Mooring pick up with high bow

[AnsleyS]

Hi Folks,


We are the new owners of a KK42 #41 which is now named Jubilee. We came over to the power side from a Camper Nicholson 39 ketch and I am wondering how folks deal with picking up the mooring over the KK42 high bow.



Do you have a ten foot high pickup buoy, do you pick up the mooring abeam and walk it forward or do you just have an enormous boat hook?



I get dizzy just looking down off the bow.


Cheers

 

[O C Diver]

My boat has a high bow. I run a long line from the cleat through the hause pipe back to just outside my pilothouse door. Pick the mooring up there and take the line back up through the hause pipe and take the slack out. I do this solo, so getting the mooring in the right spot and completely stopping the boat is critical.

Ted

 

[sunchaser]

We pick up from cockpit, attach a long lead and walk it forward on side decks. Many KKs have the aft enclosure that adds a gyration or two.

Many years ago I served as foredeck crew on a large ocean racer. We'd approach mooring ball under sail, helmsman would luff off and with vessel possibly stationary I'd grab it with a long boat hook. The skipper taught me some new words if I missed the grab as it was a sin to start the auxiliary and go around.

 

[caltexflanc]

We had an even higher bow than yours on our Hatteras 56MY. Depended a lot on the mooring configuration, but typically we would grab it midships. We also had an extendable boat hook available. We based ourselves one summer in Westport Harbor, MA and when we reserved the spot a month or two in advance, they were nice enough to put a long stick on a buoy Kind of like what you see on some crab/lobster pots but about 6 feet long, that we could grab when alongside.

You can see the stick poking out from the port side of the bow. I sometimes thought of getting one that we could attach to various mooring rigs if we were going to be there awhile, but never did. As a side note this is also an example of how mooring systems vary:

 

[menzies]

We cleat one end of a line to the bow and walk it back outside everything to lower midship ( off the Portuguese Bridge). Sian picks up the pendant, puts the line through the eye, drops the pendant and walks the line back to the bow and cleats that.

We fall back off the ball and leave the line long until we have engines off and everything settled, then we go to the bow and snug the mooring as we wish.

It took a while for me to get comfortable doing this as I was worried about catching the mooring line on the stabilizer fin, but that really is not a worry.

Another big advantage is that I can easily see where the ball is in relation to the side of the boat - which you can't do with a high bow.

I would be cautious having your crew pick up the pendant and try walking that forward as mooring lines are pretty short as they tend to go more directly to the bottom. And with your boat falling back there will be a big strain, especially if walking higher onto the bow.

 

[alormaria]

I pulled up next to it on the helmsman's side and grabbed the float with a boat hook.

 

[caltexflanc]

As you'll discover, there is not one method that fits all mooring systems, which there are many variations. So take our various suggestions as a group, there is not one be-all and end-all answer. One advantage of using a managed mooring field is you can call ahead and have the harbormaster tell you what the process is; some places you can radio as you approach the harbor and they will have a launch come out and help you get secured (and maybe even sign you in). They will tell you if you need to use your own lines to make fast, which I do anyway if at all possible. Most harbormasters don't want your boat careening loose through the field any more than you do.

 

[Moonfish]

We have been using a Hook & Moor for 5 years, and it works 100% of the time. The largest model extends to 10.4-feet. We usually pick up a dozen mooring buoys each summer and we both feel it's one of the best pieces of equipment on the boat. Totally removes the stress of picking up a mooring.

https://www.pacificnwboatertested.com/products/hook-moor

 

[menzies]

Do you pick up from the bow using that?

 

[koliver]

In a strong current past the mooring, picking it up from a high bow may not be possible. In that case, what I do is to pick it up from the lower side of the boat, or even at the swim grid and tie off. Then I arrange a bow line through the mooring eye.

If you can park with your bow on top of the mooring, then you could use a pendant that you can pick up with a boat hook, so that there is something you can reach with your boat hook and bring on deck. In my home waters, a floating pendant quickly grows weed, so is unwelcome on deck. Even carefully coiling a pendant on the top of the mooring doesn't save it from being in the water when you arrive, as animals, Otters, Cormorants, that like to claim the bouy as their own will push the pendant into the water. The shape of the bouy itself may prevent keeping the pendant out of the water

Just saw the above "hook and moor", that looks very good, but is expensive at over $300 Cdn and doesn't ship to Canada. I would be interested once shipping is overcome and the price comes down.

 

[Woodland Hills]

We use our mooring bridle. Just attach it to the bow cleats normally and throw it over the mooring ball when you get close enough. The weight of the shackles and chain hook will sink the loop below the ball holding you in place as long as you want. We then use the boat hook to pull the pendant up and run our mooring line through the ring. You can then remove the bridle from the bow cleats and adjust the mooring line to the correct length.

 

[Moonfish]

Do you pick up from the bow using that?

Yes, every time. Our bow is 6'6" high.

