What is the difference between anchoring and mooring a boat?

Question

What is the difference between anchoring and mooring a boat?

Answer 1

Moorings are a weight of some sort with a chain attached to it and a Mooring Buoy.  This buoy is usually white with a blue strip around it.  

Boats attach to moorings for various reasons:

1) they are in tidal waters that go up and down quite a bit and they do not want their boats on a dock.

2) Sailboats do not want to have their keel on the bottom, or cannot easily dock in tight docks in tidal waters

3) It is cheaper to rent a mooring than dock space

4) You are not going to visit your boat for an extended period of time and do not want to worry about weather or theft.

etc

Anchoring is like mooring, but it is very short term on temporary in nature.  You drop your anchor and tie off your boat.   This is not as stable as mooring, as the anchor may not hold the boat and the boat may drag the anchor.  Also, an anchored boat usually has someone on-board and a moored boat usually does not.

Answer 2

drop the hook....And tieing up

Answer 3

Mooring is tying the boat up to a dock or pier, anchoring is dropping the anchor over the side so it hooks on the river/sea bed and holds the boat in position. There needn't be any contact with the land.

Answer 4

when you anchor, you drop your anchor, and when you moor, you tie up to a buoy

Answer 5

mooring is a semi permanent anchor such as a bucket filled with concrete and a line with a flotation devise attached (you probably have seen these out on the water where the boat is tied to a floater) anchoring is when you move from one place to  another and don't want your boat to move.

Answer 6

Mooring refers to tying up to a buoy, a dock, another boat already alongside the quay etc, in short tying your boat up, crudely.  Anchoring means dropping the anchor so the vessel is held by the anchor and chain on the seabed, river bed or whatever, not connected to the land in any other way, which is what you'd do away from a mooring, such as at sea.

Answer 7

Berthing is tying up at a pontoon or quay side or dock.Mooring is picking up a mooring buoy,which is attached to ground tackle to hold the boat in position,there are many types of these,usually concrete blocks.Anchoring is using the boats own tackle,ie,anchor warp and chain over the side normally from the bow,to hold the boat in position,there are many differing types of anchors and differing methods of anchoring.Tying up is the expression normally used to describe a harbour wall situation,where you utilise fore and aft lines to tie to the quay wall rings/bollards and resting on the ships keel in the sand at low water,with fenders and a plank on the rough side.The boat will then move up and down the harbour wall sliders with the tides in safety.

Answer 8

Anchoring:

Using the boats own tackle (ie: anchor plus chain/warp) to temporarily stop somewhere. The process involves picking an appropriate spot (somewhere sheltered, taking into consideration wind direction, sea state, etc, as well as rise/fall of the tide and so on), then deciding how much anchor chain to lay out. The normal recommended minimums are 4x max depth where chain-only is used and 6x max depth where a mix of chain and warp are used. The required length of chain/warp is laid out ("flaked out") on the deck in a such a manner that it will run freely when the anchor is lowered. The end is secured to the windlass on deck.

The chosen spot is approached - normally into the tide, although wind is also a consideration. This allows for maximum maneouverability with the lowest boat speed. Most people anchor under power - pure laziness, its easier than doing it under sail. The boat is brought to a stop and the anchor lowered (NOT dropped) into the water. Cmmunication between foredeck crew and helmsman is key here. The anchor rests on the seabed (the crew can often tell when it touches, and it is useful for the helmsman to know) and the boat is allowed to drift back on the tide, whilst the crew pays out the remiaining chain/warp. I normally use the engine to dig the anchor in better if staying for any length of time.

Mooring:

This involves tying the boat to a buoy in the water. The buoy is attached by a chain to some form of ground tackle - normally a concrete block. There is normally a short line attached to the top of the buoy, with a float on the other end. Moorings are commonly used in rivers or harbours where space is limited and are permanent or semi-permanent arrangements - in many places, visitor moorings are often removed over the winter season. Moorings can be hired/purchased for long-term "parking" of a boat - much cheaper than a marina berth.

There are various techniques, but all involve an approach into tide (as for anchoring), unless there is significant wind. Again, most people do it under power for reasons of pure convenience. The boat must be stopped alongside the buoy long enough for the crew to attach the boat to the buoy - this can be tricky when there is any significant wind!

The way most people seem to do it is to get a crew hanging over the pulpit with a boat hook, trying to pick up the line/float. They then faff around attempting to pull the line onto a cleat on the deck. Once this is done, its worth attaching your own line to the buoy, so that you're not relying entirely on some old worn bit of rope like it so often is!

My preferred technique (and certainly much easier when there is any significand wind) is to lassoo the buoy - actually easier than it sounds. Get a nice long line - one that doesn't float. Both ends are then led through the forward fairleads and attached to cleats on the foredeck, leaving a big loop. The crew then coils up the rope, splits the coil in half and stands at the pulpit. The buoy is approached slowly and when close enough, the crew simply throws the coils forwards and outwards, beyond the buoy; the line sinks underneath the buoy, and the slack is pulled through from the deck and made off on a cleat. You now have all the time in the world to attach a line to the buoy.

The great thing about this technique is that there is no need to hold the boat in position for any length of time - you just need to get close enough for the crew to lassoo the buoy.

Answer 9

Anchoring is dropping anchor in or out and about in open water, while mooring is anchoring at a dock, pier, etc.

Answer 10

In layman's terms.

Mooring, tying your boat to a dock cleat, mooring buoy, or even a tree!

Anchoring is just throwing your anchor to the bed of the body of water you are boating in.