A Couple Of Questions On Mooring

[grounded]

I have a couple of questions, which I hope will not prove to be too silly.

My first concerns “wild moorings”. Now when we have holidayed on the Broads, Erindoors has always practiced “total holiday”, which means zero cooking. So we have (almost) always moored with ready access to a hostelry, of which the Broads has many excellent examples. We have passed boats berthed (I am learning) in the middle of nowhere and I have often envied the fishing prospects. So, finally getting to the point, I would like to ask what constitutes a “wild mooring”? If I could persuade SWMBO to eat a-la-cruiser, what features should a wild mooring have or not have?

My other question is similar I suppose and regards mud-weighting. With the same caveat as above, is there a reason why I should not request a second mudweight, therefore being able to drop one fore and aft, thereby  providing constant access to the spot I most want to fish, rather than swinging round with the current?

I have become almost squared eyed watching countless “Captains Blogs” but I have not yet seen these points addressed.

Many thanks

Chris

[Siddy]

We like to wild moor which harder is hard now having the dog he needs access to a tree. But tie off on a good branch and drop your weight or use rope onto the bank if you can get off. I tend to avoid moorings with feathers or leave room for the wild life to access the water.

Also do the pub meal mid afternoon as theirs normally spaces to moor at the pubs and wild moor later it's a win win for you both.

 

[marshman]

Most yards would give you another mudweight and there is no problem at all about dropping a second weight from the stern - I always do it as it keeps you in the same spot as you suggest, and it also can provide a bit of a lee from the wind if float fishing.

However always lift the stern one at night in case the wind gets up in the night from a different direction - boats generally sit better with the bow pointing into the breeze and are much less likely to drag in those circumstances. Don't worry about the dragging bit too much as in over 50 years , I think I have only dragged twice!! If you are staying some time it can give you some peace of mind if you moor up towards the reeds or trees in the direction from which the wind is coming as that can give more shelter.

[Hylander]

I have always cooked on board.      Putting together an evening meal can be so simple.   Depends what you are fond of.      Takes two minutes to pop baking potatoes into the oven,  (keeps the boat warm as well).      I would always make my meals before hand and freeze down but needs must as the devil drives you can get some really good tinned chilli these days.    Bung on some grated cheese (comes already grated) and take a pack of butter for a bit of flavour.   Couple of good beers or whatever is your tipple and you have an evening meal.     A fraction of the price of a pub.       If something as easy as this defies all then I am afraid you are doomed to spend your life fishing at the pub.   By the way I am married to a fisherman.

[Guest]

18 minutes ago, Hylander said:

I have always cooked on board.      Putting together an evening meal can be so simple.   Depends what you are fond of.      Takes two minutes to pop baking potatoes into the oven,  (keeps the boat warm as well).      I would always make my meals before hand and freeze down but needs must as the devil drives you can get some really good tinned chilli these days.    Bung on some grated cheese (comes already grated) and take a pack of butter for a bit of flavour.   Couple of good beers or whatever is your tipple and you have an evening meal.     A fraction of the price of a pub.       If something as easy as this defies all then I am afraid you are doomed to spend your life fishing at the pub.   By the way I am married to a fisherman.

That all sounds very simple for anyone Mrs H, I do wonder if you can think of anything that could be cooked which is completely impossible to incinerate.

When I solo helm, I don't bother with eating bar a slice of toast or two in the morning, but when Grace starts cooking..... 

[grounded]

Kia ora and good evening folks (well it is down here). Thanks for the advice on mud-weighting. Whilst we may not drop one somewhere I will request a second, just on the off-chance. With regard to cooking, well I am a pretty fair hand in the kitchen myself, but the Memsahib can become a little, shall I say, determined when it comes to her creature comforts whilst on holiday. We are not averse to a walk, say from Gayes Staith to Neatished or from How Hill to the Dog, so I don't have to dangle my maggot in front of a pub, but some of those out-of-the-way moorings do look so fishy. Ah well, wherever we moor (berth) we will be on the Broads, which can't be bad, and I have caught decent fish in Richardson's boatyard.