 

[Moonfish]

Just saw the above "hook and moor", that looks very good, but is expensive at over $300 Cdn and doesn't ship to Canada. I would be interested once shipping is overcome and the price comes down.

We do ship them to Canada. But you're right, they are not cheap! (But well worth it, in our opinion)

 

[Rob]

We’ve got a KK42 as well. You’re simply going to have trouble catching a ball from the bow! What we do is approach a ball at a crawl speed, then grab the ball at midship and walk it foreword. I don’t think that with the shape of our vessel that it would be safe to grab a ball from the swim step. Personally I don’t want any lines near that prop!

 

[angus99]

Lots of good advice given. I can offer how not to do it.

Since you have a heavy boat, best not to attempt to pick up a mooring line bare-handed and try to hold it in a strong current. Mollusks just love them. Ask me how I know.

 

[Rob]

Something that we’ve Found to be very handy is a”Grab-N-Go” by C. Sherman Johnson available from West Marine for about $95. This easy to use hook allows you to make an easy temporary connection to a ball while threading a more secure line Thur the eye. I leave the Grab-N-Go line connected to the ball to use as a safety line. Also makes it very safe and easy to drop the ball when you are all done!

 

[caltexflanc]

Make no assumptions. You do NOT want to secure yourself in anyway to that ball shown dangling off my bow in the picture. We had a device similar to the Hook 'n Moor on our boat, based on PNW charter experiences in the San Juans and Gulf Islands and the types of moorings we experienced up there. In our years of cruising up and down the east coast and mooring in any number of places, we never used it, for a variety of reasons, mostly due to variety of moorings.

 

[SteveK]

Here is another brand
EasyMoor

 

[DDW]

I own the EasyMoor, the HappyHooker, and a couple of other versions. The Hook & Moor is better than all the rest, hands down. It is made better, and it works better. The mechanism is fiendishly clever.

 

[GoldenDawn]

On my KK42 I pick up on starboard (starboard prop-walk) at bottom of stairs from front deck. Our bow line reaches this far. Sometimes it takes two tries but mostly not.

 

[PamLeatch]

We have a high bow too. So we pick up the buoy through one of the side doors, thread a rope through the loop and walk it forward. Then we can attach the buoy at bow/foredeck. We wear gloves to avoid barnacles on ropes. This became a lot easier to coordinate since we started wearing headsets for communication. Also since I’ve had less experience at this, the last time we were out, I practised it a dozen or so times and it became easier.

 

[Comodave]

I don’t know if they still are in business or not but there was a device that you mounted on the end of a boat hook called the Happy Hooker. It would thread your line thru a ring by pushing the device onto the ring and then pulling it back. It worked well but I have not seen one in years.

 

[Codger2]

......and when we reserved the spot a month or two in advance, they were nice enough to put a long stick on a buoy Kind of like what you see on some crab/lobster pots but about 6 feet long, that we could grab when alongside.

That's what they do at Avalon, Catalina Island. My bow is over 6' off the water and I just sneak up to the buoy & my crewman lying down on the bow reaches out and pulls it aboard. After attaching it to the bow cleat, he or she walks the line back to the stern (with gloves) and attaches it to the stern cleat. Once your bow is abeam the "stick" the whole process takes about 1 minute. It works when single handing too but it takes planning & practice.

 

[menzies]

That's what they do at Avalon, Catalina Island. My bow is over 6' off the water and I just sneak up to the buoy & my crewman lying down on the bow reaches out and pulls it aboard. After attaching it to the bow cleat, he or she walks the line back to the stern (with gloves) and attaches it to the stern cleat. Once your bow is abeam the "stick" the whole process takes about 1 minute. It works when single handing too but it takes planning & practice.

Not quite sure I understand that - why is he walking the mooring back to the stern cleat?

 

[caltexflanc]

Because the Catalina moorings secure you in one direction to be bow into the inherent swell, and mitigate swinging, which maximizes boat density. One more time, moorings vary greatly in configuration and the protocol by which you secure your boat to them.

https://www.visitcatalinaisland.com/things-to-do/two-harbors/boating/mooring-info-and-rules/

 

[Beaverlake]

A word of caution to boaters in WA state re marine park and DNR bouys. When the state changed over to the newer plastic globe floats they modified the ground tackle connection. The chain runs down to a rope/chain connection and the rope then runs down to the anchoring device. At the rope-chain junction is an egg-shaped float. At zero or negative tides that float can get very close to the surface, close enough to wrap a prop if you are trying to grab the ring from a swim platform or if you somehow cross the line in gear.

This happened to us in Sucia (on a rising tide). The diver had cut loose another boat at Sucia just 3 weeks prior and yet another boat at another park a week before that. In the first instance the captain waited almost too long to call for assistance - the water was just a couple inches from breaching the transom door when the diver made the cut. She said it sounded like an explosion and the stern seemed like it cleared the water. (It didn’t of course.)

