On 1/16/2012 9:42 PM, North Star wrote:
On Jan 16, 6:19 pm, X ` Mandump-on-conservati...@anywhere-you-
can.com wrote:
On 1/16/12 5:06 PM, Wayne.B wrote:





On Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:42:11 -0800 (PST), North Star
wrote:

I have never used a mooring buoy but I assumed they just had an eye on
top and you brought over your own line.
Why is there a line there at all?

In a rough sea, a mooring line is alot easier to pick up with your
boat hook......especially if your boat has a generous freeboard.

===

Yes, exactly right.

When the wind is blowing hard and/or there is a lot of current,
picking up a mooring without a line is very difficult.

When I was a kid and we were at the beach for the summer, we kept our
boats on buoys and mushroom anchors about 200 feet beyond the low tide
sandbars. I usually had so much wax on the mahogany deck of my little
runabout that when I crawled out on it to hook it up to the buoy and
pull over the canvas cover, the cover and I would slide off into Long
Island Sound. Usually the water wasn't rough enough to make attaching a
line to the buoy difficult. Small boats, relatively sheltered waters.

The buoys usually were stainless steel beer barrels. My dad would cut a
hole in each end and thread through a rod and weld the rod to the barrel
and then weld a donut shaped fitting to each end of the rod. We'd paint
the barrels with copper bottom paint.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

This type seems popular at the yacht clubs around here.
I believe they use a galvanized shackle to attach the heavy chain and
the mooring line.
http://ca.binnacle.com/Docking-and-M...duct_info.html

They are most typically used for fishing and as fenders to separate
rafted boats. I suppose a real cheapskate might try to get away with
using it as a mooring float. Burst it and it's "diver down".