# Winter Stick



## Reef33 (Jul 21, 2011)

Well, the leaves have started to fall around these parts and cold, short days will soon be upon us. Any suggestions on constructing a homemade Winter Stick? You know, the mooring float that will not get caught in the ice. I've read about using fence posts or making one out of PVC pipe. Anyone have any other creative ideas or had experience with one of those types? Much appreciated!


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## beachmont (Sep 18, 2011)

I like The fence post , I was always afraid that the PVC would crack and I would lose everything ,


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## JimsCAL (May 23, 2007)

A 4x4 or 6x6 (NOT pressure treated) will work. I make one out of three 2x6s nailed together that lasted for years. Currently using a Taylor and its MUCH better than a wood stick. Its weighted at the bottom and always floats vertical, not laying down at low tide.

Taylor Made Winter Sully Stick - Winter Spar Buoy - 80"


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## Reef33 (Jul 21, 2011)

Thanks Pete and Jim! Good advice about using non-pressure treated wood. I guess it would not float as well if at all.

Pete, I thought about the PVC breaking, too, and would not sleep well with one of those. I don't want to dive for my mooring chain come Spring  .

Thanks Jim for that link to the Taylor float. I looked at those but most places charge $80 and I think that is a ridiculous price for a chunk of plastic, but I might pry open my wallet for that sale price! Do you attach yours directly to your top chain or use a rope line?


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## Hudsonian (Apr 3, 2008)

I've lost a prop ($900) to somebody's 4" x 4" winter stick that was 18" below the surface. Placing a winter stick is irresponsible unless you're confident that it'll be visible at high tide.

A high-effective alternative is drop the mooring to the bottom and grapple for it in the Spring. To facilitate recovery, four of us team up -- tying our mooring together. Our moorings are about 120' from each other so 500' of 3/8" poly line makes the four moorings one big target. It's never taken more than 20 minutes to recover.


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## JimsCAL (May 23, 2007)

Reef33 said:


> Thanks Jim for that link to the Taylor float. I looked at those but most places charge $80 and I think that is a ridiculous price for a chunk of plastic, but I might pry open my wallet for that sale price! Do you attach yours directly to your top chain or use a rope line?


I use a separate light chain (1/4 or 5/16) shackled to the upper chain. Thus the upper chain lies in the mud all winter. I know it sounds like a lot of money for a "chuck of plastic" but if you see it, its worth it. Good price from Defender, but the shipping won't be cheap as its oversized.


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## Maine Sail (Jan 6, 2003)

Hudsonian said:


> I've lost a prop ($900) to somebody's 4" x 4" winter stick that was 18" below the surface. Placing a winter stick is irresponsible unless you're confident that it'll be visible at high tide.


Placing a winter stick is the law in many municipalities, it is here in the 1200+ mooring anchorage in Falmouth, ME...

Poorly executed anything is bad, but a winter stick should be no different than a mooring ball, or other buoy, visibility wise, if properly installed and executed.

This means:

1- Enough rope scope to ensure the stick does not submerge at any tide.

2- Brightly painted. Often the cedar log is painted white then a fluorescent yellow, orange or other neon is used to make the log highly visible..Painting the log also helps avoid water logging and high tide submersions.

The whole concept of winter sticks is to drop all the mooring chain to the bottom where there is less oxygen for corrosion and also less wear on the links. This is why a rope rode is used and not the mooring chain. Some good mooring guys will tie a weight such as a cinder block to the chain/rope interface to make wear of the chain even more minimal.

Here in Falmouth all moorings must be "winterized" except for the two or three lobster boats that stay in all winter.


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## rikhall (Feb 7, 2008)

Where we have our mooring, ice is a problem. Lots of ice. Some use a dark colored "winter stick" with success. Some have had their mooring moved by the ice and the stick. 

Us, we drop everything with about sixty feet of cheap floating poly. At about 20 and 40 feet we add an old schakel for weight and another at the end of the line. We have a tree marked on the shore and when dropping the gear we pull the poly towards the marked tree. 

Come spring, a quick grapple picks up the floating (about a foot off the bottom) poly. We know where it is and which direction to grapple. 

Has worked for us for 13 years. Might work for you. 

Rik


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## Reef33 (Jul 21, 2011)

Wow, great advice from everybody. I lost a mushroom mooring a few years ago by being lazy and leaving in my regular mooring ball all winter. Sometimes on the Chesapeake the winters are mild and we don't get any significant ice flows, but of course the winter I left my ball in was the coldest in years. I suppose my old ball, chain and mushroom had a grand tour of the Bay and ended up residing somewhere near Baltimore or parts south  . I tried grappling for it in case just the ball came off, but had no luck.

I'm in a secluded area and there is only one other mooring near mine, and that guy hasn't had a boat on it in 3 years. So, little danger of running other boats afoul. Really don't want to have to go fishing for it in the spring, so I guess I'm going to start [email protected]@gleing for the best price on the retail sticks. I see Jim Buoy also makes them for a little less $$ than Taylor!

Jim Buoy Winter Stick: Cal June Winter Spar Buoy - Sully Stick - 60"


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## Barquito (Dec 5, 2007)

4X4 fence post with a 1" hole drilled in each end. Feed chain (or rope extension) through the hole. Attach a short rope loop on the top to grab in the spring. The stick should float just a bit out the the water (not much tide here on Lake Michigan). If the ice shifts around the stick, it tends to slip under the ice. I have seen some winter sticks that float completely on the surface. They will become stuck in the ice flow. I have seen PVC winter sticks that are completely destroyed by the ice.