So a word of warning to WA state captains who have switched to using the swim platform for picking up the mooring and walking it forward, or are thinking about it.

 

[menzies]

Because the Catalina moorings secure you in one direction to be bow into the inherent swell, and mitigate swinging, which maximizes boat density. One more time, moorings vary greatly in configuration and the protocol by which you secure your boat to them.

https://www.visitcatalinaisland.com/things-to-do/two-harbors/boating/mooring-info-and-rules/

Didn't answer my question, but the graphic in your link did.

It is a bow and stern tie.

 

[rochepoint]

We have been using a Hook & Moor for 5 years, and it works 100% of the time. The largest model extends to 10.4-feet. We usually pick up a dozen mooring buoys each summer and we both feel it's one of the best pieces of equipment on the boat. Totally removes the stress of picking up a mooring.

https://www.pacificnwboatertested.com/products/hook-moor

 

[fractalphreak]

I echo that regionally or even locally you will run across different types of moorings. Those of us posting RE the Pacific Northwest are typically dealing with park mooring buoys, that typically have a chain topped with a large ring passing through them. It is possible for a strong crewmember (in no wind/current with a well piloted boat) to hook the chain loop with a conventional boat hook, pull up the loop, and pass a line through. In practice this can be scary, you have a large boat drifting off station, with the master unable to see the buoy, and the crewmember unable to physically signal because both hands are full trying to hold on to the hook...

We carry the Grab n Go, hook n moor, and conventional boat hooks. None always seem to work 100%, but we always get onto the aforementioned moorings with one of them, depending on the exact style/conditions. Our hook n moor is relatively new to us, and has only been used 5-6 times so far.

But the OP asked about dealing with the high bow. NWD's bow is approximately 7 ft off the water at the bow. Amidships it is closer to 3.5 or 4 ft. (I'll have to go measure, now!)

All of our hooks are long enough to deploy from the high bow, but it tends to be a little more fiddly depending on conditions. I think people overthink picking up the mooring at the tip of the bow - yes, that's where it rides after you're done, but put the mooring where it is best for the master and crew to pick up.

Single handing the past two weekends picking up moorings (ie the buoys noted above) I primarily tried getting the mooring alongside just forward of amidships, and had my hook of choice rigged and ready to go. That allowed me to have a bow line ready that I could get onto the mooring, then tie off to one of my bow cleats.

Making sure to have the mooring (buoy) alongside instead of at the tip of the bow allows you to be down closer to it, and make it less likely for the boat to drift off to the other side of the mooring. You can move fore and aft easily to capture a mooring, but if it goes off to the other side, now your line and the pulpit/anchor are all fouled. Depending on visibility from the helm/flybridge, keeping the buoy off to the side past the bow also gives the master a chance to observe the mooring directly, and better position/maneuver the boat to keep it in position.

At the same time, I have a line rigged and ready at the stern. If I can't get it with the bow, and drift past it, I have a second line rigged to get myself secured. Once secure and on the mooring, you can usually get another line through the mooring and carefully migrate to the bow. I did that last weekend. This weekend my hook and moor worked perfectly. It didn't last weekend, but that was because I'm not usually using it and was not proficient enough to get it on the first try in current and wind. But my backup stern line and old school boat hook got me secured, and then I was able to get a bow line through the eye, and walk it forward.

Like others have posted, some always pick up the mooring well aft, and walk it forward. This weekend I watched a 32 Bayliner (hardly a super high bow, but with a very close to the water cockpit) in completely calm conditions secure to the mooring at the stern first, then walk it forward. It occurred to me that is their default way of doing it.

My point of reference is tying to single point (buoy) moorings here in the PNW. The bow/stern mooring fields found in SoCAL (Catalina for example) may or may not be handled in the same way - the videos I've watched (Winty on Youtube) indicate the mooring has a long whip you pick up that has line you then tie to your fore and aft cleats. I'm totally unfamiliar with what the east coast has available for moorings, so none of this may apply!

Please follow up with your experience, it enlightens all of us to see different ways others come up with or settle on for dealing with this mundane little tasks!

 

[menzies]

I'm totally unfamiliar with what the east coast has available for moorings, so none of this may apply!

The east coast is pretty broad, with huge differences in mooring buoy set ups between south and north (e.g. Yorktown Riverwalk Marina mooring field that looks like a couple of dozen WWII floating mines!) but I will describe what I have seen in the SE and the Bahamas, while discussing the design of well maintained moorings.

The moorings around here have a big white ball with a smaller ball or "crab float" on a short line. Off that smaller ball is a pendant with an thimble eye. You can either grab the line between the mooring ball and the "crab ball" and then get the pendant/thimble or the line after the "crab ball," though you need to make sure you get the pendant thimble.

One you have either you can pass a line through the eye and bring it back to the boat. I have seen boats that actually bring the thimble on board and put it over a cleat, not my choice as they are often very tight plus pretty dirty!