WO2000061432A1

WO2000061432A1 - Mooring for a small boat

Info

Publication number: WO2000061432A1
Application number: PCT/NO2000/000101
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ole Kristian Ertzeid
Original assignee: Ole Kristian Ertzeid
Priority date: 1999-03-25
Filing date: 2000-03-22
Publication date: 2000-10-19
Also published as: NO991443D0; AU3466000A

Abstract

A mooring arrangement for theft-proofed mooring of small boats (34) is described. The arrangement comprises a tubular mooring element part (26) having a shore tie-up end (18) for lockable joining to a secured shore fitting (12, 14). The mooring arrangement comprises two links (14, 16; 22), one with a vertical axis (17) and one with a horizontal axis (24), as well as an elastically compliant/resilient, short longitudinal part (42) that is secured by means of a chain (44). The boat (34) cannot - when it is moored in this manner - be pulled in to shore before the lockable connection with the shore-based tie-up point (12, 14) is neutralised/broken.

Description

MOORING FOR A SMALL BOAT

This invention regards a mooring arrangement which when used to moor a small boat, for example anchored by a grapnel with a mooring buoy, shall lead from the small boat to a shore tie-up point. The shore tie-up point may be located on a shore-connected pier, quay or jetty, or possibly on a float or for that matter any suitable mooring site, without a pier.

Mooring elements at such moorings generally consist of highly flexible elements in the form of ropes, chains or a combination of ropes and chains.

By moorings of this type, it should be possible to haul the boat in, in order to step onboard at the shore tie-up point/pier, while the mooring buoy pulls the boat back out via the connecting rope so as to leave it clear of the shore, as soon as the landing rope is released. By such a mooring method, unauthorised persons may also pull the buoy-moored boat inn, board it, cast off the connection to the buoy, and possibly steal the boat. It has been an object of the present invention to provide a mooring of the type generally mentioned at the beginning, which mooring is considerably more theft-proof than ordinary mooring arrangements for small boats.

The object is achieved through a mooring of the type mentioned at the beginning, by designing the actual mooring element in such a way that it exhibits the characteristics stated in the characterising part of Claim 1.

In accordance with the present invention, said mooring element comprises, at least across the greater part of its longitudinal extent, a rigid element, for example rod-shaped or tubular, at one end of which, at the shore tie-up point, it is lockable to a securely fastened fitting that is fixed to the pier.

By using such a very long, rod-shaped/tubular mooring element that primarily distinguishes itself through its rigidity that does not allow the boat to be pulled in as long as the mooring element remains locked to the pier fitting, a significant degree of theft proofing has already been achieved. The rigid mooring element must thereby have a length that exceeds a normal jump from shore and into the boat.

At the other end of the mooring element, at the boat tie-up point, it preferably has a resilient or elastically compliant part with a longitudinal extent that represents only a small part of the total length of the mooring element between its ends for attachment at the shore and for attachment at the boat. The resilient/elastic part of the mooring element serves to relieve the rigid part of the element, especially during heavy seas .

The resilient/elastic part of the element may be secured by a length of chain that extends between two rings, one end ring at each of the axial ends of the resilient/elastic part of the element, and with a padlock or other locking device at the connection to the boat.

For instance at the shore tie-up point or at some longitudinal distance from this, the rigid mooring element may be split into longitudinal parts connected together by means of a secured articulation, so as to allow the element to perform swivelling movements about the essentially horizontal axis of the articulation.

At the shore tie-up fitting, there may be constructed a sleeve-shaped part that with a limited rotatability encompasses a generally peg-shaped part of the lockable end part of the rigid element, and which is at an angle to the main longitudinal direction of the element. The peg-shaped part projects below the encompassing sleeve-shaped part of the shore tie-up fitting, as the downwardly projecting part may have a through cross-hole for a lock bolt or a split-pin with a head at one end and a hole for a padlock at the other end.

At this lockable end part of the long, rigid mooring element, there may be attached an upwardly projecting arched handle in order to facilitate the lifting of the rigid element when the locking is neutralised. In order to deter small thieves , it is by the mooring arrangement according to the invention nor possible balancing out along the rigid mooring element in order to get into the boat. This may be realised through arranging, over the greater part of the rigid mooring element, an outer tube that is freely rotatable on the outside of the internal tube/rod of the rigid element, preferably limited between fixed displacement-restricting rings on the outside of the internal tube/rod, in a manner such that the outer tube will rotate and form a support that will give way in the case of an attempt at such a balancing act.

In spite of the rigidity of the long mooring element, this is relieved against outside forces just as the moored boat is given the necessary mobility in the water as a result of the articulations provided for the rigid element, one with a horizontal and one with a vertical axis, as well as the elastic/resilient part of the element at the boat connection end of the mooring element.

