ecological mooring

[francois.lavoie]

I have read here and there about ecological mooring. Have some of you members have used such installations for your own boat? Or did you consider it? Do you have pros and cons?

Thanks.

[boatman61]

They are used in Salcombe, UK which is an area of natural beauty with great success..
Basically they are screwed into the bottom with enough chain to cope with maximum high water springs.
Anchoring causes much damage over wide areas as the chains drag across the bottom with each ebb and flow.

[Spade Anchor]

We know a little about it!

Pros= Tons! Cons= I don't know but I am sure someone will try.

Take a look at this link for info.

https://www.spadeanchorusa.com/skrew...at-anchors.php

[francois.lavoie]

I understand that helix mooring is part of an ecological installation. What about the system between the helix anchor and the buoy. For that purpose there are also other eco-friendly installations:
StormSoft
Hazelett
Seaflex
Eco‐mooring System

This last one seems the most affordable. Are there any other possibilities?Do you know about such installations?

[skipmac]

I have heard one negative about the helix, screw into the bottom type moorings. That is, eventually the eye at the top wears or corrodes and the mooring needs to be replaced but the old helix is now stuck in the bottom with no easy way to remove it.

Eventually bottom of the mooring area will be filled with old moorings.

[francois.lavoie]

I have read that mooring installations have to be verified each two or three years to make sure that any component become weakest part of the chain or of the rope, etc.

As such, helix have to be removed in a periodical fashion to make sure they are still in good shape.

Isn't inspection needed regularly whether it be traditional or more recent ecological mooring? What is the reccomended periodicity necessary for traditional vs ecologically said type of mooring?

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by Spade Anchor

Cons= I don't know but I am sure someone will try.

Sure, I'll give it a shot.

Stone or concrete mooring blocks give structure and develop a diverse ecosystem living on and around them that a helix doesn't offer.

Concrete can be cast with extra nooks and crannies to support an even more diverse biome. Again, not a helix.

Blocks last virtually forever. Once set, and especially once they've settled in, no need to disturb anything on the bottom for many decades.

Cost.

New and not quite 100% proven yet. Blocks have centuries of experience behind them.

There are probably more. Of course the real ecological damage isn't from the block or the helix. It's the extra chain that's often added, and allowed to drag around the mooring point. There's been a lot of development of new ideas to avoid this, and I've seen some great ones. Hopefully a few will eventually boil to the top and become the standard.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by francois.lavoie

I understand that helix mooring is part of an ecological installation. What about the system between the helix anchor and the buoy. For that purpose there are also other eco-friendly installations:
StormSoft
Hazelett
Seaflex
Eco‐mooring System

This last one seems the most affordable. Are there any other possibilities?Do you know about such installations?

Stormsoft has been adopted at several large fields in south Florida, most notably Boot Key, where it took the full brunt of a huricane. The performance was impressive.

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Sure, I'll give it a shot.

Stone or concrete mooring blocks give structure and develop a diverse ecosystem living on and around them that a helix doesn't offer.

Concrete can be cast with extra nooks and crannies to support an even more diverse biome. Again, not a helix.

Blocks last virtually forever. Once set, and especially once they've settled in, no need to disturb anything on the bottom for many decades.

Cost.

New and not quite 100% proven yet. Blocks have centuries of experience behind them.

There are probably more. Of course the real ecological damage isn't from the block or the helix. It's the extra chain that's often added, and allowed to drag around the mooring point. There's been a lot of development of new ideas to avoid this, and I've seen some great ones. Hopefully a few will eventually boil to the top and become the standard.

We solved a lot of the problems with mooring gear wear and corrosion by placing poly pipe loops in the blocks when casting them and then forming an endless rope down through the poly loops with a swivel in the endless rope and a tail rope and bouy spliced onto the swivel.

The rope is superior to chain because it does not corrode and the endless portion spends most of it's time underwater where it is UV protected. Since the poly rope floats it does not drag around on the bottom damaging marine life. And if you pull it through the loop in the block regularly you can reposition the wear points and inspect it without diving.

[GordMay]

This excellent NOAA publication covers the topic in great depth & breadth:
“Mooring Buoy Planning Guide”
➥ https://www.coris.noaa.gov/activitie...ing_buoy_g.pdf

[CaptTom]

I'm in favor of anything that's good for the environment.

But I remain wary of new technology which claims to solve problems which may not even exist. Especially when someone stands to profit handsomely by convincing governments to pass laws requiring their solution.

Just like cities are banning plastic shopping bags or straws while buying and dispensing disposable water bottles, I wonder if this mooring "solution" is going after the lesser problem.

Isn't it the chain that causes the harm?

[francois.lavoie]

@CaptTom:
Maybe you never fell on this publication well written on eco-system devices.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/cgi/vie...ntext=uhi_pubs

Conclusion: eco-system devices do not cost more than chains or rope and ciment.

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by francois.lavoie

@CaptTom:
Maybe you never fell on this publication well written on eco-system devices.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/cgi/vie...ntext=uhi_pubs

Conclusion: eco-system devices do not cost more than chains or rope and ciment.

Broken link, so I can't comment.

My gut instinct is that there's stronger motivation to praise something perceived as "green" than to disprove its advantages. But I'll accept well-designed, peer-reviewed research to the contrary.

[francois.lavoie]

Here it is:
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/cgi/vie...ntext=uhi_pubs