Brisbane Moorings

[AussieBrad]

Hi all,

Long time reader, first time poster.

Can anyone give me any info on getting a Mooring as close as possible to Central Brisbane.

As a child, we had a baycruiser moored at jacobs well and I really enjoyed it. Im now looking to buy a baycruiser or small houseboat and moor it. Ive seen lots of baycruisers moored opposite bretts wharf and that would be ideal.

I understand the process put in place by msq.qld.gov.au for applying for a new mooring, but im more so interested in getting an existing one or something similar to that. Im a bit fresh on this subject so excuse my ignorance

Thank you

[tigermullet]

I doubt that you will be able to get an existing mooring (not legally, anyway).

The rules are probably the same all over Queensland. On the Gold Coast, including Jacobs Well you put your name down on a waiting list. When a mooring becomes available you will be informed and then have to establish your own mooring or buy the apparatus from the person who surrendered the mooring.

You might find a commercial mooring for hire. I have heard that the waiting time for a mooring on the Gold Coast is approximately ten years and three to five years for Jacobs Well. I believe that the mooring area is to be increased at Jacobs Well sometime next year. At the moment there are about one dozen boats at permanent or semi permanent anchor at Jacobs Well directly opposite the established mooring area.

Good luck with it. The first step would be to contact MSQ and find out what they need by way of application or, at least, what you have to do to get your name on any waiting list.

Costs in establishing a mooring will vary greatly - ten years ago it cost us $1000 to have a 1400kg block positioned and then, on top of that, there is the cost of a mooring float (about $200 from Qld Transport (MSQ) application fees etc. and an annual fee of approximately $35

The one thing that they want is the registration of boat that will be moored. That's a difficult one to get over as you normally have to have purchased the boat before application may proceed - and you can't put your tinny down as the occupying vessel. The boat has to be over a certain size but you will need to check on that.

[tigermullet]

I forgot to add that you will need the patience of a saint if you approach MSQ to establish a new mooring, even if it is to be in a designated mooring area.

On my third day of attending their office on the Spit I employed the tactic of not arguing but getting across the message that I wasn't going anywhere until I was satisfied. The easy way to do that is to just keep asking questions. On part of the form there is a question about proposed specifications of the mooring. They do have guide lines but are not allowed to tell you what those guide lines are.

I was dumbfounded by the response and had to ask about one dozen more questions before I was given a look at their guide lines. From there it was a simple matter of filling out the form stating that our mooring would be established using more than one tonne for the mooring block, length and diameter of chain and where swivels should be placed

It went a bit like this.

"The mooring apparatus will have to conform or exceed the specifications listed in our guide lines"

"Fine. What are the guide lines"

"Sorry, cannot tell you"

"You mean that you have guide lines for specifications of mooring apparatus with which I will have to comply and you cannot tell me what those specifications are?"

"Yes, that's right"

"Why can't you tell me?".

"Because you might sue us if it later proves that our specifications are not adequate"

"Then why do you have guide lines?"

"So that we might judge whether an application meets or exceeds the specifications.

"Great stuff - I will make sure I exceed the specifications - can you give me a hint or tell me how to find out where these specifications are published?"

"No - they aren't available to applicants and are for our use only".

"How then can I fill out this form?"

"By specifying the weight and dimensions of the mooring block, it's material, chain length and link size etc. ensuring that those specifications meet or exceed our guide lines".

At that point I almost lost it but took three deep breaths before I was able to continue.

Two hours later I had approval and was beginning to see some sense in their Public Service mentality. I think it was just tiredness because, coming to my senses later, I realized why so many people hate public servants. Sometimes they go so far beyond sanity that I would prefer the company of a rabid greenie.

[AussieBrad]

ahah thats a great story mate...

wait on, im a public servant haha... i agree tho.. hahah

So if someone has a baycruiser on a mooring and they sell their baycruiser, you cant just "inherit" the mooring and its costs...

hmmm tricky one... thanks for the info mate much appreciated

[PinHead]

TM..some of those boats moored at Jacobs Well are eyesores..should be used as artificial reefs..not much good for anything else.

[tigermullet]

So was I, so I guess that I am fully entitled to hold such a dim view. Cannot say that sort of thing to my daughter though.

No, unfortunately you cannot inherit a mooring if purchasing a bay cruiser. A few years back the rules were changed so that if a person sold a boat that was moored at a registered mooring then the new owner could take over the 'mooring authority'.

Sharp practice on the Gold Coast finished that. Mooring supply was so tight and in such demand that some owners were moving their good boats off to Marinas or private jetties, buying an old beat up boat for next to nothing, changing the details (free of charge with MSQ) and then flogging the boat for about $10,000. The new owner would scrap the old heap of floating junk and have the rights to a mooring. Obviously, MSQ did not like the thought of mooring authority holders making a very tidy profit.

So now we are back to waiting lists but it is fairer to all.

[tigermullet]

TM..some of those boats moored at Jacobs Well are eyesores..should be used as artificial reefs..not much good for anything else.

