυμάτσες

Italiano (Italian)
ormeggio

Português (Portuguese)
n. - ancoradouro (m)

Русский (Russian)
швартовка

Español (Spanish)
n. - amarradura, amarre

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - förtöjning

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
系留, 停泊处, 停泊, 精神支柱

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 繫留, 停泊處, 停泊, 精神支柱

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 계선, 정박[설비]

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 係船, 係船設備, 船つなぎ場, 係留

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مرساة, مرسى‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מקום לקשירת ספינות, עגינה, כבלים ועגנים, מעגן‬

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