Mooring Buoy and Anchor Assembly

Click on the portion of the boat mooring assembly that you want to expand. The Mooring Diagram above has hot spots that are clickable with your mouse for bringing up photos and details of the parts to a boat mooring system.

For Moorings in lakes, we usually suggest chain lengths twice the water depth between the buoy and the anchor. The Mooring Ball needs to be buoyant enough to float your chain and shackles. You want the reflective stripe on your mooring ball to be visable above water. We attach a swivel between the ball and chain so the pennant and chain will not become twisted. The swivel is held in with a shackle on each end. The pennant and ball will attach to the top portion of the swivel allowing it to spin freely above the anchor. A shackle can be used to attach your pennant to the stainless swivel snap. Shackles are also used to attach the chain to the anchor. In high wind areas it is not unusual to attach additional chain to a second anchor. In the illustration above you'll notice a mushroom anchor on it's side. The mushroom anchor will dig into a mud surface and help prevent the flat concrete block from sliding. Mushroom anchors require larger shackles to fit their ring and a smaller shackle to fit your chain. Adding heavier chain near the bottom is a good way to strengthen your mooring system without sinking your mooring ball.

One 285 lb concrete block is much easier to move under water. Adding more length to your anchor chain will make the anchor harder to move. When the chain is to short, it is very easy to float an anchor out of it's location.

Inspections should be done often as chain will wear on the bottom before you'll notice by glancing at the top of your mooring chain. Shackles should be inspected and secured with wire or cable ties as the threads in the shackle pin are the first to rust away. If a shackle becomes loose, the wire or cable tie should keep it from spinning all the way out. Run the wire or cable tie through the hole in the pin and through the shackle. Keep a close eye on your pennant and replace it if you notice any wearing. Try to eliminate all weak links in your mooring system to avoid break aways.

If your lake freezes in the winter, tie a nylon rope to your chain and drop it to the bottom. run the nylon rope to a tree or something on shore. Nylon rope will sink to the bottom and not usually get pulled around by the ice or passing boats. When boating season returns, simply pull your chain to the surface and reattach your mooring ball and hardware.