GB2426965A - Mooring aid device comprising a rigid hollow body - Google Patents

Abstract

A mooring aid device 1 and method for remote attachment of a mooring line 4, the mooring device 1 having a rigid hollow body 5 with an enclosed channel adapted to receive the mooring line 4. The mooring line is arranged to form a loop 6 at a distal end 7 of the device 1 and the mooring aid device 1 further includes a retaining means 12 that attaches the loop 6 to the rigid hollow body 5. This acts to retain the loop 6 at the distal end 7 when the mooring line 4 is pulled through the hollow body 5. The method for remote attachment of the mooring line 4 includes the steps of: attaching the proximal end 7 of the mooring aid device 1 to a fixing point (9,fig 4a) located on a boat (3, fig 4a); employing the rigid hollow body 5 to locate a lasso 6 with a remote fixing point (15,fig 4a); and pulling the mooring line 4 through the rigid hollow body 5 so as to secure the lasso 6 to the remote fixing point (15, fig 4a).

Description

1 Mooring Aid Device 3 The present invention relates to an apparatus and

method 4 for mooring a boat. In particular, a mooring aid device is described that enables the remote attachment of ropes, 6 securing lines and the like, as frequently required 7 during the mooring of a boat.

9 In the world of boating and sailing, ropes are commonly referred to as lines and therefore said ropes will be 11 referred to as lines henceforth. Line handling is the 12 name given to the correct use and management of lines 13 with boats, and is essential for such operations as 14 mooring, towing, recovery and rescue.

16 Line handling is a difficult skill to learn, and requires 17 a lot of experience. This is especially the case with 18 mooring, as the full attention of an experienced person 19 (or persons) is required in order to minimise the risk of damage to the boat. It is made even more difficult if 21 there is a lack of experienced assistance.

1 Given their relative inexperience, it is clear that 2 mooring can be a daunting task for beginners. Often it 3 will take several attempts to moor the boat, and not 4 always without damage occurring. This can be off-putting to people taking up the activity.

7 At present the practice of mooring a boat can involve a 8 number of procedures. With regard to mooring at a dock, 9 one option is to throw a line from the boat to a person standing on the dock who would then proceed to fix the 11 line to the mooring. A second option, and one which is 12 fraught with danger, is for someone to leap from the boat 13 onto the dock with the line in hand, thereafter fixing 14 the line to the mooring fixture. This second option, although more dangerous, is most frequently the option 16 taken by persons in charge of a boat. A further known 17 alternative is for persons to attempt to jump from the 18 dock onto the deck of the boat with a line to be attached 19 to the boat.

21 It will be appreciated that the practice of leaping from 22 boat to dock, or vice versa, is dangerous. Given the 23 immediate vicinity of the water, there is an inherent 24 risk of slipping on the surface of the dock or the deck of the boat. Additionally, deck space is often limited, 26 giving little scope for error, especially as the boat is 27 likely to be in motion. In this regard accidents can be 28 quite common.

There are also physical limitations on how far someone 31 can leap from a boat, not to mention how far someone can 32 leap without injury. For example, there may be a 1 considerable vertical distance between the boat and the 2 mooring, either up or down.

4 It will be further appreciated that the technique of leaping from the boat with line in hand cannot be 6 employed when mooring the boat to a mooring buoy located 7 in the middle of a body of water.

9 One solution described in the prior art, is to employ a pre-formed loop located at the end of a line and to 11 attempt to use a boat hook, with the loop attached, to 12 place the loop over the mooring. The resulting 13 manipulation of the lines is known to be difficult, 14 requiring extra time and careful handling. In addition, the boat hook must then be put away in a safe place 16 before carrying on with other procedures related to the 17 mooring of the boat, in order to minimise the risk of 18 accident or injury associated with the boat hook.

It is also known to those skilled in the art to use a 21 boat hook to lift a mooring buoy in order to tie a 22 mooring line. This is not feasible in times of bad 23 weather conditions as the rope between the buoy and the 24 anchor may be under tension so rendering the boat hook method ineffective. In this case the user is required to 26 reach down and secure the line to the buoy, at obvious 27 personal risk.

29 Indeed, some mooring buoys are equipped with smaller pick-up buoys to which a mooring line may be attached.

31 Even then the boat hook method may be difficult in quite 32 normal weather, especially to novice or unskilled 33 boatmen.

2 A number of other solutions to this problem have been 3 attempted. Many employ modified boat hooks to either 4 thread a messenger line through the point of attachment or to actually clamp onto the point of attachment using 6 the boat's mooring warp.

