Small watercraft mooring device and method of using the same

Abstract

A watercraft mooring device is provided. The mooring device provides a rigid body extending between a rigid hook portion and an elastic loop connectable to the watercraft. The rigid hook portion has a distal end that transitions by way of a curvature to a proximal end rigidly connected to the rigid body. A foam layer may encase the rigid body, giving floatation properties to the mooring device as well as bumper capabilities. The prong of the hook portion is dimensioned and adapted to slide through a slot of a cleat or the like on a docking structure, whereby the curvature enables a pivotal connection so that the loop end of mooring device may move vertically out of plane with the cleat slot, while the rigidity of the hook portion and the rigid body of the mooring device keeps the watercraft spaced apart from the docking structure.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A watercraft mooring device comprising:
 a rigid body extending between a boat end and a dock end; and   one or more rigid hook portions extending outward from the dock end, wherein each hook portion provides a distal end that transitions by way of a curvature to a proximal end rigidly connected to the rigid body.   
     
     
         2 . The watercraft mooring device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an elastic loop extending from the boat end.   
     
     
         3 . The watercraft mooring device of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 a foam layer encasing the rigid body.   
     
     
         4 . The watercraft mooring device of  claim 3 , wherein each end comprises a stop and a cap between the stop and the rigid body. 
     
     
         5 . The watercraft mooring device of  claim 4 , further comprising a second elastic loop extending from the dock end. 
     
     
         6 . The watercraft mooring device of  claim 5 , wherein the rigid body extends for at least eight inches. 
     
     
         7 . The watercraft mooring device of  claim 5 , wherein each hook portion is constructed from wire having a diameter between a sixteenth of an inch and one inch. 
     
     
         8 . A method of mooring a watercraft to a dock cleat having a cleat slot, the method comprising:
 moving the mooring device of  claim 2  so that one prong portion slides through the cleat slot in a downward orientation;   rotating said mooring device approximately one-hundred-and-eighty-degrees so that one prong is in an upward orientation; and   attaching the elastic loop to the watercraft.   
     
     
         9 . A method of connecting two watercrafts together, the method comprising:
 moving the mooring device of  claim 2  so that the prongs go under a boat cleat of one of the two watercrafts in a downward orientation; rotating said mooring device approximately one-hundred-and-eighty-degrees so that the prongs are in an upward orientation; and attaching the elastic loop to the other watercraft of the two watercrafts.