I have to agree PH. The owners might disagree though. Those boats are probably somebody's pride and joy and beat up boats add a bit of 'colour'.

Surprisingly, in that last savage blow a few months back, the worst looking boats fared okay. I was there watching and expected to see several fall apart and hit the bottom but all was well except for the ten that broke away. Even those were not damaged because of the state of the tide and went aground on the mud before they could be pushed into the mangroves.

Even our boat has been up in the mangroves - a shackle parted company with the chain (just after an inspection too) - but the boat is pretty hard to damage because it is built like the proverbial brick chicken house.

[disorderly]

TM,

Is there any regulations to stop anyone from mooring a larger boat or houseboat at these moorings and actually living on them?
Sounds like cheap rent in the big smoke.

Scott

[tigermullet]

Yes, Disorderly, regulations are in place to prevent living aboard - you are not supposed to stay even overnight on the mooring. It doesn't seem to be 'policed', however and there are quite a few 'live aboard's' at Jacobs Well.

I like the idea of people living aboard on the moorings because it adds 'character' and gives some feeling of security. You cannot move down there without everyone knowing. Many would be envious of the life style and, though I rarely stay on board overnight, the way of life certainly has its appeal.

There are quite a few additions to the fleet lately. I don't know the full circumstances nor can verify the stories of houseboat owners being kicked off the Noosa river because property owners didn't like the sight of so many privately owned houseboats on 'their' river. There is a least one addition to the Jacobs Well club who swears it is truthful. Anyway. if true, their enjoyment must have multiplied by being banished from the Noosa River and allowed to live freely at the Pin.

I grew up on the Noosa River but would not want to live on it. It's too short, too narrow and is little more than a drain really.

Many others down that way get around the regulations by not having a mooring, choosing instead to live on board at anchor. Regulations cover that as well but allow for so many days in one place before they are supposed to move on to another anchorage. I think that there is also a number of days in any one year but have not taken much notice of those regulations because they do not affect me. The authorities would have to be really determined to police that regulation.

I know a few who have lived on board in the Pin area for more than ten years.

Good luck to them - it would be a wonderful way to live.

[disorderly]

That's good to hear TM,

As you have mentioned having a few live aboard boaties in the area certainly adds a bit of character and security.
I use to watch(as the missus did the weekly shopping) with envy, the odd person on the johnstone river in innisfail,loading there shopping and booze into the little tender and buzzing back to there yacht or cat which was often adorned with the laundry hanging from the rigging.

oh man....to be so carefree..

Scott

[tigermullet]

Oh Yes, Freedom. You have it right there. Those I know who live in such a manner chose it freely but some were forced, by circumstance, to consider such a lifestyle. It doesn't matter because they have been and are happy with their lot.

What started the dream for me began with the sight of a small sloop cruising around the Pin area and it was obvious that the owner was living aboard. So many sightings of him and so much laundry - one of the main complaints of the Noosa River yuppies - that it made me wonder what his story was. I did not find out but, in those days of high unemployment, it was easy to imagine that someone had coped and found an almost ideal solution to being on the fringes of society. I was envious. Being 'trapped' in suburbia with a relatively young family, mortgage, work and more work, tax and more tax made me feel that way for a time.

I haven't forgotten him nor my intention, at some stage to 'escape', if only briefly but often from the constraints of the world.

That's what boating means to me and now, in retirement, I can go out for weeks at a time whilst maintaining a seemingly normal, suburban life when I have to be back home. But my heart lies more with the boat and the water rather than a brick box in the suburbs.

Actually, it's not a bad balance but I do get upset when some well meaning 'dog gooders' try to limit freedom by constantly calling for more regulation and constraint in the futile search for making the whole of the world safe and then go on to praise the authorities for clamping down on those who might have an out-of-date life jacket or some other nonsense. What is so wrong with freedom? And where did tolerance for risk go?

[Razgo-]

What about Gardens Point Mooring in Brisbane CBD. You can't get much closer than that. no good? I know it says yacht mooring but does that mean yachts only?

http://www.portbris.com.au/operation.../gardens_point

Introduction
There are 54 yacht moorings at Gardens Point, which is in the town reach of the Brisbane River.

Availability
These moorings range in length from 16 to 30 metres and are available to you on a daily, weekly or monthly basis:

$15AU/day
$55AU/week
$220AU/calender month


Fees are collected by a Port of Brisbane Officer in the laundry complex :

Tuesday 10.00am - 11.00am
Thursday 10.00am - 11.00am

[Bros]

Two hours later I had approval and was beginning to see some sense in their Public Service mentality. I think it was just tiredness because, coming to my senses later, I realized why so many people hate public servants. Sometimes they go so far beyond sanity that I would prefer the company of a rabid greenie.

I thought that was hilarious but it is serious. From my dealing with public servants they seem to be scared into a state of noncooperation. I don't blame them but it is just the way the governments have gone, it is hard to get to someone who can make a decision. If you ask something that is not straight forward they take the easy way out and say no hoping you will go away.