Roger Long wrote:
While cruising however, you will encounter lots of poorly set up
mooring that may be in equally obstructed areas and you will want to
be competent at picking them up.


That's true. That's when the line run aft from your mooring
cleat comes in real handy. It's not "traditional" to pick up
moorings at the aft end of the boat, but if conditions make
that more practical and reliable, why not?



Someone suggested practicing on a channel marker. That's the dumbest
idea I've heard in a long time.

Well, I suggested practicing *near* a channel marker. Not
the same thing.

.... Those things are heavy and go way
down in the water. Hitting them is like hitting a piling. Take a
milk jug on a long light line with an anchor if you can't find
something else that is light and attached to the bottom.


That's a good idea for full-dress practice.

What I was suggesting was a follow-up to Stephen's
suggestion of practicing the maneuvers, to get an idea of
set & drift, along with minimum steerage & prop kick...
things that all too many boaters have no idea about. Without
something fixed in place, near enough to use as a reference,
you will not be able to gauge your boat's turning, stopping,
etc etc.



Just like landing a plane, assuming that you will go around and having
a plan to do it is your best safety net. It may look like there is no
way to recover from a botched mooring pick up at your home mooring but
there must be.

And if there isn't you'll suffer the consequence.

One of the things I like to do is ride around the mooring
field (carefully keeping the boat under full control)...
meet the neighbors, look for the best mooring, and see what
routes are open. A lot of people are in too much of a hurry
to do this.

... Spend some time figuring out exactly what you will do
if you miss or your crew drops the pendant. It's going to happen
someday. Practicing that maneuver is as important as practicing the
pickup.


Some years ago, very late in the season, a family member and
I cruised in his boat to Cuttyhunk. In fact it was so late
in the season that they were engaged in picking up the
moorings. We were one of three boats in the harbor (a good
reason to go in the off-season).

One morning, as I was sitting in the cockpit enjoying the
atmosphere & a cup of coffee, a smallish motor cruiser came
into the harber and began trying to pick up a mooring. The
people were not skilled, and they bumbled from one ball to
the next with a hapless crew on the bow stabbing almost at
random at the moorings. It didn't help that the helmsman
could not see under the bow very well, and the crew had such
a short boat hook that they had to almost fall in to reach
the water.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the harbor, a seaplane was
preparing to take off. They began their taxi run, then
applied throttle. The smallish cruiser zigged and zagged
obliviously from mooring ball to mooring ball, and crossed
right in front of the plane as the pontoons began to lift.

I didn't even have time to call out, but my cousin stuck his
head out of the companionway just a few seconds later... the
plane missed the cruiser by perhaps six feet, visibly
startling (and scaring the pants off of) the helmsman. I
really thought we were going to see a flaming crash!

The small motor cruiser gave up and putt-putted out of the
harbor. So the moral of the story is, practice picking up
your mooring and you won't get dive-bombed.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King