Quote:
Originally Posted by Lakeprincess
Hi there. Last year we paid $1800 for a floating swim platform, made of cedar, and all seemed well. I think it's 8 by 8 feet. Anyway, it got away - the rope broke, the $150 anchor (250 pound test) is on the lake bottom and little kids are MAD. We are probably just dummies.
But... does anyone have any advice on what type of cable or rope we need to keep the darn thing reigned in, and what is the best kind of anchor if we need to replace it. Thanks guys.  |
A friend uses a long stainless steel cable, and detaches it from the block every Autumn. (His is a windward shore, so it's in relatively shallow water). That same cable has been mooring his boats for 40 years!
For at least a decade, this is the first season that I
haven't seen a swim platform or raft go scudding by these windows! (So far, anyway). Very often, it's a too-short chain that's the problem: the wind kicks up—hoists the five or six concrete blocks off the bottom into deeper water—
and good-bye swim platform.
I rescued three orange mooring balls adrift after Ice-Out, 2008: It was surprising the amount of corrosion that had eaten away at the metal rod
inside the styrofoam on each. Though still useable, they'd become useless for dependability.
If what you have presently is a "real, brand-name, anchor", you can still use that to add additional "drag" protection for the replacement block.
BTW: Your raft is probably not very far away and residing on somebody's shoreline: very possibly, the Marine Patrol can advise you. (877) 642-9700.
A few things to keep in mind:
1) You can't use too much weight on the bottom:
An "anchor" of only 250 pounds becomes one-half that weight underwater. I'd use a
single, very-heavy weight: two or more weights can be gradually "hiked" by strong winds into deeper water. If the new mooring block is made of concrete cement, include as much iron and steel scrap in the mix: Rocks are not "weighty" enough to benefit—and even the concrete itself will eventually erode away.
2) Whatever block you get for your mooring should be
buried for maximum effectiveness—if possible. I'll bet the benefit of weight is doubled—or more—for a buried mooring!
3) If you're in, say, 38-feet of water, use a second, lighter, line with sufficient weight to lower the mooring ball to about three feet below the surface for the winter: use a boat hook to retrieve it.
I'd still have
all the metal parts involved inspected every three years. (Include the "thimbles" used in protection against rope abrasion). Although stainless steel is highly desireable, anything made of metal will corrode in this lake—
including stainless steel.
4) The more buoyant the raft—the deeper the water and the amount of wind exposure—then more weight and a greater ratio of chain (or rope-and-chain combo) will be needed.
5) You can't get away with cheap "hardware-store" chain in
this lake.
If you use rope (or if the bottom is less than six-feet deep), don't use a mooring block that has exposed edges or corners. An enterprising installer can use water pressure to bury the block below a sandy bottom. (That's the very best protection, anyway, against the wind's tugging the mooring block away).
You can readily leave rope on the bottom over winter. Whether rope or chain, you can attach a brightly-colored line (or weight) trailed off towards shore. A fisherman's trolled hook and line can still cause it to move, though.
6) Put your name and address on items that the wind can cause to float away.
The "non-named" pontoon raft I recovered two years ago is now very prominently marked by the original owner! You could even add as little as one or more
mailing address labels to the side every season.
Quote:
Originally Posted by meredith weekender
We have a swim raft in meredith bay where it is quite rough at times. The raft is in 38' of water. The anchor is a 500 lb. concrete mooring anchor, then we used 50' of 3/8" galvanized chain with a mooring ball on top. The raft attaches to the mooring ball. It has been this way for 5 years now and works great. |
Parm'me, but five years isn't a great test to hold a cedar raft costing in excess of $1800—
or a great test for galvanized chain for that matter.
This is a bucket holding
one length of galvanized chain after only about seven years immersion in Lake Winnipesaukee.