Cheers

Chris

[Gretzky]

Wild moorings are for us on of the things that make the broads so special. Nothing beats it, middle of nowhere maybe a BBQ, or simple home cooking on board. A meal in a pub for us is ok some nights but cooking on boards is part of the fun. Its amazing what you can rustle up when supplies are getting low and fun. I have even baked my own bread in a cast iron "Dutch oven" on a BQQ al-a Ray Mears, my wife love simple fresh cooked damper bread, it never lasts long and usually doesnt even have time to get cold! Its all what you make of it.

[oldgregg]

In terms of what constitutes a wild mooring, I would say that it's anywhere without a proper staithe or quay heading.

It has amused me when I've seen a picture on one of the Facebook groups of a boat 'wild moored' when in reality it's just on the 24 hour BA mooring at Hardley Cross or something like that. For some, if there's no pub or a shop then it's a 'wild' mooring.

A proper 'wild mooring' involves being tied to a couple of trees or on a bit of bank (that isn't private or where you have permission to moor) and with the rhond anchors very much in use.

[grendel]

I have wild moored with a mudweight down at the front and a rope tied to an overhanging branch at the back, just off shore.

but yes if you are fishing mid broad, you will need two mudweights to stop the boat swinging, just ask and the yard should be happy to help, same as when you are solo helming it is fine to ask for longer mooring lines.

as a note to those that hire from Martham Boats, they usually only have 1 stern mooring line attached (the other will be in a locker), so dont forget to rig the second before you set off and run the lines into the cockpit, their bow lines will stop short of being able to get into the prop too

[WherryNice]

Something to note when using two mudweights is be aware of other boats nearby that have only used one.....as the wind/tide changes they may swing rather closer than you/they had anticipated.....

On the subject of dragging when I was a child we stayed at Ranworth one rather windy night and a boat mudweighted in the middle ended up bashing the bows of my parents friends boat moored on the staithe! I think that not enough rope had been paid out to let the weight sink in far enough to hold her(in my mind it was a Horizon 35 but may be wrong).

[Hylander]

2 hours ago, Jayfire said:

That all sounds very simple for anyone Mrs H, I do wonder if you can think of anything that could be cooked which is completely impossible to incinerate.

When I solo helm, I don't bother with eating bar a slice of toast or two in the morning, but when Grace starts cooking..... 

The last a Fireman should have to worry about is incinerating whatever.     Some things taste better when burnt anyway.   These Cheffy lot call it flavour.

[Guest]

54 minutes ago, Hylander said:

The last a Fireman should have to worry about is incinerating whatever.  Some things taste better when burnt anyway. These Cheffy lot call it flavour.

I don't worry about the kitchen burning down Mrs H, I worry how I force it all down my throat.

Flavour???? Mrs H help me, I love Grace to pieces but this woman burns boiled ruddy eggs 

[marshman]

Not sure what it is but Ranworth (Malthouse) Broad is notorious for dragging - its the home of one of my two "excursions" !!

Perhaps its the mud or that it gets disturbed a lot but more probably there is a hard bottom not too far down which is the issue -= mind it does have to be blowing old boots for boats to shift around although I suspect these more modern boats with often more windage, are a bit more vulnerable to shifting around at anchor!! 

[Regulo]

A common mistake (and one I used to be guilty of) is not letting out enough line on the weight. The more you let out, within reason, the more horizontal will be the pull on the weight, which in thoery, will drag it deeper into the bottom, rather than it "skipping" over the surface.

[Mouldy]

4 hours ago, Hylander said:

. . . . . . . . Some things taste better when burnt anyway.   These Cheffy lot call it flavour.

I think the term you're looking for is caramelised. 

[grounded]

The advice to let out plenty of rope on the mudweight makes sense, that was the drill when anchoring on the Manukau Harbour in my little "fizz boat" when fishing for snapper (I thought I was fishing for snapper, the sharks thought I was fishing for sharks). 

I am getting a picture of a wild mooring as somewhere away from formal moorings, does not have a "private" or "no mooring" sign, no birds nesting, no underwater stakes, but has a tree and a bit of bank. Have I got it?

Cheers

Chris

[Oddfellow]

I haven't scanned this thread fully, so apologies if this is covered already. 

