Mooring Install

[CateP]

Hi there. We are thinking of installing a mooring for our 27 foot Pearson sail boat over at Rattlesnake. The location is tucked in on the east side protected by the peninsula. The water depth is about 15 ft. There has been a registered mooring at this site before. It is family owned by our relative.

Currently there are two 150lbs granite blocks down there with a drilled hole,but there is a cable going through the holes right now.

Questions:
Would those granite blocks hold our boat?
Who would you recommend to install new mooring gear?

Thanks in advance for replies.

[rgilfert]

We're on the other side of the island and obviously get hammered by NW winds. Two years ago I had a mooring installed to handle a 26' boat and decided to err on the side of "peace of mind" and had 2 one ton blocks daisy chained together so that I could sleep tight at night. I checked with several companies and ended up using Winnipesaukee Marine Construction (WAM & Gilford) and was very happy with the price, timeline, workers and installation. They even came back and moved the blocks for me free of charge when it was decided (by our neighbor) that I had asked them to install them too close to the extended property line. I believe that everything (blocks, stainless steel chain & hardware, barge time and installation) was about $1200.

[Steveo]

There is lots of previous info on the subject searchable in the forum archives. Couple of things to remember with a mooring. Moorings are not allowed to be rented or even loaned out to different boats. The owner of the property must register for the mooring with the boat's registration that will use it. Can't have multiple boats. I'm not sure if the boat has to be in the owner's name. I have a neighbor that has a boat that he doesn't own on his mooring and gets away with not having it in his name. (he also rents it but hard to prove)

The other thing to remember about moorings is that you can not stay overnight on the mooring. You can stay overnight on docks but not moorings.

[LIforrelaxin]

Cate,

A question to start, what is the intent of this mooring? Is it going to be the permanent spot for you to keep your boat, or is your intent to use it once in a while when you want to spend a night on the boat?

[MeredithMan]

Recommend John Baxter Dive Services, Gilford. 603-630-1968. He will recommend the proper size mooring blocks, chains, shackles, mooring ball, etc, based on the size & weight of your boat. He will also install the gear and then put in / take out the mooring ball and inspect the mooring gear in the spring and fall. He has been taking care of me for a couple years and I highly recommend him.

Also recommend that you clear the legality of using your relative's mooring for your boat before you hire anyone to update the mooring.

[CateP]

We are family members of the property in which this mooring is located. It is not a new mooring, but we want to improve it so it will hold our boat. Our intention is to use it when visiting, as a bad weather stopping place if we are caught out on the lake and perhaps a few overnights.

(I am told if we have line tied to the dock we can stay overnight.)

I guess at this point, I'm just looking for recommendations of folks who install moorings.

[LIforrelaxin]

We are family members of the property in which this mooring is located. It is not a new mooring, but we want to improve it so it will hold our boat. Our intention is to use it when visiting, as a bad weather stopping place if we are caught out on the lake and perhaps a few overnights.

(I am told if we have line tied to the dock we can stay overnight.)

I guess at this point, I'm just looking for recommendations of folks who install moorings.

Water Mark Marine is usually pretty good from a recommendation stand point... I have had several conversation with them and they are always helpful....

In doing some snooping around on the internet, I believe you will want some additional weight beyond the two existing Granite blocks, although they are a good start......

[ishoot308]

Hi Cate;

I would have to say that your 300 lbs of granite blocks is definitely not enough for your boat. I have a 1000 lb block of concrete for my simple swim raft on the West side of Welch and that came recommended by the Production Trailer and Dock at the time.

Good luck!

Dan

[CateP]

Thanks everyone who has replied and offered advice on those 300lb granite blocks. (which end up weighing less in the water) I think we are going to turn to the professionals for this project.

[Orion]

Doing the math, considering the displacement of water, 1000 lbs of concrete weighs 587 lbs in the water and two 300 lb granite blocks weigh 379 lbs.