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

Please remember that some of us boat straight through the year.


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## Reef33 (Jul 21, 2011)

SVAuspicious said:


> Please remember that some of us boat straight through the year.


I don't see your point? A proper winter stick rides above the waterline marking the mooring just like a round mooring ball in the summer.


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

Reef33 said:


> I don't see your point? A proper winter stick rides above the waterline marking the mooring just like a round mooring ball in the summer.


My apologies for not being clear. I was reacting to Barquito's observation that he has seen winter sticks that just float at the surface. If I understand what he is describing correctly such floats are a hazard to winter boaters.


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## Barquito (Dec 5, 2007)

> My apologies for not being clear. I was reacting to Barquito's observation that he has seen winter sticks that just float at the surface. If I understand what he is describing correctly such floats are a hazard to winter boaters.


Oh, I totally agree. Winter sticks shouldn't foat flat on the surface for both reasons: getting stuck in the ice, and being a navigation hazard.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Buy a pool noodle, one of those 2-3" thick six-eight foot long pool floaties for kids, for a buck or two. Now stick it inside a piece of schedule 40 (heavy wall) PVC tube. Even if the tube cracks, it won't sink. Or tie it around a piece of smaller PVC, cap both ends or shoot some expanding foam inside. Either way, five or ten bucks should get you a nice lightweight stick that won't sink.

Of course if there's any bamboo growing hear you (surprising how far north it is grown) that's another cheap source. Ice might stick to it, but it is naturally compartmentalized and tougher than you think.

Wasting heavy lumber like a 4x4 on a mooring stick, that's just not right.


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## Reef33 (Jul 21, 2011)

So, I ended up ordering the Jim-Buoy model 510, shorty winter stick. It was substantially less costly than the Taylor-Made stick and I feel better made. It looks like a white version of their commercial buoys. The plastic casing feels very sturdy and I like the solid eye bolt at the bottom so I can attach it directly to chain instead of line. The Taylor has a plastic bottom ring with a metal grommet. I got the shorty because the water is only about 10' deep where I am, so that will do just fine.

With 8-10 feet of 5/16th light chain being supported attached directly to the buoy it floats with about 15" above water. And with the blue reflector strip is very visible. I decided not to cheap-out because I had nightmares of having to dive or "fish" for my newly installed mooring in the icy spring waters next year.

Photos:
1. buoy (car for size reference)
2. top eye, just for picking up, not for attaching a boat.
3. bottom eye (tennis ball for size reference)
4. sorry, I didn't take the camera out on the dinghy so this is the best picture I could get with an Ipod from shore.


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

Thanks for the follow up report.
We are going with a winter stick for the first time this year also.


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## JimsCAL (May 23, 2007)

While both the Taylor and Jim Buoy will work just fine, my take on the construction of the two is different. I do not like attaching the chain to a piece of steel sticking out of the bottom of the plastic stick. Yes its galvanized, but that doesn't last, and you can't see what's going on inside. I've seen to many mooring balls built that way fail. I like the molded eye with the stainless chafe bushing in the Taylor that allows running the chain through and using a shackle to make a loop.


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## Reef33 (Jul 21, 2011)

I can't argue with that Jim. I always use a tube-thru-center for my regular mooring buoy! Hopefully, the Jim-Buoy is somewhat reliable, or nobody would buy them. I'm hoping to get at least 5 years out of this one and will post here if I don't.


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## rikhall (Feb 7, 2008)

SVAuspicious said:


> MI was reacting to Barquito's observation that he has seen winter sticks that just float at the surface. If I understand what he is describing correctly such floats are a hazard to winter boaters.


You call that winter? Our winter sticks are not a hazard at all. No boats navigating with three feet of ice in on the water. 










In fact they can use the sticks for race markers.

Rik


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## Reef33 (Jul 21, 2011)

We had a touch of winter here in the Bay, too. And my little stick survived splendidly. Interestingly, so did my neighbors round mooring ball. Makes me wonder if I wasted my money 

Photo 1 - my stick in the ice. Photo 2 - my stick on the left, neighbors ball on the right.

Sorry about the poor photo quality. This site has Draconian photo size limitations.


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## Hudsonian (Apr 3, 2008)

We had a pile of ice on the Hudson this winter. The winter sticks took a beating. Those who buddied up with adjacent moorings, tying the moorings together with weighted polypropylene line, and dropping the whole magillah did fine. For example, four of us tied our gear in the Fall and it took 12 minutes to grapple up the gear this Spring -- four moorings tied together presents a big target and if you find one you found them all.


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## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

Hudsonian said:


> We had a pile of ice on the Hudson this winter. The winter sticks took a beating. Those who buddied up with adjacent moorings, tying the moorings together with weighted polypropylene line, and dropping the whole magillah did fine. For example, four of us tied our gear in the Fall and it took 12 minutes to grapple up the gear this Spring -- four moorings tied together presents a big target and if you find one you found them all.


Where on the Hudson are you?

Sent from my XT1049 using Tapatalk


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## Reef33 (Jul 21, 2011)

For those interested, here is a pic of my Jim Buoy winter stick after one winter in the Chesapeake. It was a cold winter, too, for the Chesapeake. The buoy was in ice for 1-2 months. The blue reflector tape is gone, but the rest of the buoy appears to be in good shape.

(photo limited due to forum size restrictions)


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