Sometimes my brilliance amazes even me......or is it necessity is the Mother of Invention????
The necessity is to get these mooring weights (as discussed in this thread here)
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Sailing/General/DIY-Moorings-Unitized-System/
onto their allocated positions on the Bottom of the Burnett River for as little expenditure of hard earned moolah as possible.
The material cost of the two fore and aft moorings is going to be just under $1,000 or $500 for each of us so a 5% or 10% of their capital value investment in their transportation seems reasonable.
The first equation is robust buoyancy The cheapest around in 200kg lots are 205 litre oil drums at $5 each from the oil depot.
Each unit of mooring weight (in this case weighing 120 kg) is allocated two drums (400 kg buoyancy). The weights could be up to 200 kg each but I would not go beyond the 50% ratio.
There is frame and decking weight to be added as well as anchoring gear and the operator/s weight to consider too.
I have three sheets of this 18 mm form ply in my shed that has been waiting for me to do something with it for about 9 years and various other lengths of pine and hardwood studding as well as various useable pieces of steel which I threw at the four drums and ended up with this.
The drums have been separated longitudinally to create an open working area for when lowering weights and to provide a wider buoyancy footprint.
The joining beams connecting the floatation units can be longer or shorter, but if longer, They need to be more stout.
The clamping of the drums needs to be strong and adjustable.
The centre beam is the load carrier. This one is probably just strong enough for me but would be better if it was square section.
I have rounded it where the lowering ropes will run.
I had the ply and the timber but the drums, steel strap and bolts have cost me $50. Add the cost of the ply and timber for say another $100.
When you have finished with one of these as a mooring barge, add some ply decking and turn it into a party pontoon.
Looks the goods cisco !!! More hard wood across the top of everything side to side, to carry from just in case ?.?
Select to expand quoteSandS said..
Looks the goods cisco !!! More hard wood across the top of everything side to side, to carry from just in case ?.?
What size wharram is that Cisco
The central beam that is your load carrier should also be placed on edge rather than flat and should bridge the other two beams that are already on edge.
Select to expand quoteLooseChange said..
The central beam that is your load carrier should also be placed on edge rather than flat and should bridge the other two beams that are already on edge.
And it should be at least a 150 x 50 maybe even 200 x 75
Select to expand quoteLooseChange said..
The central beam that is your load carrier should also be placed on edge rather than flat and should bridge the other two beams that are already on edge.
On edge would be better yes but I will give it a dry run in the shed with weights suspended. I did not want the turns of rope they will hang on to be doing a sharp turn.
I have more of that size hardwood. I may douple the centre beam up and change the outer pine beams for hardwood ones.
After you have used it to place the mooring you could leave it out there with an umbrella, some deck chairs and a bar.
Cisco builds a catamaran!
Ive got a spare mast and sails you can have so you could sail it to Lady Musgrave lagoon when you have finished dropping your mooring .
Select to expand quoteandy59 said..
After you have used it to place the mooring you could leave it out there with an umbrella, some deck chairs and a bar.
That is around about what I have in mind.
We are placing two adjoining fore and aft moorings which have 20 m spacing and 10 m separation. Both yachts are 10 m long so the idea is to extend the barge by 5 m making it about 7 m long and moor it on separate lines between the two moorings.
For when only one of us is in town the remaining yacht can be conveniently tied up to the pontoon instead of picking up dirty mooring lines which will be handy for regular day and weekend trips. The pontoon being on separate lines can be released any time for servicing etc.
Select to expand quotehangtime said..
Cisco builds a catamaran!
Ive got a spare mast and sails you can have so you could sail it to Lady Musgrave lagoon when you have finished dropping your mooring .
That is certainly not beyond the realms of possibility.
Suggest adding some braces across the corners if possible to keep it all square. Not sure if this causes a problem for dropping the heavy blocks out the middle. Will the drums accept the water pressure as they sit lower in the water with the mooring mass on them?
Select to expand quoteFiesta said..
Will the drums accept the water pressure as they sit lower in the water with the mooring mass on them?
Place a tubeless tyre valve in filler cap and pressurise with about 1 or 2 PSI to give the drum some rigidity. Bear in mind this is not a pressure tank and under no circumstances increase the pressure, assuming the folded seams will take it, also allow for pressure variation as temperature increases.
I did the dry run today in the shed with two 120 kg weights suspended by the middle beam. No cracking or creaking noises so I reckon we are right to go.
After the trial I mopped some linseed oil into the smoothed area of the middle beam to flex it up a bit and reduce friction.
I had about 100 mill of Cetol 7 UV clear left in a can that was just enough to get around all the uncoated timber beams and the edges of the form ply.
This is a happening thing that I am doing and I post about it not to brag (we all have a bit of brag in us though )but in the hope that someone can gain from my experience.
Sometimes it just needs somebody to switch the light bulb on.
Stay tuned for more D.I.Y. mooring stuff. With pics and maybe a movie on the day of laying.
good one cisco !! thanks for the efforts in posting the progress !!! interesting topic !!
Select to expand quotecisco said..
I did the dry run today in the shed with two 120 kg weights suspended by the middle beam. No cracking or creaking noises so I reckon we are right to go.
After the trial I mopped some linseed oil into the smoothed area of the middle beam to flex it up a bit and reduce friction.
I had about 100 mill of Cetol 7 UV clear left in a can that was just enough to get around all the uncoated timber beams and the edges of the form ply.
This is a happening thing that I am doing and I post about it not to brag (we all have a bit of brag in us though )but in the hope that someone can gain from my experience.
Sometimes it just needs somebody to switch the light bulb on.
Stay tuned for more D.I.Y. mooring stuff. With pics and maybe a movie on the day of laying.
Hi Cisco
Hows this project coming along
Also I think you will have to give it a name and in doing so its" bundy" Rum time ,row around it Cisco till the bottles empty for good luck
I still have five more weights to make up yet (two doubles and a single). It all takes time and of course LIFE gets in the way sometimes.
Putting tackle on the weights and then laying them is the next step. I will post pics and vid when it happens.