8 United States Patent No. 5,381,749 in the name Larson 9 attempts to solve the above problem by providing a rod with a detachable U-shaped securing member which is used 11 like a hook to attach onto a mooring structure. The 12 mooring line is attached to the securing member by means 13 of an eye. The apparatus is employed to hook onto the 14 mooring structure, then release the securing member, leaving a line mooring the boat to the mooring structure 16 and a rod in the hand of the user.

18 Although the described apparatus provides added reach, 19 and the difficulty of attaching a line to a mooring is reduced there remain a number of drawbacks to the 21 employment of this apparatus. Initially, the user, once 22 moored, has to find a safe place to store the rod that 23 has now served its purpose and been detached from the 24 hook. This momentarily prevents the user from continuing with other tasks.

27 Secondly, although the attachment of the hook is 28 simplified, it will be apparent to the person skilled in 29 the art that removing the hook is not a trivial exercise.

31 International Patent Application WO 01/30647 in the name 32 Rahikka attempts to overcome some of these difficulties 33 by describing a fastening hook with an articulated hook 1 which can swivel and releasably lock. A so-called 2 closing member provides the means to releasably lock the 3 hook to form an enclosure around, say, a ring. This 4 closing member can be retracted and the articulated hook may then swivel away from the main body to quickly 6 release the ring. This fits onto the end of a pole and 7 is released by means of a trigger on the pole.

9 In both sets of apparatus described above, the rope and the rod have to be held at all times until the hook is in 11 place. If for example the rope is dropped the user must 12 start over again. Likewise if the pole is dropped it can 13 be lost in the water.

A fourth drawback is that the described hooks are not 16 suitable for securing on mooring posts or bollards, as 17 are typically found on piers and harbours. It is however 18 noted that Larson describes a modified hook suitable for 19 mating with a mooring rail. In addition, trying to moor to a cleat, which is common on docks and pontoons, is not 21 a task to which a hook is always best suited.

23 Other adapted boat hooks facilitate the threading of 24 messenger lines through a ring or cleat. These generally comprise a pole with two U-shaped brackets on the ends of 26 a two pronged fork with a gate in between to which the 27 messenger line is attached. The gate and the U-shaped 28 brackets, acting as hinges, are arranged such that the 29 gate will open when pushed onto a ring or cleat, then spring shut such that the ring or cleat is captured.

31 Pulling the pole back causes the gate to thread the 32 messenger line through the ring or cleat and back to the 33 user.

2 One of the problems associated with such boat hooks are 3 that large mooring lines or warps may not be attached 4 directly. Also, once locked onto the cleat the whole messenger line and any attached line must be pulled back 6 before it can be released. Such hooks are not suitable 7 for cleats without a bridge or a hole.

9 It is an object of at least one aspect of the present invention to provide an apparatus to aid the mooring of a 11 boat that obviates and mitigates one or more of the

12 disadvantages and limitations of the prior art.

14 Moreover, it is an object of at least one aspect of the present invention to provide a method of mooring a boat 16 using the aforementioned mooring aid device.

18 According to a first aspect of the present invention 19 there is provided a mooring aid device for remote attachment of a mooring line, the mooring aid device 21 comprising a rigid body having an enclosed channel 22 adapted to receive the mooring line, the mooring line 23 being arranged to form a loop at a distal end of the 24 device, wherein the mooring aid device further comprises a retaining means that attaches the loop to the rigid 26 hollow body so acting to retain the loop at the distal 27 end when the mooring line is pulled through the hollow 28 body.

Preferably the loop comprises a lasso.

1 Preferably, the lasso comprises a honda located at a 2 first end of the mooring line to which the retaining 3 means is attached.

Preferably, the retaining means comprises a loop.

7 Preferably, the honda comprises an eye splice.

8 Alternatively the honda comprises a non-slip knot, such 9 as a bowline knot. In a further alternative the honda comprises a solid ring. Yet further alternatively the 11 honda is formed by an aperture at the distal end of the 12 device through which the mooring line is located.

14 Most preferably, the mooring line has a pliable shape- retaining means such that the shape of the loop can be 16 preformed.

18 Preferably the pliable shape-retaining means comprises 19 one or more integral strengthening wires. Optionally the pliable shape- retaining means further comprises one or 21 more sleeves dispensed around the loop.

23 Preferably the mooring line provides a means for securing 24 the proximal end of the mooring aid device to a remote fixing point. Optionally the proximal end of the mooring 26 line comprises a loop.

