T&T: Anchoring vs Existing Moorning

[Jeffrey Siegel]

> Here is an anchoring situation which I am curious about.
>

I own a couple of moorings in Maine and have some experience with  
this.  First, ownership of the mooring is just the equipment - rock,  
chain, buoy, pennant.  In most places, Maine especially, it is the  
state who owns the ground that the mooring sits on.  Most towns today  
have ways of providing you with an official space for which they  
charge a fee.  My two moorings are in Brooksville, Maine, a tiny, tiny  
town way off the beaten path.  You can bet that they have no problem  
finding me every year and charging me for my moorings.

Most towns also have a designated harbormaster.  This person is often  
given special rights by states.  In Maine, a harbormaster has a right  
to carry a weapon.  Many towns like Castine, remove that right but be  
warned that harbormasters have real power and authority.

It is never a good idea to just find an empty mooring and tie up to  
it.  Without knowledge of the condition of the equipment, you're  
setting yourself up for a dangerous experience.  Mooring chains  
experience galvanic corrosion and break.  I change my chain every 3  
years.  I have 1" chain on my storm mooring and 3/4" chain on my  
normal mooring.  After about 3 years, half the chain material is gone  
in the center of the chain.  The top and bottom are as untouched as  
the day they are put in the water so you can't pick up the buoy and  
check the chain to determine how well maintained it is.

I've never had anyone anchor near a mooring of mine.  If I came across  
that and found that the visitor was being rude about it, I'd contact  
the harbormaster who would remove the visitor.  I honestly can't  
imagine that happening.  A much more common experience is that I find  
someone anchored a few hundred yards from my mooring.  As I leave my  
boat and head back to town, I'll stop by and offer them the use of my  
other mooring.  That's how I'd want to be treated if I were visiting  
another place.


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Jeffrey Siegel
M/V aCappella
DeFever 53RPH
W1ACA/WDB4350
Castine, Maine

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