Threading a pennant on a mooring ball?
 

So far the only way I know is to pick up the mooring bail, bent down and
thread a rope through the bail. From the bow of a sailboat it can become
difficult when the weather is bad. I only wish I could learn a better way
to thread the pennant trough the bail hook.

Denis Marier wrote:
So far the only way I know is to pick up the mooring bail, bent down
and thread a rope through the bail. From the bow of a sailboat it
can become difficult when the weather is bad. I only wish I could
learn a better way to thread the pennant trough the bail hook.

There really _is_ no simpler method. I once picked up a mooring at Indian
Harbor (CT) while handling a 46 footer, where the mooring pennant had
already been removed (very late in the season). It was blowing 25 - 30 SW
and the youngsters manning the club's VHF had directed me to that specific
mooring. I realized only after the fact that the pennant was long gone to
storage. Meanwhile my soon-to-be wife was driving the ship with about 2
hours experience, trying to hear my shouts over the wind. We didn't sink
or hit anything hard, but it was close at times.

Repeat: There is no simple method and the best tactic is to grab that ball
with the pole and pray.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://home.comcast.net/~kerrydeare

In "Armond Perretta" writes:

Denis Marier wrote:
So far the only way I know is to pick up the mooring bail, bent down
and thread a rope through the bail. From the bow of a sailboat it
can become difficult when the weather is bad. I only wish I could
learn a better way to thread the pennant trough the bail hook.

There really _is_ no simpler method. I once picked up a mooring at Indian
Harbor (CT) while handling a 46 footer, where the mooring pennant had
already been removed (very late in the season). It was blowing 25 - 30 SW
and the youngsters manning the club's VHF had directed me to that specific
mooring. I realized only after the fact that the pennant was long gone to
storage. Meanwhile my soon-to-be wife was driving the ship with about 2
hours experience, trying to hear my shouts over the wind. We didn't sink
or hit anything hard, but it was close at times.

Repeat: There is no simple method and the best tactic is to grab that ball
with the pole and pray.

I do not understand this, here in Europe we have a multitude of gadgets
that help you to pick the moorin and fasten the rope to the loop or eye.

In some cases you can leave the hook (the length can be anything from
about a feet to six feet so it is easy to remove it without bending head
down to the moorin buoy, or you can just thread the rope through the eye
and pull it back to your boat and have a double rope to the mooring and
when you leave you just pull the rope away.

- Lauri Tarkkonen

Lauri Tarkkonen wrote:
In "Armond Perretta" writes:


Denis Marier wrote:

So far the only way I know is to pick up the mooring bail, bent down
and thread a rope through the bail. From the bow of a sailboat it
can become difficult when the weather is bad. I only wish I could
learn a better way to thread the pennant trough the bail hook.


There really _is_ no simpler method. I once picked up a mooring at Indian
Harbor (CT) while handling a 46 footer, where the mooring pennant had
already been removed (very late in the season). It was blowing 25 - 30 SW
and the youngsters manning the club's VHF had directed me to that specific
mooring. I realized only after the fact that the pennant was long gone to
storage. Meanwhile my soon-to-be wife was driving the ship with about 2
hours experience, trying to hear my shouts over the wind. We didn't sink
or hit anything hard, but it was close at times.


Repeat: There is no simple method and the best tactic is to grab that ball
with the pole and pray.


I do not understand this, here in Europe we have a multitude of gadgets
that help you to pick the moorin and fasten the rope to the loop or eye.

In some cases you can leave the hook (the length can be anything from
about a feet to six feet so it is easy to remove it without bending head
down to the moorin buoy, or you can just thread the rope through the eye
and pull it back to your boat and have a double rope to the mooring and
when you leave you just pull the rope away.

- Lauri Tarkkonen



At the clubs I frequent here in Nova Scotia, they usually have two
briddles of polyproplyne rope that floats. We just ensure that we're
heading upwind to the ball and have someone on the bow with a boat hook
directing the helmsman.
It used to be tricky when I sailed my 17' Siren singlehanded and had a
British Seagull outboard without neutral or reverse.

