Mooring inspection checklist for boat owners

What you can check from the boat

• The mooring ball. Is it where it usually sits, and does it float at its usual height? A ball that sits low at high tide can be a reason to have someone look at the mooring.
• The pennant. Look for chafe, fraying and stiff or flattened spots, especially where it passes through a chock or around a cleat.
• The chafe protection. If your pennant has chafe gear, check that it is still in place and not worn through.
• How the boat sits. If the boat swings or sits differently than it did last season, tell your mooring service.

What a mooring service checks when the mooring is hauled

The rest of the system is below the surface, so it is checked when the mooring is hauled or inspected by a diver. A good inspection covers:

• Chain. Wear and thinning, particularly in the sections that work against the bottom and near the shackles.
• Shackles and pins. Wear, corrosion, and whether the pins are secured.
• Swivel and bottom tackle. Whether the swivel still turns freely and the hardware is sound.
• Pennant and ball. Chafe, age and attachment points.
• The anchor. Its condition, and how the mooring behaves as it comes up.

What gets looked at, and how often, is your mooring service's call and, in many harbors, your harbormaster's. Some harbors require periodic inspection, so ask when yours is due.

The problem you can't see: chain wrap

Everything above is visible once a mooring is up. Chain wrap is different. On a traditional mushroom anchor the chain can wrap around the stem as the boat swings, and you usually can't see it from the boat. It tends to turn up when a mooring is hauled or when a diver inspects the bottom tackle. A mooring that comes up unusually easily, or a ball that sits low at high tide, can be a reason to look. (More on chain wrap here.)

It is worth asking your mooring service directly whether they look for it. Here are seven questions to ask.

Where MoorSafe fits

MoorSafe is a mushroom anchor with a three-bar cone above the stem, so the chain has nothing to catch on and the risk of chain wrap is significantly lower. It uses the same chain, shackles, swivel and pennant, and you inspect it on the same schedule as any mooring. Everything on this checklist still applies.

This is a general guide, not a substitute for what your mooring service or harbormaster requires.