Funny story...

We were anchored in Goslings, a popular anchorage in Casco Bay, ME last Wednesday. The best part of the anchorage is filled with private moorings, which sucks, but as a transient boater, I get why locals would like to have a guaranteed place to stay in a lovely spot, not too far from home, to spend weekends. Since none of the moorings there are primary, they are empty the vast majority of the time and there are a lot of them, so it's pretty common practice for non-owners to pick one up and use it, mid-week anyway. This is pretty normal in Maine where mooring laws seem pretty loose and many people have multiple moorings for one boat. There were about 8 boats anchored or moored with us and about 20 empty moorings, so pretty dead for this anchorage. Around sunset, a pretty Sabre yacht came barreling into the anchorage with the horn beeping frantically and throwing a substantial wake that rocked the snot out of all the boats in the anchorage. My immediate thought was some sort of emergency, but it was just a mooring owner apparently livid that a boat was on his mooring. He kicked them off it, they moved ahead to another private mooring, he took his rightful place on his own mooring, and the rest of the evening was peaceful. I cannot fathom being that worked up about a mooring, but man this guy seemed really incensed. I wanted to dinghy over and speak to him about his wake, but I'm certain it would have been a waste of time.

Shhh. Don't tell anyone about The Goslings. It's already crowded enough!

Yeah, that guy was an a-hole. First of all denying a perfectly good anchorage to everyone else, just for his occasional use. But also for getting all upset over it. Like you said, there's an unwritten understanding, albeit a bit uncomfortable on both sides, that the cost of staking your claim by installing a permanent "destination" mooring is that someone might be using it on those rare occasions you swing by.

Oh, and if there were any doubt, the horn and the wake proved his a-hole-ness. I hate to say it, but it doesn't surprise me it was a Sabre. I know, nice boats. But you have to admit...

To add to your funny story, for many years, I had a private mooring in Port Jefferson Harbor, New York. One weekend a friend asked if he could use my mooring for the weekend and since I wasn't using it, I said sure.

When he arrived at Port Jefferson, he found someone was already on my mooring. He decided to be a nice guy and didn't ask them to leave. Instead, he picked up another vacant private mooring. During the night, the wind picked up and the mooring he picked up broke loose. His boat turned side to the wind and drifted down onto the boat that was on my private mooring . The anchor pulpit and anchor on the boat at my mooring went right through my friends salon window causing major damage.

Moral of the story, if it's not your mooring and you don't know it's condition perhaps it's better to anchor.

I only trust my own stuff. Yearly entire chain is inspected. Pedants replaced if any damage. I splice my own bridle. Winter stick put in and removed. That’s money and labor. It got so bad in Plymouth if I was off cruising for a few weeks or a month or two I removed the pedant and pick up float. Knowing I’ve had to replace the pick up multiple times per season. Think due to 5 finger purchases.
We were off cruising and returned to be home for an obligation. There was another boat on the mooring and no one in it. We went to the marina. Came back 3 d later and that boat was unoccupied and still on my mooring. Spoke with the harbormaster. He arranged for the boat to be towed to the marina so I could make use of my mooring. Was told owner of unoccupied boat was pissed when he eventually returned. Marina hit him with a bill for his time and mine.
I have no problem with someone else using my mooring. In fact tell the yacht club when it will be open for awhile.
I do have an issue if someone is using my mooring to escape a marina bill. I also have issue with someone stealing a pick up damaging a pendant and not leaving at least contact information.
So maybe that Sabra owner also had similar experiences. Still no reason to leave a wake. Not excusing his behavior.
Would note we never trust other peoples stuff. So only use others private moorings if we are going to STAY on the boat and there’s no other choice. You wait 20-30 years for a mooring in Plymouth. Harbormaster will pull your permit if doesn’t see your boat on it for a reasonable time each year.

I thought that technically a private mooring was illegal precisely because it interfered with others anchoring. I've even witnessed owners trying to summons law enforcement to force someone off a mooring and being told they have no more right to the mooring than anyone else. There are municipalities that maintain and operate mooring fields legally.

TBill36 said:

I thought that technically a private mooring was illegal precisely because it interfered with others anchoring. I've even witnessed owners trying to summons law enforcement to force someone off a mooring and being told they have no more right to the mooring than anyone else. There are municipalities that maintain and operate mooring fields legally.