28 Most preferably the rigid body comprises a length 29 suitable for locating the loop at a remote attachment point.

32 Optionally the rigid body further comprises one or more 33 fenders disposed along the length of the hollow body.

2 Optionally the rigid body further comprises one or more 3 flotation aids disposed thereon.

Preferably the flotation aids are foam filled flotation 6 collars. Alternatively the flotation aids are flotation 7 chambers.

9 Optionally the rigid body comprises a material having a density less than the density of water.

12 Optionally the rigid hollow body comprises a telescopic 13 tube that provides a means for varying the length of the 14 mooring aid device.

16 Preferably the mooring aid device comprises a means for 17 limiting the extended length of the telescopic tube.

19 Preferably the means for limiting the extended length of the telescopic tube comprises a parell bead fixedly 21 located on the mooring line at the proximal end of the 22 telescopic tube.

24 According to a second aspect of present invention there is provided a method for mooring a boat employing one or 26 more mooring aid devices of the first aspect of the 27 present invention, the method comprising the steps of: 28 1) attaching a proximal end of the mooring aid device 29 to a fixing point located on the boat; 2) employing a rigid hollow body to locate a lasso 31 with a remote fixing point; and 1 3) pulling a mooring line through the rigid hollow 2 body so as to secure the lasso to the remote 3 fixing point.

Most preferably the method for mooring a boat further 6 comprises releasing the one or more mooring aid devices, 7 which thereafter remain attached to the mooring lines 8 between the boat and the remote fixing points.

Preferably the attachment of the proximal end of the 11 mooring aid device comprises attaching the mooring line 12 to the fixing point.

14 Optionally the remote fixing point is located on a dock.

Alternatively the remote fixing point is located on a 16 buoy. Yet further alternatively the remote fixing point 17 is located on board. In another alternative, the remote 18 fixing point is a cleat on a boat to be towed or secured.

Preferably with the lasso secured to the remote fixing 21 means pulling of the hollow body acts to expand the area 22 of the lasso so allowing the lasso to be removed from the 23 remote fixing point.

The present invention will now be described by way of 26 example only and with reference to the accompanying 27 figures in which: 29 Figure 1 illustrates in schematic form a mooring aid device in accordance with an aspect of the present 31 invention; 1 Figure 2 illustrates a retaining means, which 2 connects a honda to a hollow cylindrical body of the 3 mooring aid device of Figure 1; Figure 3 illustrates a schematic cross sectional 6 view a mooring line of the mooring aid device of 7 Figure 1; 9 Figure 4 (a) illustrates a method of mooring a boat in accordance with an aspect of the present 11 invention; 13 Figure 4 (b) illustrates a boat at rest having been 14 moored in accordance with an aspect of the present invention; 17 Figure 5 illustrates in schematic form an 18 alternative embodiment of the mooring aid device 19 that comprises a telescopic hollow cylindrical body; 21 Figure 6 illustrates in schematic form a further 22 alternative embodiment of the mooring aid device 23 that comprises sleeves on the distal loop of the 24 device; 26 Figure 7 illustrates in schematic form yet another 27 alternative embodiment comprising an un-stiffened 28 proximal loop; and Figure 8 illustrates in schematic form a cross- 31 sectional view of the stop limit parrel bead 32 employed in the embodiment of Figure 5.

1 With reference to Figure 1, there is presented a mooring 2 aid device 1 that functions to assist a boatman 2 in 3 mooring a boat 3, as described in detail below. The 4 mooring aid device 1 comprises a mooring line 4 and a hollow cylindrical body 5. The mooring line 4 is passed 6 through the hollow cylindrical body 5 so as to form a 7 lasso 6 at the distal end 7 of the body 5. At the 8 proximal end 8 of the body 5 the line 4 is available for 9 tying to a point of attachment 9 on the boat 3.

11 The hollow body 5 is a predetermjne length decided by a 12 combination of the size of the boat 3 and the kind of 13 mooring for which it will be employed. In at least one 14 embodiment, the hollow body 5 is made of a lightweight material that will not damage the hull of a boat.

17 This will not cause damage when contacting with the boat 18 hull 16, and allow the boatman to fit and forget, where 19 the mooring line 4 is fixed to the point of attachment 15 and the mooring aid device 1 dropped and retained in situ 21 on the line 4. It may then come to rest against the hull 22 16 as the boat 3 drifts in towards the point of 23 attachment 15.

The lasso 6 itself comprises a honda 10 and a spoke 11.