[codeman671]

I will echo others in that 300lbs is not even close. Out there I would look for 2x1000lb blocks (or a single 2k) and a very thick chain....

Diversified did our moorings, I do not recall how heavy they were but they were large. We ended up after about 7-8 years having to re-chain them as ours was wearing very thin. I think we went to a stainless chain, it was about 4years ago so I am a bit hazy on the details.

You do have to be the property owner and provide registrations annually for the boats that you are claiming will be on the moorings. If the mooring is not actively permitted they may have to provide need for having it, for example if they have a dock with 2 slips on it and only 2 boats registered they may give you push back, although being on Rattlesnake a good argument can me made to keep boats off the dock in bad weather.

I do not think MP really goes around checking if the boat on the mooring matches the application. Over the years we had many different boats on our moorings and were never hassled. As long as the mooring permit sticker was valid we were good to go.

In our case we applied for 2 moorings before our docks were installed. We ended up putting in 4 boat slips and at max only owned 3-4 boats at a time, but they never gave us a hard time about renewing the moorings. The whole process was quick, easy and the people at MP were good to deal with.

[tis]

We saw MP multiple times checking our neighbor's mooring. Do you know what they kept checking?

[Blue Thunder]

Thanks everyone who has replied and offered advice on those 300lb granite blocks. (which end up weighing less in the water) I think we are going to turn to the professionals for this project.

Good idea Cate. You'll get a myriad of opinions here but the bottom line is water displacement affects different mooring products differently. Better to have the pros do it.

[thinkxingu]

Dumb question, but: how the heck do you get to a moored boat?!

[upthesaukee]

Dumb question, but: how the heck do you get to a moored boat?!

A small tender (boat) that is left with the mooring when the big boat is out. I have seen people using a jetski for a tender. Some marinas, not necessarily on the lake, will provide "taxi" service out to the boat. And I have friends who will swim out to the boat, then come into the dock to pick up the rest of the crew.

[AC2717]

A small tender (boat) that is left with the mooring when the big boat is out. I have seen people using a jetski for a tender. Some marinas, not necessarily on the lake, will provide "taxi" service out to the boat. And I have friends who will swim out to the boat, then come into the dock to pick up the rest of the crew.

also sometimes use a inflatable or a towable to get out there, I have used a kayak before anything that floats lol

[chocophile]

When we renew our mooring permit each year we are required to send in a boat registration. But I don't think that's the ONLY boat that could be on the mooring. I think they want to be sure the owner of the mooring still owns a boat that needs the mooring.

I think the Marine Patrol is checking the permit sticker on the mooring ball, rather than trying to match the mooring permit to a specific boat. I'd be really surprised if the State of NH has the technical capability for the Marine Patrol to quickly find the boat registration that was sent in with the annual permit renewal.

[drwamcross]

Our condo association has a mooring field. The MP requires a boat registration for each mooring decal issued, but there is no later matching of boat and mooring; the moorings are not assigned but used on a first come, first served basis. There are also docks so you could end up with a boat at a mooring whose registration was not supplied to MP and the boat whose registration was used for a mooring decal tied up at the dock. The moorings are used for overnight stays; the boat may actually be at the mooring for the week or more. You cannot anchor overnight on the lake, but I don't believe there is such a restriction on moorings.

[BroadHopper]

This will be an interesting subject. Overnight stays are allowed at designated mooring spots in Great Bay. The mooring balls in Great Bay although registered to the state are available to transient boaters on a first come first served basis. You can check with the harbormaster what moorings are available.

Yet moorings on Lake Winnipesaukee are assign to a specific boat and overnight stays are not allowed. Is this specific to lake Winni? Or to all inland waterways and Great Bay is exempt?

[climber]

Sureline Moorings specializes in the installation and maintenance of moorings on Lake Winnipesaukee. They are very conscientious, knowledgeable, and will give you a great price. Their service can't be beat and they can be reached at (603) 393-7988 or via their website at www.surelinemoorings.com