Berthing Advice

jonnybuoy

jonnybuoy

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Background: new to boating (1 yr), small boat (23 ft), outdrive; in marina on pontoon with another boat on adjacent pontoon; pontoon has bow and stern cleat, boat has bow mid and stern cleats. Have practiced coming in a lot, particularly single-handed as missus can't always be there. Most of time no probs, slowly getting better but made a real dogs dinner of it a few weekends ago when a fair breeze was blowing me off the pontoon onto boat alongside - thankfully some helpful punters grabbed ropes and pulled me out of trouble.

Have been wondering how better to approach this situation next time. Read this month's MBY with interest but solution seems to be coming in at sharper angle but I can't get a decent angle with another boat on the adjacent pontoon for risk of my stern clipping neighbour if I screw it up. Advice very welcome for (a) when I have a crew member to help and (b) when single-handed.

Thanks in advance. BTW am inspired by seeing those of you with bigger boats making this mooring lark look all so goddam easy! One day...


Jon.
 
If you have two engines use the throttle to steer, just take it gently, when its windy it may blow you where you dont want to go so have the fenders out and go slowly.

I am no expert, pretty new to it myself, but so far I have found not steering with the wheel and using the throttles works very well.

Of course if you have one engine this wont help, Oh yes one more thing, if berthing alone on of those fenders you bolt onto the end of the pontoon finger helps if you boat happens to get blown onto it.

Keep checking your post the experts will be on later.

Good luck /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
The good news is that big boats are much easier to handle, they don't blow around as much, so those guys aren't really as good as they look! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I often reverse into a berth with smaller boats if it's windy, as you have far more control as the boat weathervanes
 
Re: Berthing Advice Things That Make It Easy

1/ Bigger boats have twin shafts and largly go where you tell them.

2/ Experience says. Dont try to make the boat do, what it cant.

3/ Accept the fact that you will lay alongside the next boat in some conditions, so fender acordingly.

4/ Nearly no one or any boat will back into a finger berth successfully most of the time.

5/ Concider a different berth or more suitable boat.

6/ Never mind what SWMBO says/ direction of sunbeams or other external reasons. Drive boat into berth, back out. If this is impracticable, for other reasons. Go to 5/

7/ Crew stands on bow, holds rope in big loop. You drive the boat to cleat. Dependant on wind ETC, nose on to cleat or whatever. Crew lassoos cleat. Use rope as a spring, either hanging off it, or pushing against. Use engine to bring arse end in. Crew walk to back of boat, walk off and ties arse end.

8/ No one jumps off boats, step off.

9/ Practice silent mooring, there should be no shouting. Or even talking. Each knows what the other will do. If the crew cant do it. Back off and try again.

10/ Single handed. Some boats it's easy, some not. Depends on berth and wind/tide. Watch the ferry men. Usually centre cleat to center cleat on pontoon. Then leave engine in gear to hold boat in. Not easy with fly bridge or cabin type boat. Very easy in open type boat.
 
Re: Berthing Advice Things That Make It Easy

Forgot one.

Avoid marina berths, less you can get an alongside one.

Ever seen a fishing harbour or cago dock that loos like a marina. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Re: Berthing Advice Things That Make It Easy

Excellent advise and well put Ol' boy

cheers Joe
 
Re: Berthing Advice Things That Make It Easy

Good list, thanks. Bow in, secure and "bring arse end in" is my favourite solution when SWMBO onboard.

On single handed your (10) the pontoon doesn't have a centre cleat (boat does) - is there a next best plan B?
 
[ QUOTE ]
If you have two engines use the throttle to steer, just take it gently, when its windy it may blow you where you dont want to go so have the fenders out and go slowly.

I am no expert, pretty new to it myself, but so far I have found not steering with the wheel and using the throttles works very well.