26 With additional reference to Figure 2, a retaining loop 27 12 is formed by a length of cord that affixes the honda 28 10 to the distal end 7 of the body 5. The function of 29 the retaining loop 12 is to prevent the lasso 6 from being drawn back through the inside of the hollow body 5.

31 The retaining loop 12 also functions as a link 32 transmitting the off-pulling force applied to the hollow 1 body 5 to the honda 10 to loosen the mooring aid device 2 1.

4 In a preferred embodiment the honda 10 comprises an eye formed by an eye splice. As is known to the man skilled 6 in the art, a knot can reduce the breaking strength of a 7 line by up to 50 percent. For example, a bowline knot 8 has a breaking strength that is between 50 and 60 percent 9 of the lines rated strength. it is also known that the breaking strength of an eye splice is roughly 90 percent 11 of the line strength. it is clear that a splice is 12 considerably stronger than a knot.

14 In an alternative embodiment, not shown, the honda 10 can take the form of a solid ring or similarly shaped annulus 16 which is tied or spliced onto the distal end of the 17 mooring line 4. In yet a further alternative, not shown, 18 the end of the mooring line 4 is attached directly to the 19 distal end of the body 7 and the distal aperture functions as a honda.

22 Figure 3 illustrates a schematic cross sectional view 23 showing the mooring line 4 of the mooring aid device 1.

24 It can be seen that the mooring line 4 is stiffened by the presence of suitable lengths of a metal wire 13, 26 which are inserted within the mooring line 4. The metal 27 wire 13 allows for the lasso 6 to be shaped by a user for 28 ease of deployment of the mooring aid device 1. This 29 should ensure that the lasso 6 remains open, but when placed under strain will still be able to behave like a 31 normal rope and deform. In this way, the lasso 6 of the 32 mooring line 4 can be formed into a shape that is more 33 advantageous to place over a mooring structure.

2 Figure 4 (a) illustrates schematically the deployment of 3 the mooring aid device 1 by the boatman 2. Initially the 4 proximal end 8 of the hollow body 5 is attached to the boat by tying the mooring line 4 to a point of attachment 6 9 on the boat 3. When required to moor the boat 3, the 7 boatman 2 reaches out with the hollow cylindrical body 5 8 towards a mooring 14 so as to place the lasso 6 over the 9 remote point of attachment 15. In order to assist with this procedure the lasso 6 can be shaped, as appropriate, 11 due to the presence of the metal wire 13.

13 Pulling on the line 4 at the proximal end 8, the boatman 14 2 is able to tighten the lasso 6 at the distal end 7 in effect gripping the remote attachment 15.

17 Once the mooring aid device 1 is attached, the boatman 2 18 can drop the device 1 and thereafter steer the boat 3 in 19 to dock at the mooring 14. The mooring aid device 1 then sits alongside the boat 3 as illustrated within Figure 21 4(b), where the material of the device 1 acts to prevent 22 damage to a hull 16 of the boat 3. The device 1 acts as 23 a spring, as it is called in the art, to offer bias 24 against the direction of travel of the boat 3. This effects a steering to bring the boat 3 alongside the 26 location of the remote point of attachment 15, allowing 27 ample time for the boatman 2 to simply step ashore or 28 attach any other lines.

When required to release the mooring aid device 1 from 31 the remote point of attachment 15, the boatman 2 is 32 simply required to pull the hollow body 5 towards him.

33 This acts to loosen the lasso 6 so freeing it from the 1 mooring attachment 15. In practice the lasso 6 is held 2 in place while the hollow body 5 is pulled, which in turn 3 pulls the honda 10 along the spoke 11 so expanding the 4 area of the lasso 6.

6 Figure 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the mooring 7 aid device 17. In this embodiment the mooring aid device 8 17 comprises a telescopic hollow cylindrical body 18.

9 Located at the distal end 7 of the mooring aid device 17 is a large shapeable spliced eye loop 21, a simplified 11 alternative to the lasso 6, and is similarly made 12 shapeable by a wire insert.

14 This suitably sized loop 21 can also further be given shape, similarly to Fig. 6 discussed below, by fitting 16 sleeves 20, of which there are, preferably, three.

18 At a suitable point on the mooring line 4 reached by the 19 extended proximal end 8 of the telescopic body 18 is located an extension stop limit device comprising a large 21 parrel bead 23 held on the line 4 passing through it by a 22 compression fit. The presence of the parell bead will 23 block and prevent any over-extension of the telescopic 24 body 18 which might cause it to separate from the cylindrical body 5. The parell bead 23 requires no other 26 means of attachment, however a suitably thick cord 27 whipping may be added to the line 4 on the proximal side 28 of the bead 23 to act as backup to the bead 23 to prevent 29 over-extension.