Lauri Tarkkonen wrote:

I do not understand this, here in Europe we have a multitude of gadgets
that help you to pick the moorin and fasten the rope to the loop or eye.

In some cases you can leave the hook (the length can be anything from
about a feet to six feet so it is easy to remove it without bending
head down to the moorin buoy, or you can just thread the rope through the
eye and pull it back to your boat and have a double rope to the mooring
and when you leave you just pull the rope away.

Both your comment and Don's assume that an actual pennant is fitted to the
mooring ball. In the case I cited, the standard pennant had been removed,
and I found myself hanging off the bow of a 46 footer (about 2 meters off
the water), trying to thread my own line through the mooring ball ring in 25
to 30 knots of wind. Only later did I fully realize that due to our late
season arrival the mooring pennants had already been removed by the club
staff.

I freely admit that I am not very good at holding a 46 foot motorsailer into
a 25 knot wind using a boat pole attached to a mooring ball ring.


--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://home.comcast.net/~kerrydeare

Armond Perretta wrote:
Lauri Tarkkonen wrote:

I do not understand this, here in Europe we have a multitude of gadgets
that help you to pick the moorin and fasten the rope to the loop or eye.

In some cases you can leave the hook (the length can be anything from
about a feet to six feet so it is easy to remove it without bending
head down to the moorin buoy, or you can just thread the rope through the
eye and pull it back to your boat and have a double rope to the mooring
and when you leave you just pull the rope away.


Both your comment and Don's assume that an actual pennant is fitted to the
mooring ball. In the case I cited, the standard pennant had been removed,
and I found myself hanging off the bow of a 46 footer (about 2 meters off
the water), trying to thread my own line through the mooring ball ring in 25
to 30 knots of wind. Only later did I fully realize that due to our late
season arrival the mooring pennants had already been removed by the club
staff.

I freely admit that I am not very good at holding a 46 foot motorsailer into
a 25 knot wind using a boat pole attached to a mooring ball ring.


There are a variety of gadgets that deal with this. One form is a
snap hook that can grab the ring on the top (or even the chain, I
suppose). The hook is attached to a pole with a slider and pops off
as soon as you're hooked.

The other flavor is a cute little thing that's impossible to describe.
You first push and then pull - the result is that a light line is
fed though the eye and you can use it to pull a large line through.
West sells several versions of this - I have one that clips on my
utility pole.

Of course, both of these require that you can position the boat long
enough at the mooring for the person forward to do the work. This is
one more reason why I like our catamaran. The bow is 15 feet wide so
the entire crew can hang over and curse the person that removed the
pennant.

"Armond Perretta" wrote:

Denis Marier wrote:
So far the only way I know is to pick up the mooring bail, bent down
and thread a rope through the bail. From the bow of a sailboat it
can become difficult when the weather is bad. I only wish I could
learn a better way to thread the pennant trough the bail hook.

There really _is_ no simpler method. I once picked up a mooring at Indian
Harbor (CT) while handling a 46 footer, where the mooring pennant had
already been removed (very late in the season). It was blowing 25 - 30 SW
and the youngsters manning the club's VHF had directed me to that specific
mooring. I realized only after the fact that the pennant was long gone to
storage. Meanwhile my soon-to-be wife was driving the ship with about 2
hours experience, trying to hear my shouts over the wind. We didn't sink
or hit anything hard, but it was close at times.

Repeat: There is no simple method and the best tactic is to grab that ball
with the pole and pray.

Bob made, and you can buy, a gadget to pick up a mooring ball whether
it has a pennant on it or not. He bought the parts in Miami at a
marine store (don't remember which one) and mounted them on an old
broomstick (with the broom part cut off). I can use it (usually it
works better for us to have me try to get the mooring ball and him to
steer especially in any kind of wind, although for anchoring we do it
the other way around), but he has to explain it to me each time, so
I'm not sure I can describe it very well. It's kind of a snap hook
device, and he threads the line from the boat into it.

I'll ask him when he comes up to bed tonight.


grandma Rosalie

"Denis Marier" wrote in message
...
So far the only way I know is to pick up the mooring bail, bent down and
thread a rope through the bail. From the bow of a sailboat it can become
difficult when the weather is bad. I only wish I could learn a better way
to thread the pennant trough the bail hook.


