Therefore, actual holding powers of these mooring systems in harbors 

 may be somewhat better than the 190 to 790 lb estimated above. 



General Observations 



The mooring systems were all foiind to be compatible with the 36-inch 

 Bennett U. S. Navy boom. The easiest and the most desirable procedure of 

 attaching the mooring system to the boom connectors was by using a shackle 

 at the end of the line and attaching it to an eyebolt located at the bottom 

 end of the boom connector. To permit flexibility, all boom connectors 

 should have suitable eyebolts attached to them or have suitably sized 

 holes through which an eyebolt could be fastened. 



Under the conditions of the tests, no bridle assembly was required to 

 stabilize the boom. If the mooring lines do not have twists in them, there 

 is little reason to suspect that the boom may require additional 

 stabilization. The absence of twists can be ensured if the lines are 

 first "untwisted" and then stored in a figure eight configuration. 



Including a person at the controls, a minimum of three people were 

 required to deploy and retrieve the mooring systems. The time required to 

 complete deployment or retrieval of all mooring systems was about the same, 

 and foiind to be approximately 15 minutes, including the time required to 

 moor the line to the boom. However, this time is considered to be quite 

 variable, and it will depend strongly upon the location of the spill, 

 waves, currents, winds, depth of water, and skill, training and 

 motivation of personnel. 



Wrapping the line around the buoy for storage is not recommended 

 because of several problems. (1) If the line is stuck onto the buoy, 

 pulling with a boat may not be enough to unwind it. This was found to be 

 the situation in one of the tests. (2) If the line has the slightest 

 amount of slack in it, it may all come off the buoy at the same time and 

 cause entanglement. (3) To wind the line around the buoy in a neat fashion 

 will require a mechanical device to turn the buoy slowly. Otherwise, the 

 procedure will be cumbersome. (4) If the entire length of line goes into 

 the water at one time, the operator has just about lost all control of the 

 line which may, in some situations, come too close to the propeller. 



The procedure of coiling a line with reverse twists on the deck of 

 the boat avoided twists and entanglements in the line during its actual 

 use in a harbor, but the procedure was felt to be not as easy as faking 

 the line in a figure eight configuration. Therefore, it is recommended 

 that all lines be stored in a figure eight configuration. 



To completely surround a ship berthed at a pier may require a mini- 

 mum of three mooring systems if the ship is large and if the weather is 

 adverse. Figure 31. Under calm conditions and for a smaller ship, two 

 mooring systems may be adequate, Figure 32. In both cases, two pilings 

 are also used for securing purposes. To completely contain a spill in an 

 open area, four mooring systems are considered desirable if the winds 

 and currents are variable, Figure 29. If winds and currents are 



30 