Wild Mooring on the Southern Broads is tricky and/or dangerous in many areas. The tidal rise and fall is much larger than up north and many banks look safe at high water but would leave you on a shelf, gabion or worse at low water. 

Like anywhere, there are safe spots, but as a hire operator, we do not allow our customers to wild moor on the southern rivers to ensure the safety of the vessel. Of course, mudweighting is also more challenging down here too as the only Broads with safe depth are Oulton and Surlingham. 

[Hylander]

10 hours ago, FreedomBoatingHols said:

I haven't scanned this thread fully, so apologies if this is covered already. 

Wild Mooring on the Southern Broads is tricky and/or dangerous in many areas. The tidal rise and fall is much larger than up north and many banks look safe at high water but would leave you on a shelf, gabion or worse at low water. 

Like anywhere, there are safe spots, but as a hire operator, we do not allow our customers to wild moor on the southern rivers to ensure the safety of the vessel. Of course, mudweighting is also more challenging down here too as the only Broads with safe depth are Oulton and Surlingham. 

Thoroughly agree with you ,  thank you.      It is not a question of rock up and drop your mud weight down South, far from it.

[Gretzky]

For mud weighting, I tend to only do it when the forecast is for light winds. I find a nice sheltered spot, drop the bow weight reverse off leaving loads of scope, more that needed, then drop one off the stern, again with loads of slack then tighten up the the bow line so the rope are both at about 30 to 45 degerees angle from the water. Never had a problem with drifting, just make sure you are well away from any boats that may swing round. Using this method the other half watch x-factor-come-dancey-sing TV rubbish, keeps her happy and I can fish in peice. lol

 

[tim]

I am so pleased so many people enjoy wild mooring and cooking on their boats  

This means more chance for me to moor at the pub!  

Whilst my wife is a decent cook, she needs far more space than a galley on a cruiser will allow, for her creations, and could take a while to clean the boat after!  

My cooking skills are basic to say the least!

Anyway with so many pubs having to close I feel it's my duty to keep them afloat (pardon the pun)  

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, tim said:

I am so pleased so many people enjoy wild mooring and cooking on their boats  

This means more chance for me to moor at the pub!  

Looks like it's you and I fighting over the pub moorings then Tim 

Quote

Whilst my wife is a decent cook, she needs far more space than a galley on a cruiser will allow, for her creations, and could take a while to clean the boat after!  

My cooking skills are basic to say the least!

My Grace could have a full warehouse sized kitchen installed and still manage to burn the house down just making a salad, seriously it's that bad 

I'd find it funny, only I'm still expected to eat it 

Quote

Anyway with so many pubs having to close I feel it's my duty to keep them afloat (pardon the pun)  

You're in plentiful company here mate, keep up the good work 

[tim]

No fighting from me Jay, if I see you I'll either pop along side or use my dinghy and row over and join you!

Always hire a dinghy as insurance to get to a pub if I'm moored the wrong side

I never worry about getting into Ranworth, I moor at the Island pay the £8 and row across to the Maltsters!  

[grounded]

Hi Gretzsky, that sounds like excellent advice for using two mudweights, though you can't legislate for the prawns that moor up after you and have no idea how long their boat is, or even that it will swing around the rope! I hope I can persuade SWMBO to let us move off, after she has enjoyed her evening pub meal, and mudweight somewhere I can get into those big perch that lurk around the less disturbed places.

Cheers

Chris

[Malanka]

We mud weighted with two weights in Womack water to prevent us and some trees getting too friendly. We had to advise two other boats that mooring right next to us on a mudweight was a bad idea. 

We suggested a separation of 1.5 boat lengths plus ten feet for the rope. Their faces were a picture of how long is our boat and what angle on the rope did you say. We tried to help but they departed. Pity they missed a most pleasant sunset. 

 

M

[Malanka]

We also cook as our new galley and cooker is super. We even bought a wok to celebrate 🎉.

Tim can testify for the food as I fed him last Saturday night, we had a fine time on Ranworth staithe chasing his beagles up and down as one is a confirmed escape artist, as opposed to his dad and his friend ( me) who are both another sort of artist. Lol