31 The proximal end of the mooring line 4 enables attachment 32 of the telescopic mooring aid device 17 to a boat 3 as 33 and when required. The telescopic hollow cylindrical 1 body 18 provides a means f or varying the length of the 2 mooring aid device 17 which is further provided with a 3 parrel bead 23 adapted as illustrated schematically in 4 Figure 8 to provide a firm compression fit on a proximal section of the line 4.

7 When required to do so, the boatman 2 would employ the 8 telescopic hollow cylindrical body 18 to extend the 9 length of the device 17 to a maximum length determined by the limiter bead 23 located on the line 4. The device 17 11 would then be employed in a similar manner to that 12 described above.

14 When not required for use the telescopic hollow cylindrical body 18 can be retracted so as to aid the 16 efficient storage of the mooring aid device 17. Having a 17 telescopic mooring aid will be advantageous in boats 3 18 with limited space for storing such equipment.

In another optional variation of the device (not shown) a 21 flotation collar or chamber may be fitted at the distal 22 end of the mooring aid device.

24 Figure 6 illustrates in schematic form a further alternative embodiment of the mooring aid device 19. In 26 this embodiment the loop 21 further comprises three 27 sleeves 20 that provide further rigidity to the shaping 28 of the loop 21 when needed. Indeed if the line 4 were 29 formed from plain rope the presence of the sleeves 20 would still allow some degree of shaping to the loop 21 31 to aid in the mooring process.

1 Figure 7 illustrates in schematic form another further 2 alternative embodiment of the mooring aid device 24. In 3 this embodiment the loop 21 further comprises one sleeve 4 20 that provides further alternative means of giving shape to the loop 21. The soft, un-reinforced, Un- 6 shapeable eye loop 22 is formed on a very short line at 7 the proximal end 8 of the body 5. This enables the 8 boatman 2 to attach this basic mooring aid device 24 to 9 any length of line if required from his own stores.

11 Mooring may involve two or more lines 4, in which case a 12 loop formed at a distal end of said additional lines 4 13 could be releasably bound to overlap the lasso 6. This 14 would be achieved by employing, for example, frangible threads, which will snap easily under tension.

17 Likewise, mooring may involve two or more mooring aid 18 devices 1 to attach two or more mooring lines 4 to points 19 of attachment 15.

21 A number of advantages can be had over the state of the 22 art with regard to a number of features of the mooring 23 aid device. In the first instance, using a lasso means 24 that there exists little restriction on the minimum size of loop the boatman can use. This feature allows mooring 26 on a variety of sizes of mooring structures, for example, 27 a small loop might be adequate for mooring to a cleat on 28 a pontoon, whereas a much larger loop would be necessary 29 to moor to a bollard on a pier. Only the length of the mooring line limits the size of the loop, and this is 31 likely to be several metres, but not restricted as such.

32 The lasso is also capable of constricting and hence 33 retaining a hold on the point of attachment.

2 By securing the lasso at the end of the body, the mooring 3 line cannot become detached from the body. In addition, 4 when moored the retaining loop can be used to loosen the lasso by pulling on the honda. The honda can move up the 6 spoke, increasing the size of the loop and allowing the 7 boatman to lift the loop off of the mooring structure.

8 Another advantage of using this retaining loop is that 9 there is no technical restriction on the diameter of the hollow body, in fact any diameter larger than the 11 diameter of the mooring line may be used.

13 The extended reach afforded by the hollow tube increases 14 the physical reach of the boatsman, and removes the risk of reaching precariously over the side of the boat. The 16 length of cylinder can be selected to enable mooring at a 17 mooring structure substantially below or above the 18 boatman.

A further advantage of aspects of the present invention 21 is that the described mooring is simplified, thus 22 preventing accidents by removing the requirement to leap 23 between a boat and a dock.

Any device or method that removes firstly the possible 26 danger in mooring, and secondly the technical difficulty 27 involved, is therefore worthwhile and as such the present 28 invention is expected to have a positive effect on the 29 number of beginners taking up the activity.

31 The method and apparatus of the present invention allows 32 the user to "fit and forget", as known in the art.

33 Unlike the prior art, fit and forget in this case means 1 that the line can be attached, tightened, then the 2 apparatus dropped to the side of the boat. This is 3 without any additional steps being required that prevent 4 or delay the user from continuing with subsequent tasks, since the mooring aid device can remain in situ on the 6 mooring line.