A mooring arrangement according to the invention is shown on the accompanying drawing, in which the only figure illustrates the invention in a partly schematic perspective view.

The reference number 10 in the figure denotes an outer edge part of a shore-connected pier, or for that matter any shore- connected mooring site. An angular fitting 12 is secured to the pier side 10, which fitting is constructed with an upwardly projecting sleeve 14 with a through bore and vertical axis 17. The sleeve 14 serves for detachable, partially rotatable accommodation of a downwardly projecting, angled, peg-shaped end part 16 with a lower cross-hole for a lock bolt 15, and which forms part of an angular connector 18 with a lifting handle 19, and which serves to connect up a long, rigid mooring element, generally denoted by 20 via an articulation 22 with a horizontal axis 24.

The peg 16 has a length that makes it project below the lower end of the sleeve 14 in the inserted position of the peg 16. At the same time, the peg 16 has a certain rotatability about a vertical axis 17.

A radially inner, rigid, tubular element 26 of the mooring element 20 constitutes the main component of the mooring element 20, and extends from the articulation 22 to an outer, ring-shaped organ 28 and supports a similar ring-shaped organ 30 in a middle position, but at a significantly shorter distance from the articulation 22 than the second ring 28.

The rings 28, 30 serve to, among other things, prevent axial displacement of a radially outer, on the outside of the inner tube 26 freely rotatable tube 32, which is to render impossible balancing on the rigid mooring element 20 from shore and out to the boat 34 impossible, which boat has a ring fastener 36 that can be hooked up to the end coupling ring 38 of the mooring element 20 and locked by means of a padlock 40 or other lock.

Between the end coupling ring 38 and the displacement- preventing ring 28, there has been fitted an elastic/ resilient element part 42 that serves to relieve the mooring element 20, among other things during heavy seas and when it is affected by other outside forces. Between the end coupling ring 38 of the mooring element 20 and the displacement-restricting stop ring 28 for the outer tube 32, there is fitted a length of security chain 44 that, among other things, will secure the connection to the boat should the resilient/elastic element part 42 be damaged or broken, for instance cut.

Claims

C l a i m s

1. A mooring arrangement for mooring a small boat (34) to a shore-based tie-up point (12, 14), for instance a pier (10), which mooring arrangement comprises a long mooring element having two axial ends that, in the case of the one end is designed to be attached to the said shore- based tie-up point and in the case of the other end is designed to be attached to the boat (34), c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the mooring element (20) over a significant portion of its axial length is formed as a rigid, inflexible element part (26), preferably tubular, and that at least the shore tie-up end (18) of the mooring element (20) is designed to be attached and locked to a fitting (12, 14) on shore.

2. A mooring element in accordance with Claim 1, c h ar a c t e r i z e d i n that the shore tie-up end of said mooring element (20) is constituted by an angular piece (18), preferably a piece of tubing with two parts angled at 90°, of which one (16) is peg- shaped, downwardly projecting and has a free-running end, and is designed to be inserted down into and partly through a shorter, upright sleeve (14) that forms part of the shore-based tie-up point (12, 14), and that the outer part of the angled part (16), which, when in the engaged position, projects below the sleeve (14) of the shore-based tie-up point (12, 14), is designed with a cross-hole for a lockable bolt (15) or similar locking means .

. A mooring arrangement in accordance with Claim 2, c h a r ac t e r i z e d i n that the downwardly projecting, peg-shaped part of the angled shore end piece (18) of the mooring element (20) has a limited rotatability about an upright axis (17) through the sleeve (14) of the shore fitting.

4. A mooring arrangement in accordance with Claim 3, c h ar a c t e r i z e d i n that the other angled part of the angled piece (18) has a free end that, together with the corresponding end of said rigid, long element part (26), forms a connecting link (22) with an essentially horizontal axis (24).

5. A mooring arrangement in accordance with one or more of the previous claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the long, rigid element part (26) at the end opposite the shore tie-up end (18) has an elastically compliant/resilient end piece (42) that is designed with a free, lockable end (38) for joining with the proximal boat end via hooks/rings etc., which straight end piece (42) is provided with a bridging chain (44) designed to maintain the connection should the elastic straight end piece (42) be broken.

6. A mooring arrangement in accordance with one or more of the previous claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n an outer tube (32) which is threaded onto the rigid tubular element part (26) in a freely rotatable manner.

7. A mooring arrangement in accordance with Claim 6, c h ar a c t e r i z e d i n that the inner tube (26) forming said mooring element part is provided with radially oriented, ring-shaped projections that form stops (28, 30) for the ends of said outer tube (32).