I am considering moving my trawler out to a mooring on the ICW (marina costs are getting too expensive). I can see the boat and ICW from my top deck so I will be able to have some contact. Access is fairly easy from the small beach in front with my dinghy. The trawler is a KK 36 foot Manatee with approximately 23,000 lb displacement weight. There are many sailboats anchored in this cut which is well protected with sandbars in about 8 feet of water. I have looked at various mooring systems and it appears the best (self-installed and cost effective) is the helix mooring (H1066) which has an approximate "pullout" capacity of 3500lbs. Has anyone on the list had any experience with this system and/or advice of potential problems etc. Thanks. KK36 SUMO Ian Payton, Ph.D. 1616 N. Peninsula Ave. New Smyrna Beach, FL 32169 Home: 386-423-9954 Cell: 386-212-5424 Leave message if no answer with return number.

it appears the > best (self-installed > and cost effective) is the helix mooring (H1066) which has > an approximate > "pullout" capacity of 3500lbs. Has anyone on the list had > any experience with > this system and/or advice of potential problems etc. Hi Ian This is a timely post as I just watched someone sink a Helix mooring a few feet off our boat. He had considerable trouble water blasting the mooring into the sandy bottom when using only one pump and three helpers. Once he made up a floating platform, approxiamately 8' x 8' with a hole in the middle and a cross bar rigged 8 feet off the platform to support the block and tackle and pump hoses, he and three other guys were able to sink the Helx with the help of two large capacity pumps. He sunk his fifteen feet into the bottom to hold a 36 foot sailboat (considerably less windage than what your boat has). I'd suggest that you do what he did, contact the company and get their feed back as to what length mooring, size chain and so on to use. He reported that they were quite helpful and scientific about it. If my memory serves me correctly, I think he paid around $900 for the mooring and chain. Installation was extra. If I were doing it, I'd size all components for 60+ knot winds which, when not used, would go towards including some peace-of-mind. In case they don't give you the figures and you don't have any idea what they are, your boat can, in 60 knot winds, gernerate a load on the ground tackle of over 5000 lbs, and that is if it has some protection from seas. With your windage, I wouldn't be surprised if it was closer to 5500 to 6000 lbs of force or more. Impressive figures! (Don't forget that this doesn't include wind gusts and you might want to question them about sizing the gear to handle repeated, long duration storm conditions as the mooring will probably remain in place for more than a year.) If you are in a hurricane area, and you plan to keep your boat on that mooring, you might what to up that wind speed to include catagory 3 storms, at the minimum. Don't forget, when you are figuring the cost, don't forget to include periodic maintanence checks on the gear (diver). Keep one thing in mind- no matter the cost of the mooring, sizing it inadequately to save money will ultimately be more costly- let's see, the price of the mooring, the cost to the damage to your boat, the cost to repair the damage to other boats and property, the cost to redo it larger... Just some mental meanderings, maybe you can get something out of them. Rudy Briney Bug, Panama City, Fl