Polling Question - Mooring Swing

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phild
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Location: Marblehead, MA (36094)

Polling Question - Mooring Swing

Post by phild »

I'd like to get a broader perspective on the issue of whether or not this forum agrees with what appears to be a general consensus (at least at my yacht club) that catamarans and tri-hulls tend to swing best with each other and power boats when on a mooring, since they react to similarly to wind/current and by inference sailing catamarans and monohulls react very differently and therefore should not be moored in close proximity. This has never been my experience but I was wondering what others had experienced?
Phil and Mary DiDomenico
s/v Arabella
36094

"There is more to sailing than ropes and winches, cleats and bulging sails. There are faraway places and the everchanging light, and the silence, and a great peace at the bottom of your soul." - Mate
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eepstein
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Re: Polling Question - Mooring Swing

Post by eepstein »

Personally, I find the PDQ 36 tends to not sail on her mooring/anchor nearly as much as other boats, even cats with larger bridge decks. All boats act different based on wind and current due to their differing above and below waterline shapes. Cats usually tend to sail their moorings less, but a Lagoon with square bridge deck structure will act different than a PDQ 36. Anchor rhode length has an affect too. I find powerboats with big cabin tops swing a lot, but not as much as a monohull sailboat with no anchor sail and lots of line out.
Eric & Bonnie Epstein
s/v Desert Star, PDQ36, Hull 49
Annapolis, MD
Loki
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Re: Polling Question - Mooring Swing

Post by Loki »

We spent 8 weeks last summer on a tight mooring in Vineyard Haven (and have done several weeks almost every summer for 10 years) and had very little problem. The moorings in our area are about 50 feet apart, and most of the boats are 35 feet, so the system relies on common movement. My feeling is that windage is usually the big culprit, so that boats that have masts forward (Nonsuch and Freedoms, etc) will dance on their moorings, as will some powerboats, but our PDQ 36 was quite happy to swing with the classic monohulls near us. However, if current are involved, then things get chaotic, because the keel shape becomes significant. The prop wash from the ferry would swing the full length keel boats, while the lighter boats sat to the wind.
Jeff Morris, Loki 36072
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