Looking to set a mooring

[Bogger]

I've been looking into different options for setting a mooring. So far the best set up I've come across is to use old Brake Drums from a semi. Because they are round there is no chance of snagging the chain, they weigh 110lbs each and due to their design will create a suction lock with the lake bottom so 220lbs should be all I need given it is a soft bottom lake and they will inevitably sink 1-2 feet.

Anyone else have any experience with setting a mooring? any idea where a guy could grab a couple old brake drums on the cheap?

Other options would be: concrete hydrant bases @ 120lbs each or freeweights from a dumbbell set.

 

[teeroy]

jeez...if you were only closer, I have a stack of drums out back

 

[pipeliner72]

Should be able to get some old drums at badger truck parts on lily lake rd north of bon accord.

 

[Director]

Grew up in Southern MB, lots of soft bottom lakes in the area.. Never tried brake drums b4 but i bet it would work pretty slick - cinder blocks, welded plate on 1 side and concrete poured inside, threaded rod, spike tried those.. Couple things we've found over the years - you want something relatively smooth so if you hit it, step, kick etc it won't be too hard on the feet, something you can easily set and don't have to spend too much time under the water setting it up - we screwed a threaded rod in one time and had to keep diving down to thread it in - didn't think that thru..

It's breakup - swing by a mechanic shop and check the steel bin, should be lots.

 

[Bogger]

I don't plan on going down to the bottom period, this will be set in 10' of water and I will connect the 3/4" chain prior to dumping it in.

This is what I'm looking to do

Grew up in Southern MB, lots of soft bottom lakes in the area.. Never tried brake drums b4 but i bet it would work pretty slick - cinder blocks, welded plate on 1 side and concrete poured inside, threaded rod, spike tried those.. Couple things we've found over the years - you want something relatively smooth so if you hit it, step, kick etc it won't be too hard on the feet, something you can easily set and don't have to spend too much time under the water setting it up - we screwed a threaded rod in one time and had to keep diving down to thread it in - didn't think that thru..

It's breakup - swing by a mechanic shop and check the steel bin, should be lots.

 

[SHREK1]

I've been looking into different options for setting a mooring. So far the best set up I've come across is to use old Brake Drums from a semi. Because they are round there is no chance of snagging the chain, they weigh 110lbs each and due to their design will create a suction lock with the lake bottom so 220lbs should be all I need given it is a soft bottom lake and they will inevitably sink 1-2 feet.

Anyone else have any experience with setting a mooring? any idea where a guy could grab a couple old brake drums on the cheap?

Other options would be: concrete hydrant bases @ 120lbs each or freeweights from a dumbbell set.[/QUOTE

I have a couple drums you can have, I'm in winterburn

 

[Puba]

Let me see what we have around the shop, kinda hard to find small stuff. Got a few inner tire rims but we'd need a barge for those.

 

[AreWeThereYet]

On the west coast we just used 20L pails full of cement with a piece of re-bar bent in a u shape, of course that was only for 14 foot aluminum boats.

 

[tater]

How big of boat?? I wouldn't trust 220 lbs to hold my boat no matter how deep it sinks. We used 16 bags of concrete and rebar for ours and buried 3-4' down.

 

[Free Rider]

Lots of guys use cat tracks on the shuswap. When it gets rough one end of the track will come up a bit then lay flat again. This way it has some give to it and it's not a solid anchor. 6 to 8 feet of track seems to be what I have seen quite often

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

 

[Marley]

We have used a tire off of a car or truck filled with concrete and some rebar bent around and sticking out to attach to. Once finished you can roll the tire to where you need to go.
Use a heavy chain and attach some extra weight several feet up the chain - this helps keeping the pull more horizontal and also acts to put some tension on the line which helps stop jarring in heavy wave action.

Also keep slack in your mooring line so the boat does not sit right over top of the mooring spot - this allows the boat to ride up and over the waves rather than slamming up and down.

 

[Bogger]

I have a couple drums you can have, I'm in winterburn

That's awesome, I'll have to meet up with you.

How big of boat?? I wouldn't trust 220 lbs to hold my boat no matter how deep it sinks. We used 16 bags of concrete and rebar for ours and buried 3-4' down.

It's a 24' cabin cruiser, 220lbs will sink hard and fast into the loon chit bottom and I'm certain will hold, it's also going in a very sheltered area where it will seldom see a breeze let lone a strong wind. I'm going to attach 20' of 1" chain and then another 10' of 1/2" so there will be little pull on the mooring itself.

 

[sledderdoc]

Don't want to tie it to your dock ................ that you are going to build?

 

[Bogger]

She will spend the weekends on the dock for easy access but I want to set a mooring so I can keep her less accessible when I'm not using her. I looked into 5000lb lifts and they are quite spendy....

Don't want to tie it to your dock ................ that you are going to build?

 

[sledderdoc]

She will spend the weekends on the dock for easy access but I want to set a mooring so I can keep her less accessible when I'm not using her. I looked into 5000lb lifts and they are quite spendy....

Ahhhh makes sense. I'm working on the cabin this week. Be out every day starting wed. drop by for a beer if your home.

 

[eclipse1966]

I used 4 large pails filled with concrete with a piece of rebar in each of them (total weight was 425 lbs). Hooked them all with a chain and then a home made swivel from chain to float. Pails were easier to handle as we have a fair bit of distance to drop them off in the Shuswap. Buy a rubber snubber from float to boat and leave lots of of slack if you can. Several boats on the Shuswap started floating away in wicked storms as the boat literally walked the anchor into deeper water and floated away. Not a nice experience for the owners!

 

[woody_tobius_jr]

That happened to us, except the way the storm blew in, it pulled my boat about 5 houses down through the night, I was lucky, the water was about the same depth the way the wind was blowing. The people we had rented from had used an old engine block, but once the boat tightened up in the wind the waves would rock the boat and lift the block a bit with every big wave. If your in a sheltered cove, with no threat of bad waves, a couple hundred pounds would probably work for you, I always opt for the better safe than sorry route, if I think I need this much to make it secure, then I'll add a little extra for peace of mind.
How did Wabamun treat you last year, was it worth the move?

 

[sledderdoc]

You can literally push a 20 ft. metal fence post in 10 ft with minimal effort (one hand) and there is no way you will pull it out. Instantly! I know that from my dock. Loon **** holds a lot of stuff lol.

 

[Mike270412]

If setting a mooring is anything like a pier,I would love to assist.As long as there is a big jar of advil available for the next day.