Denis,

here's link for the happy hooker... works great...
http://www.firstmatescabin.com/page12.htm

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

Capt. JG wrote:
"Denis Marier" wrote in message
...

So far the only way I know is to pick up the mooring bail, bent down and
thread a rope through the bail. From the bow of a sailboat it can become
difficult when the weather is bad. I only wish I could learn a better way
to thread the pennant trough the bail hook.



Denis,

here's link for the happy hooker... works great...
http://www.firstmatescabin.com/page12.htm

Yea, that's like the gadget I got from West for about $20. I'm sure
this one works 22 times better.

Rosalie B. wrote:

I'll ask him when he comes up to bed tonight.

Rosalie, it's 2030 here in NJ. Are you already _in_ bed with your computer?

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http:\\home.comcast.net/kerrydeare

In article ,
"Denis Marier" wrote:

So far the only way I know is to pick up the mooring bail, bent down and
thread a rope through the bail. From the bow of a sailboat it can become
difficult when the weather is bad. I only wish I could learn a better way
to thread the pennant trough the bail hook.

If you do it a lot, the hooker would be a good idea, but the few times
I've had to hook to a bare mooring, I turned the boat around and
connected from the cockpit, which is a lot closer to the water.

As most of the moorings I've used had the chain running through a PVC
pipe through the mooring, when I picked the loop up, I could latch it
into a cleat for that third hand that's usually needed.

If I did it a lot, my mooring line would have its own hook for an
initial hook-up. I wouldn't depend on it of course, but anything that
lets me get things under control faster is good.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

"Armond Perretta" wrote:

Rosalie B. wrote:

I'll ask him when he comes up to bed tonight.

Rosalie, it's 2030 here in NJ. Are you already _in_ bed with your computer?

After 8:00 pm, I come upstairs and take my medications. Bob watches
TV downstairs, and I watch different stuff upstairs. A certain amount
of separateness is why we've been married for 46 years.

Snap shackles are what he uses. One is at West Marine and one is
advertised in Sail. We can put our own pennant on the mooring ball
using the snap shackle and then attach the boat to that using a
bridle.




grandma Rosalie

Rosalie: Can you provide a part number for the shackle you use? I'd
like to see one that's strong enough to moor your boat. Have you ever
had to cut one free because you couldn't detach it in rough weather?

"Armond Perretta" wrote in message
...
Denis Marier wrote:
So far the only way I know is to pick up the mooring bail, bent down
and thread a rope through the bail. From the bow of a sailboat it
can become difficult when the weather is bad. I only wish I could
learn a better way to thread the pennant trough the bail hook.

There really _is_ no simpler method. I once picked up a mooring at Indian
Harbor (CT) while handling a 46 footer, where the mooring pennant had
already been removed (very late in the season). It was blowing 25 - 30 SW
and the youngsters manning the club's VHF had directed me to that specific
mooring. I realized only after the fact that the pennant was long gone to
storage. Meanwhile my soon-to-be wife was driving the ship with about 2
hours experience, trying to hear my shouts over the wind. We didn't sink
or hit anything hard, but it was close at times.

Repeat: There is no simple method and the best tactic is to grab that
ball
with the pole and pray.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://home.comcast.net/~kerrydeare



isnt the standard technique (for a ball/mooring bouy of a reasonable size)
to drop a loop of line over it , pull in and cleat off? This holds you on
the ball while you thread the eye on the top. Done it many times

MD

Mobey Dick wrote:

isnt the standard technique (for a ball/mooring bouy of a reasonable
size) to drop a loop of line over it , pull in and cleat off? This
holds you on the ball while you thread the eye on the top. Done it
many times

I don't know how "standard" this is, but it would probably work well in many
cases.

I would not however venture to say that it would work in _all_ cases. In
the instance I cited (2 plus meters off the water in a borrowed 46 foot
motorsailer with none of my own gear on board, an inexperienced person at
the helm, a "yachtsman's gale" whooping up, no indication that the mooring
had essentially been disabled at that time of the year, etc., etc.), I am
just not 100% sure.