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Depends on the state and locale. They can be (and I think the existing ones mostly are) legal here in Washington State, if one gets a permit, e.g. in water in front of one's home. Private ones are not "up for grabs" but might have a phone number to call (or might be marked as off limits).

I agree I would not trust one without inquiring or knowing! Even ones that the State Parks maintain can be questionable.

Here the Maritime Authority licenses the laying of private moorings. In some areas it`s common for boats to pick up an OPM(Other People`s Mooring) in a mooring field and vacate if required, which rarely happens.
KMYC (Ku Ring Gai Motor Yacht Club) has multiple moorings in one such field, it sensibly tells it`s members if they encounter a non KMYC boat to politely request they move off, but if it`s night time or conditions make it difficult, just find another mooring.

Around here it’s very unlikely another one will be available. Continue to believe it’s just rude in heavily populated areas to grab someone else’s mooring. They’ve gone off with the expectation their mooring (which they paid for, maintained and waited years for) will be available.

Hippocampus said:

Around here it’s very unlikely another one will be available. Continue to believe it’s just rude in heavily populated areas to grab someone else’s mooring. They’ve gone off with the expectation their mooring (which they paid for, maintained and waited years for) will be available.

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Agreed. In crowded or working harbors, where people keep their boats full-time, it would be unacceptable to just pick up a mooring. These are needed and used on a daily basis by their rightful owners. Sometimes there's a harbormaster or local who can find you one which will be available for the night, but that's more the exception than the rule.

Unfortunately here in Maine, there's another category I call "destination" moorings. These sit unused except on the occasional weekend. Some anchorages are full of these, leaving no room for anchoring. To me, that's rude.

CaptTom said:

Agreed. In crowded or working harbors, where people keep their boats full-time, it would be unacceptable to just pick up a mooring. These are needed and used on a daily basis by their rightful owners. Sometimes there's a harbormaster or local who can find you one which will be available for the night, but that's more the exception than the rule.

Unfortunately here in Maine, there's another category I call "destination" moorings. These sit unused except on the occasional weekend. Some anchorages are full of these, leaving no room for anchoring. To me, that's rude.

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Do you know if those "destination moorings" permitted? Legal? Subject to ACOE/EPA input?.

In many places they aren't so to me grabbing one I wouldn't worry about until someone threatened me

Then again I wouldn't use the mooring (not trusting it) but anchoring close wouldn't be out of the question if I really needed that particular anchorage.

psneeld said:

Do you know if those "destination moorings" permitted? Legal? Subject to ACOE/EPA input?.

In many places they aren't so to me grabbing one I wouldn't worry about until someone threatened me

Then again I wouldn't use the mooring (not trusting it) but anchoring close wouldn't be out of the question if I really needed that particular anchorage.

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The ones I'm taking about are generally permitted. Some part-time harbormaster in some small town gladly took their $100 and handed over a permit. They don't care if It's some remote anchorage, not near the town dock or in front of some waterfront homes where people might complain.

You are right to question how reliable the mooring might be. To be fair, in most towns they do require proof of an annual inspection before renewing a permit, but that's no guarantee the gear is adequate for your boat. Unfortunately once it becomes "a thing" these (former) anchorages fill up fast, and in Maine good holding is rare. There are often simply no options.

In Maine, moorings are regulated by the town. IIRC, the Goslings are in Yarmouth (I was in neighboring Cumberland - Town - for 20 years). Most of Goose Island (upper and lower) is owned by a local family. LL Bean uses one of the Goslings for an adventure camp of sorts.

Here in Newport, RI, as with most densely populated locations, there are designated mooring fields and those areas reserved for anchoring. The anchorages keep getting smaller of course. There is currently around a 20-year waiting list for a mooring, with residents getting an advantage. The city maintains the waiting list and when your name comes up, if you are still alive, you buy the regulation tackle, have it place in the designated spot, and you must have a boat, registered to you, on the mooring at least one day in June, July and August. The mooring has to be professionally inspected at designated intervals, and the boat has to be off the mooring in the fall with a winter stake replacing the mooring ball.

When I first put a mooring in in 1976 one simply picked a spot, had your friends help you drop in a couple of radiators or engine blocks, or maybe even an actual mushroom anchor. You then put an "X" on the Harbormaster's chart showing about where your mooring was with your name and phone number. Done! Of course, with every storm in the fall there would be a few boats dragging or breaking free and creating havoc, but...