[/ QUOTE ]

Depends - with shafts yes, with outdrives no. You need to steer on twin outdrives as well as use the throttles, it will give you more control and tighter, more efficient turning.
 
hi jon

i am like you - this is my first season on a marina berth.

boat - single engined sterndrive with high windage boat (with covers up)

After many "dogs dinners" we have it sorted - we have to go in stern first as finger is not long enough to enable us to get off boat at swim platform. - anyway we have bow & stern warps ready at rear & when I reverse into berth I aim my stern corner to get near furthest out part of finger wife steps onto pontoon with bow warp in hand & I or my son will step onto finger with stern line and then simply pull boat into position using pontoon cleats.

I have not tried it single handed but the theory must still work (albeit a dash from helm position)

AS a footnote I can tell you when it goes to plan (most times now) we look cool

p.s this is the most talked about subject in our (large marina) & even the big boys dont always get it right from what i,ve witnessed
 
Best solution here is probably to reverse into the berth. The boat will go backwards into the wind much easier for the reason Brendan has outlined. I would get an old fender and put it on the end of the pontoon - as you back in - or get yourself a ball fender and hang it over the stern. Then rig your stern line so that as you come into the pontoon, loop this over the cleat (make sure the line is not too tight but won't slip) and then turn the helm to the pontoon and engage forward gear keeping the power on tick over so that the boat springs onto the pontoon.

I'd also put fenders on the bow opposite the side you are coming onto the pontoon so that if the wind does push the bow off you are fendered ready for the inevitable "controlled" collision with boat next door. Whatever you do, don't panic and put the boat into gear if it goes wrong, just let yourself "DRIFT" gently onto the boat next door ensuring you are well fendered on both sides.

Where do you berth in Poole.
 
Doesnt matter how long we have been doing it, all of us screw up occasionally, thats what gelcoat repair packs are for! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Could always ask the marina to put in a another mid berth cleat so you can then quickly tie up to that with a short warp, then you're not going anywhere, neither bows nor stern can swing out, buys you all the time you need to moor properly. Have used this many a time in a small boat when single handed.
 
Hi

We had a SeaRay 225 Weekender (similar size and single stern drive) for 4 seasons and had a marina finger pontoon with a very fat yacht adjacent that made getting a sharp angle of attack impossible and after a few gel coat repairs the answer for us was:-
1) Fix fenders to end of finger to minimise damage if all goes wrong
2) Fender both sides of our boat (with big fenders) again to minimise damage if all goes wrong
3) To come straight in bows first, no steep angle of attack.
4) Have fixed length line spliced up as follows - Rope will run from boats mid-cleat to cleat at end of pontoon and of a length so that boat will sit in middle of pontoon. You need a massive loop at the pontoon end, this massive loop is threaded through some pvc water pipe so the loop stays open.
5) Appraoch pontoon at slow speed with the big loop on the end of the boat hook.
6) As you pass the cleat at the end of your pontoon drop the big loop over it and then spin the wheel away from the pontoon.
7) As the slack gets taken up the bows get pulled into the pontoon which is countered by the outdrive forcing the stern hard into the pontoon. You come to a nice controlled stop if you are not going too fast.
8) Leave in the boat in gear (ahead) at tickover and it will sit there safe as houses all day long (well atleast long engough for you to get fore and aft lines made fast.

Has worked for me on my own and with SWMBO with no mis-haps and given us confidence to move up to single outdrive 32footer (although now have bowthruster should all go wrong!)

I can't take credit for the idea, it was in the back of MBM some years ago.
 
Jon,

Another thing that might help if not already done is to run a 'grab line' - a length of rope tied from the cleat at finger end to cleat located at walkway. At least this will give you a much longer target area to use your boat hook on and allow you to pull into the pontoon rather than trying to hook individual cleats whilst moving past them.

Good luck,
Dave
 
have you come back to read this thread?

It's always nice to know that when a question is asked, that the responses have been read, and even that some of it absorbed or listened to.
 
I m a bit curious about this-, but I find my boat impossible to reverse into the wind behind. It will crab sideways, but its impossible to move the stern through the wind. I ve tried practicing out around some mooring bouys, but if the wind is a bit stronger, it just wont turn through it.
 
Thanks all, great advice and will be trying it out this wekend coming.
Solitaire: I am at Salterns.
Brendan - was away at the weekend (in Berlin!) so just got back to the post now.
 
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