I don't really think, for the record, that any individual could have been
100% certain, but that's probably attributable to the narrow circles I
travel in.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://home.comcast.net/~kerrydeare

"Keith" wrote:

Rosalie: Can you provide a part number for the shackle you use? I'd
like to see one that's strong enough to moor your boat. Have you ever
had to cut one free because you couldn't detach it in rough weather?

We don't moor the boat with it - we just grab the mooring ball and
attach a pennant if there isn't one. The snap shackle (on the end of
a pole), just helps with the grabbing part, and I think it can be
rigged so that once you've got it, the pennant - already attached to
the bridle - is automatically attached.

Never had to cut one free, because it isn't on the mooring ball except
when we are getting it.


grandma Rosalie

Rosalie B. wrote:

We don't moor the boat with it - we just grab the mooring ball and
attach a pennant if there isn't one. The snap shackle (on the end of
a pole), just helps with the grabbing part, and I think it can be
rigged so that once you've got it, the pennant - already attached to
the bridle - is automatically attached.

As I understand the term "snap shackle," there is no part readily available
that will do what you suggest, Rosalie. A "snap shackle" is (to me) the
part that is spliced (or tied) into a halyard or sheet and used to secure a
line to a sail, a tackle to a vang rig, etc. I am thinking in particular of
the 1100 and 1200 series that used to be supplied by Nicro.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://home.comcast.net/~kerrydeare

"Armond Perretta" wrote:

Rosalie B. wrote:

We don't moor the boat with it - we just grab the mooring ball and
attach a pennant if there isn't one. The snap shackle (on the end of
a pole), just helps with the grabbing part, and I think it can be
rigged so that once you've got it, the pennant - already attached to
the bridle - is automatically attached.

As I understand the term "snap shackle," there is no part readily available
that will do what you suggest, Rosalie. A "snap shackle" is (to me) the
part that is spliced (or tied) into a halyard or sheet and used to secure a
line to a sail, a tackle to a vang rig, etc. I am thinking in particular of
the 1100 and 1200 series that used to be supplied by Nicro.

Well maybe I'm not using the right term, but that's what Bob called
it. It is available from West Marine, and it is advertised in the
magazines as a device for grabbing mooring buoys.

It may be something like this
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...242&storeNum=5


grandma Rosalie

Rosalie B. wrote:

"Armond Perretta" wrote:

Rosalie B. wrote:

We don't moor the boat with it - we just grab the mooring ball and
attach a pennant if there isn't one. The snap shackle (on the end of
a pole), just helps with the grabbing part, and I think it can be
rigged so that once you've got it, the pennant - already attached to
the bridle - is automatically attached.

As I understand the term "snap shackle," there is no part readily available
that will do what you suggest, Rosalie. A "snap shackle" is (to me) the
part that is spliced (or tied) into a halyard or sheet and used to secure a
line to a sail, a tackle to a vang rig, etc. I am thinking in particular of
the 1100 and 1200 series that used to be supplied by Nicro.

Well maybe I'm not using the right term, but that's what Bob called
it. It is available from West Marine, and it is advertised in the
magazines as a device for grabbing mooring buoys.

It may be something like this
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...242&storeNum=5

PS I'm pretty sure ours is a metal one and this one looks like
plastic. Bob bought the pieces and put it on a broomstick - it
doesn't come with a pole. So you can have the pole as long or short
as you need. The bow of our boat is also about 10 feet up above the
water, and I have to lie down on the deck to catch the mooring ball
ring, especially if there is no pennant on it.

grandma Rosalie

In article ,
Rosalie B. wrote:
Rosalie B. wrote:

"Armond Perretta" wrote:

Rosalie B. wrote:

We don't moor the boat with it - we just grab the mooring ball and
attach a pennant if there isn't one. The snap shackle (on the end of
a pole), just helps with the grabbing part, and I think it can be
rigged so that once you've got it, the pennant - already attached to
the bridle - is automatically attached.