In WA the permitting process is both onerous and time consuming. In fact, there are businesses that thrive just navigating the route before actually placing the mooring once the permit is issued. The final cost has increased, in particular due to the requirement for bottom screws as opposed to the old concrete blocks previously utilized, and this only after a dive inspection to certify no eel grass will be disturbed at the desired location. So after several years, and numerous dollars, I have a moorage buoy in Westcott Bay off of San Juan Island. I visit infrequently right now, and even less frequently a house renter might bring a boat. The tackle is maintained annually, supposedly safe for a 50' boat, and 10' at low-low tide. If anyone would like to use this moorage free of charge, and AT THEIR OWN RISK, please do not hesitate to contact me at 720 480 8652. This would be on a first come basis without reservation, and with the understanding you could be asked to relinquish the buoy at any time to me or visitors to our rental home. We are near Roche Harbor for those familiar with the area. Safe boating!

'throwing a substantial wake that rocked the snot out of all the boats in the anchorage."

Forums are a great place to post the name of the boat responsible.

In Plymouth MA the wait is decades. Town insists on a screw not a concrete block or other device. Size of boat is stipulated which determines size of screw, chain and pendent. Professional annual servicing is required. No lending your mooring to a friend for the season. Only your boat can be on it for any length of time. If you don’t put your boat on it every season you lose it. Same in Duxbury, Situate, and Marshfield MA to my knowledge. Demand for moorings is very high throughout the South Shore of MA. They are coveted to a degree an interposer would be moved by the harbormaster unless the mooring owner gave his blessing. Only upside is given enforced rules about what components are allowed it’s extremely rare anybody drags even in storms or even hurricanes. Boats do very rarely sink but at their moorings.

Wow! That is serious enforcement! The PNW is pretty nonchalant ... perhaps too much so. After all the trouble that I went through, someone dropped a new ball. It has no registration number, seems inordinately close, and smacks of the days of old when very few buoys were actually registered and approved. There must be a happy medium. On the other hand, I suppose un-numbered buoys could be regarded as public since ownership would be hard to prove, but I wouldn't want to take a confrontational vibe on a relaxing boat trip.

TBill36 said:

'throwing a substantial wake that rocked the snot out of all the boats in the anchorage."

Forums are a great place to post the name of the boat responsible.

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I don't recall seeing a name on the boat, but I would probably not publicly shame the skipper anyway; maybe he's a great guy that had a crappy day. Additionally, I got a funny story out of the situation and I've been waked worse.

Reminds me of a story from about 3 years ago, A buddy of mine has a permitted legal mooring out in front of my marina designed for his 35' sailboat. It was professionally installed by a marine service/tug boat company and has can handle up to a 50' boat. He gets a call someone is using his mooring and asked if I would be so kind as to "assist" him in kicking the offender off his ball. So on a fairly rainy day we go out and there is a pretty decrepit looking 80'+ motor yacht with a 50'ish seiner fish boat side tied hanging off his little mooring. It had the entire system obviously stressed and the obviously too small chain for the load was pulled so tight you could have walked down it.
When we pulled alongside and hailed one of the folks on the boats we got every response in the book from " we thought it was ours" to " you cannot have a private mooring here" , when pressed further they got a bit confrontational. Finally the threat to get the local Sheriff out ( which does have a marine unit) got them to acquiesce and start the process to leave. I believe they didn't wish ot have the sheriff poke around and possibly board them. We found out later they are a fairly rogue group of "marine salvors" in the PNW and known for causing trouble wherever they decide to hang out.
Even though the owners mane is clearly labeled, the state permit is clearly affixed and his phone number is also visible these morons decided it was theirs to use. As previously stated it is rather difficult and a cumbersome, expensive and long process to install a mooring in Washington state.
Hollywood

WA State does have some very strict rules around private moorings. The process to get a permit for a private mooring on DNR tidelands at least is clearly specified. Also there are design requirements to keep the mooring system from damaging the bottom.

As a boater, I appreciate the rules as well as the enforcement of them. Slowly but surely, we are seeing fewer junk filled mooring fields in Puget Sound that limit anchoring and are a navigation hazard.