Mooring a Ranger Tug R-23

[robbinrh]

I'm curious whether anyone has kept their R-23 (or larger) on a mooring as opposed to a slip? I have a mooring in Lake Champlain and considering whether to use it for an R-23 I'm in the process of purchasing. I had kept a 26 foot Westerly sailboat on the mooring with a double mooring line attached to a bow deck cleat running through starboard and port chocks to the buoy. Is wear on the mooring line an issue, for example?
Thanks!

 

[JBfishon]

Mooring a boat is quite common on the New England coast. Over the years, I've kept my boats, multiple sailboats up to 34', and a Nordic Tug 34, on a marina mooring. It's important to know what the actually mooring is and the weight, be it a mushroom mooring (the standard), or a Dor-Mor, et al. Marinas, with liability, regularly inspect and maintain the moorings. A private mooring, not so much. The boat attachment is critical. You'll generally have a mooring ball with a galvanized steel hoop to attach the "pendant", the line or lines hitched to your boat's forward cleats. You'll want double poly/nylon pendants sized appropriately for your boat's weight, running through bow chocks (not the anchor roller, or bow pulpit), and attached to port and starboard cleats, with chaffing gear. With this setup, I've weathered multiple windstorms, up to 70 knots of sustained wind, plus one Cat 1 hurricane. Attached is my Nordic Tug 34, riding out a multi-day October 2006 windstorm, with sustained winds over 60 knots. The Hunter Legend 40 attached to my stern, broke loose from its mooring in front of me. As it came by, it's anchor put a small hole in the NT bow, scratched down the port side accent stripe, took out the rear salon window, and impaled itself in my transom. The marina staff ran out and attached the Hunter to my stern cleats for the duration of the storm. Combined weight on my 500 pound Dor-Mor, with two 1" poly/nylon pendants, attached to my Samson Post... 34,000 pounds. Also speaks to the build strength of the Nordic Tug.

Today, I'm prepping to launch my downsized 2022 Cutwater C24 in a quiet Rhode Island coast, up-river, marina slip.

 

[serendipity]

We keep our 2023 R27 on a mooring all summer in Marion, MA. Having been seduced by the Ranger Tugs vibe after being sailors for 40+ years, we continue to use a mooring rather than a slip.

Yes, there is no shore power or water connections, but with a dinghy or launch shore access is relatively easy. The sense of privacy / solitude is nice. While it can get frisky during heavy weather, the motion is not bad.

The deck hardware (bow cleats) are certainly sufficient. With moorings either self-owned/maintained or rented, it is crucial that the mooring tackle be properly sized and inspected. Most Harbormaster’s maintain standards.

We did keep one of our sailboats in a marina when living in CA: moorings were not available in San Fran. The marina offered many amenities, but we did miss the mooring ambiance.

 

[robbinrh]

Mooring a boat is quite common on the New England coast. Over the years, I've kept my boats, multiple sailboats up to 34', and a Nordic Tug 34, on a marina mooring. It's important to know what the actually mooring is and the weight, be it a mushroom mooring (the standard), or a Dor-Mor, et al. Marinas, with liability, regularly inspect and maintain the moorings. A private mooring, not so much. The boat attachment is critical. You'll generally have a mooring ball with a galvanized steel hoop to attach the "pendant", the line or lines hitched to your boat's forward cleats. You'll want double poly/nylon pendants sized appropriately for your boat's weight, running through bow chocks (not the anchor roller, or bow pulpit), and attached to port and starboard cleats, with chaffing gear. With this setup, I've weathered multiple windstorms, up to 70 knots of sustained wind, plus one Cat 1 hurricane. Attached is my Nordic Tug 34, riding out a multi-day October 2006 windstorm, with sustained winds over 60 knots. The Hunter Legend 40 attached to my stern, broke loose from its mooring in front of me. As it came by, it's anchor put a small hole in the NT bow, scratched down the port side accent stripe, took out the rear salon window, and impaled itself in my transom. The marina staff ran out and attached the Hunter to my stern cleats for the duration of the storm. Combined weight on my 500 pound Dor-Mor, with two 1" poly/nylon pendants, attached to my Samson Post... 34,000 pounds. Also speaks to the build strength of the Nordic Tug.

Today, I'm prepping to launch my downsized 2022 Cutwater C24 in a quiet Rhode Island coast, up-river, marina slip.
View attachment 24980

Thanks for that! And the photo. That makes me more confident.

 

[robbinrh]

We keep our 2023 R27 on a mooring all summer in Marion, MA. Having been seduced by the Ranger Tugs vibe after being sailors for 40+ years, we continue to use a mooring rather than a slip.

Yes, there is no shore power or water connections, but with a dinghy or launch shore access is relatively easy. The sense of privacy / solitude is nice. While it can get frisky during heavy weather, the motion is not bad.

The deck hardware (bow cleats) are certainly sufficient. With moorings either self-owned/maintained or rented, it is crucial that the mooring tackle be properly sized and inspected. Most Harbormaster’s maintain standards.

We did keep one of our sailboats in a marina when living in CA: moorings were not available in San Fran. The marina offered many amenities, but we did miss the mooring ambiance.

Thanks very much. The Westerly was over 6000 lbs displacement, so I assume the same mooring will work for the Rancher R23.