As I understand the term "snap shackle," there is no part readily available
that will do what you suggest, Rosalie. A "snap shackle" is (to me) the
part that is spliced (or tied) into a halyard or sheet and used to secure a
line to a sail, a tackle to a vang rig, etc. I am thinking in particular of
the 1100 and 1200 series that used to be supplied by Nicro.

Well maybe I'm not using the right term, but that's what Bob called
it. It is available from West Marine, and it is advertised in the
magazines as a device for grabbing mooring buoys.

It may be something like this
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...242&storeNum=5

PS I'm pretty sure ours is a metal one and this one looks like
plastic. Bob bought the pieces and put it on a broomstick - it
doesn't come with a pole. So you can have the pole as long or short
as you need. The bow of our boat is also about 10 feet up above the
water, and I have to lie down on the deck to catch the mooring ball
ring, especially if there is no pennant on it.

grandma Rosalie

I've used the plastic version (brand name Happy Hooker) without
problems.


--
Jonathan Ganz (j gan z @ $ail no w.c=o=m)
http://www.sailnow.com
"If there's no wind, row."

"Denis Marier" wrote in message
...
So far the only way I know is to pick up the mooring bail, bent down and
thread a rope through the bail. From the bow of a sailboat it can become
difficult when the weather is bad. I only wish I could learn a better way
to thread the pennant trough the bail hook.


Can you pull up to the mooring ball so that the ball is at your stern
quarter and while holding your bow line just reach down a much shorter
distance than you would from the bow. Grab the eye, run the bow line
through. This seems to easy. What part of the picture am I missing?

"Marty" wrote:

"Denis Marier" wrote in message
...
So far the only way I know is to pick up the mooring bail, bent down and
thread a rope through the bail. From the bow of a sailboat it can become
difficult when the weather is bad. I only wish I could learn a better way
to thread the pennant trough the bail hook.


Can you pull up to the mooring ball so that the ball is at your stern
quarter and while holding your bow line just reach down a much shorter
distance than you would from the bow. Grab the eye, run the bow line
through. This seems to easy. What part of the picture am I missing?

The stern of our boat isn't that much lower than the bow and is also
not that much more accessible - we have a center cockpit boat.


grandma Rosalie

S/V RosalieAnn, Leonardtown, MD
CSY 44 WO #156
http://home.mindspring.com/~gmbeasley/id1.html

That what is done most of the time when the wind is light.
However, the picture could quickly change when the wind starts to pipe up
and the wave frequency increase.

"Marty" wrote in message
. com...

"Denis Marier" wrote in message
...
So far the only way I know is to pick up the mooring bail, bent down and
thread a rope through the bail. From the bow of a sailboat it can
become
difficult when the weather is bad. I only wish I could learn a better
way
to thread the pennant trough the bail hook.


Can you pull up to the mooring ball so that the ball is at your stern
quarter and while holding your bow line just reach down a much shorter
distance than you would from the bow. Grab the eye, run the bow line
through. This seems to easy. What part of the picture am I missing?

To thread the pennant while at the stern of a boat the freeboard height has
to be low enough to be within reach of the mooring ball. Sailboat's
freeboard are much higher than runabout power boat, dinghy-sailers and
kayaks. Some cabin cruisers have a swimming platform. However the average
freeboard height at the stern of cruising sailboats is over 4 feet.
A good mooring has the proper scope of chain and lifting the ball in the air
may be heavy and can easily pull the end of your hook or its handle. On
average mooring have 10-15 feet of heavy chain at the bottom and lighter
chain at the top. On average the proper mooring has a scope of 1 to 6.


"Denis Marier" wrote in message
...
That what is done most of the time when the wind is light.
However, the picture could quickly change when the wind starts to pipe up
and the wave frequency increase.

"Marty" wrote in message
. com...

"Denis Marier" wrote in message
...
So far the only way I know is to pick up the mooring bail, bent down
and
thread a rope through the bail. From the bow of a sailboat it can
become
difficult when the weather is bad. I only wish I could learn a better
way
to thread the pennant trough the bail hook.


Can you pull up to the mooring ball so that the ball is at your stern
quarter and while holding your bow line just reach down a much shorter
distance than you would from the bow. Grab the eye, run the bow line
through. This seems to easy. What part of the picture am I missing?