8 The advantage of using a non-damaging material, such as 9 ABS, is that it prevents damage to the boat hull, especially preventing damage to the all important gel 11 coat of fibreglass hulls. In combination, the location 12 of the mooring line through the body, and the material of 13 the body means that in the case of mishandling, the body 14 can collapse without the danger of damage, yet the mooring line would still remain safely attached.

17 In summary, the present invention will allow a boatman of 18 any level of experience to be able to safely moor a boat 19 with little or no assistance.

21 Further modifications and improvements may be added 22 without departing from the scope of the invention herein 23 described. For example, the mooring line could be 24 replaced with plastic coated wire rope as is commonly used on boats. In addition, the mooring aid device could 26 just as easily be used by a person on the dock or pier to 27 locate a mooring line onto a point of attachment on the 28 boat.

Claims (26)

Claims.

1. A mooring aid device for remote attachment of a mooring line, comprising a rigid hollow body having an enclosed channel adapted to receive the mooring line, the mooring line being arranged to form a loop at a distal end of the device, wherein the mooring aid device further comprises a retaining means that attaches the loop to the rigid hollow body so acting to retain the loop at the distal end when the mooring line is pulled through the hollow body.

2. A mooring aid device as recited in claim 1 wherein the loop comprises a lasso.

3. A mooring aid device as recited in claim 2 wherein the lasso comprises a honda located at a first end of the mooring line to which the retaining means is attached.

4. A mooring aid device as recited in claim 3 wherein the retaining means comprises a loop.

5. A mooring aid device as recited in claim 4 wherein the Honda comprises an eye splice.

6. A mooring aid device as recited in claim 4 wherein the Honda comprises a non-slip knot.

7. A mooring aid device as recited in claim 4 wherein the Honda comprises a solid ring.

8. A mooring aid device as recited in claim 4 wherein the honda is formed by an aperture at the distal end of the device through which the mooring line is located.

9. A mooring aid device as recited in claim 1 wherein the mooring line has a pliable shape retaining means such that the shape of the loop can be preformed.

10. A mooring aid device as recited in claim 9 wherein the pliable shaperetaining means comprises one or more integral strengthening wires.

11. A mooring aid device as recited in claim 10 wherein the pliable shaperetaining means further comprises one or more sleeves dispensed around the loop.

12. A mooring aid device as recited in claim 1 wherein the mooring line provides a means for securing the proximal end of the mooring aid device to a remote fixing point.

13. A mooring aid device as recited in claim 12 wherein the proximal end of the mooring line comprises a loop.

14. A mooring aid device as recited in claim 1 wherein the rigid body comprises a length suitable for locating the loop at a remote attachment point.

15. A mooring aid device as recited in claim 1 wherein the rigid body comprises a material having a density less than the density of water.

16. A mooring aid device as recited in claim 1 wherein the rigid hollow body comprises a telescopic tube that provides a means for varying the length of the mooring aid device.

17. A mooring aid device as recited in claim 1 wherein the mooring aid device comprises a means for limiting the extended length of the telescopic tube.

18. A mooring aid device as recited in claim 17 wherein the means for limiting the extended length of the telescopic tube comprises a parell bead fixedly located on the mooring line at the proximal end of the telescopic tube.

19. A method for mooring a boat employing one or more mooring aid devices of claims 1 to 18, the method comprising the steps of: 1) attaching a proximal end of the mooring aid device to a fixing point located on the boat; 2) employing a rigid hollow body to locate a lasso with a remote fixing point; and 3) pulling a mooring line through the rigid hollow body so as to secure the lasso to the remote fixing point.

20. The method as recited in claim 19 wherein the method further comprises releasing the one or more mooring aid devices, which thereafter remain attached to the mooring lines between the boat and the remote fixing points.

21. The method as recited in claim 20 wherein the attachment of the proximal end of the mooring aid device comprises attaching the mooring line 12 to the fixing point.

22. The method as recited in claim 21 wherein the remote fixing point is located on a dock.

23. The method as recited in claim 21 wherein the remote fixing point is located on a buoy.

24. The method as recited in claim 21 wherein the remote fixing point is located on board.

25. The method as recited in claim 21 wherein the remote fixing point is a cleat on a boat to be towed or secured.

26. The method as recited in claim 21 wherein with the lasso secured to the remote fixing means pulling of the hollow body acts to expand the area of the lasso so allowing the lasso to be removed from the remote fixing point.