Mooring System

[Hurricane777]

Brand new to the sight but I thought I'd come to you awesome people with a question. I'm in the market for a product to aid in my fixed dock tie up experience. Right now I'm using a traditional cross-tie system that requires 8 lines and I'm sick of doing all that work. I've researched a product called SlideMoor which looks pretty cool and also mooring whips could work well. Does anyone have an opinion on these, positive or negative or any other products? I would greatly appreciate your help!

[dsharp]

It's hard to answer your question without knowing how the boat is docked. I looked at the system that you were looking at. Being made out of extruded aluminum would make me nervous unless you're on fresh water. Not sure why it takes 8 lines. Usually 2 bow, 2 stern and a spring line should be good.

[MikeP]

The previous home for our 53MY on Long Island had floating docks. Essentially, it worked the same way - we tied the boat up with two lines, one from a bow cleat and one from the offside stern cleat. The boat was always pulled up tight against the dock. Worked great and the floating dock is the one thing I miss from that marina.

Looking at the product website, it seems to me to essentially convert a regular dock to be able to do basically the same thing. Obviously, the pilings to which the slide-thingies are attached must be substantial since now the anchor point is probably going to be much higher up the piling - at least at high tide - than it is under low tide conditions so the leverage on the piling will change.

I have to say that at first glance, it's interesting, especially if you use the boat quite a bit. We use 6 lines in our docking (two springs) here at the marina. I would think that if I had that slide setup, we would use 2, just as we did in LI for normal use, increasing them in the event of heavy weather.

Heck, I think it's worth pursuing, at least as far as getting more info/talking to someone with the system.

Obviously, as dsharp noted, a lot depends on your specific requirements and the area in which your dock is located. Re aluminum, The entire floating dock at our old marina - 300+ boats - was aluminum and I don't recall that there were any issues with the AL/salt water at all but we were only there for four years so I don't know about possible long-term issues. I also don't know if there are different types of AL, some more suitable than others for such use.

Probably not an issue but the possible tide variation has to be considered vs the length of the slider assembly.

Let us know how it works!

[Pascal]

It's hard to answer your question without knowing how the boat is docked. I looked at the system that you were looking at. Being made out of extruded aluminum would make me nervous unless you're on fresh water. Not sure why it takes 8 lines. Usually 2 bow, 2 stern and a spring line should be good.

In the typical slip, I really prefer using two springs, one on each side, to make sure the boat can't be pushed back against the dock if the wind picks up. Two springs also keep the boat lined up whereas with just one, it may turn slightly to one side if it s blowing

Th springs are really the most important line so i feel much better using two but again it depends on the slip.

Often, you don't need to use a forward spring to keep the boat moving away from the dock, as the crossed stern lines will usually do that job unless for some reason you really want the boat to stay close (short finger pier, keeping cords out of the water, etc...)

[Hurricane777]

It's hard to answer your question without knowing how the boat is docked. I looked at the system that you were looking at. Being made out of extruded aluminum would make me nervous unless you're on fresh water. Not sure why it takes 8 lines. Usually 2 bow, 2 stern and a spring line should be good.

The boat is currently docked in a 30' slip with a traditional cross-tie system. What is your concern with the aluminum because I am in salt water. It's an alloy so it will be strong and resistant to corrosion, unless you have high electric activity but in that case you could just add a zinc anode and it would prevent corrosion.

[Hurricane777]

MikeP:

The floating dock is definitely a great system and I think that a solid alternative would be this slidemoor product. I initially was looking into mooring whips but I found that the more I research, the further away I move from that direction. From my understanding they don't protect the boat from bumping the dock in high tide and that is a major issue for me. Also they look terrible.

I actually called in today to speak with a representative and they said that the track can accommodate any piling length so that is a big plus when I consider a storm surge which is likely in my area.

I'm placing my order tonight and will let you know how they operate when I get them installed. Thanks for your interest.

Heres a great graphic they referred my to as well which pretty much sealed the deal for my buy

http://www.slidemoor.com/SlideMoor/

[dsharp]

As long as the part the boat is tied to can move freely up and down the track is should work fine. I was thinking about the track corroding over time and if the it's unable to keep up with the boat rocking it will put a lot of force on the piling or the cleat. I would be more worried about boat traffic than the tide going in and out. I took another look at it and it appears that the track is lined with some type of plastic or synthetic material, since it says not to lubricate it, so it should be fine. As long as the boat has something to ride up and down against freely I wouldn't see a problem. Most damage occurs from boaters dragging in too much wake and the boat gets hung under something or hangs on something on the way down.

[Tinker]

A frend of mine uses this system on his 36 luhrs. It has survived a hurricane with the boat attached just lifted the dock a little. Placement is key you need to have enough for low tide and make sure the intaller leaves room for the slides to come up for storm surge. He had to have his remounted they initialy put them in too low(i would never have left my boat tied up with 2 ropes during a storm like that but to each his own). The key to the slidemoor working right is to place it exactly where your cleats are and tie the boat so there is no movement between the slide and your hull. Any movement will alow the wave action to eat up the rubber bumper and could damage your boat. The only part that we have replaced was a rubber bumper on the slide when it got chewed up ant that Was simple and slidemoor supplied the parts no problem. He has had this system for at least 4 years. When you untie the boat you have to make sure to have a cleat on the piling to tie the slide to so it does not end up under water at the bottom of the slide (hope you held on to the rope)and it is nice to have the slide/bumper at the right hight when you return. The Aluminum I beam that the slide uses for a track is not as forgiving as a wood piling.

[Brenda]

Welcome aboard and good luck

[Hurricane777]

Wow that's incredible! What hurricane was it? And did he get any interesting photos from it? If you wouldn't mind sharing I would appreciate that.

Thanks for the story and tips. From what I've gathered and the many testimonials I've read it seems as though slidemoor is a very durable and effective product and I can't wait to get mine.

Thanks Brenda for the warm welcome!