Patent ID: 8196538

Claim:
A mooring aid comprising: a support; a member which is mounted to the support and to which a mooring rope can be detachably secured; and means for urging the member from an extended position to a retracted position, wherein: the member is movable reciprocably between the retracted position which corresponds to a storage position for a rope secured thereto and the extended position which renders a rope secured thereto accessible to a user, the member is elongate and projects from the support in a generally horizontal plane in said storage position, the member is mounted to the support at a height such that the member projects from the support in order for a user to be able to grasp the member, the member is arranged to be grasped by a user and pulled outwardly and away from the support and wherein a mooring rope is arranged to be detachably secured to the member at an end thereof adjacent the support in the retracted position, said urging means comprises a biasing means for urging the member from the extended position to the retracted position, the biasing means is housed within the support, and said biasing means is connected to the support by a flexible elongate element which (1) extends around a pulley attached to said biasing means, (2) has one end attached to the member, and (3) has an other end anchored to the support.