Berthing single handed at a finger pontoon?

[Roger52]

Get a copy of Stress Free Sailing by Duncan Wells. It's aimed at the single or short handed sailor. Packed with sound advice and useful videos. His preferred method is a stern bridle, a line fixed to the midships cleat, lead outside and back via the stern cleat to a winch. You don't need in his view to be as close to the pontoon and can lasso the pontoon cleat.
A very useful all round book. No relation to the author just a very satisfied customer.

 

[Roger52]

Sorry I meant to add that I know the stern bridle doesn't work for you as you said in your initial post but nevertheless the book is full of useful hints and tips.

 

[dunedin]

On your home berth it is best to have lines already attached to the finger cleats and made up with eyes to the correct length. A line from the end cleat to midships is the first to pick up, putting the boat in against a bow fender. Pick the line up with a boat hook (or have it on a pole if it helps) and hook it onto the midships cleat on the boat. If the wind is blowing you back leave in gear at tickover. You can now walk along the deck picking up your other lines at your leisure. No panic, no jumping off and worthy of a round of applause.

+1. For a home berth having pre-sized lines on the dockside saves a huge amount of time, and having a presized rope with a loop sitting on a pole is much easier than trying to loop a cleat.
We have three ropes on the pole if single handing
- rope with loop sized for mid cleat which stops just before hitting bow - which can then motor on to hold in as other posters.
- shorter loop which goes over genoa winch to hold stern in
- long rope which is then walked forward as bow rope
All easily collected via hand from cockpit if all goes perfectly, or boathook if risk of blowing off a bit

All permanent ropes are either on loops or with tape marks at the correct place to quickly tie off to exact place and head to pub

 

[DannyB]

A guy a couple of berths up from me uses the ropes on a pole technique. The other week it was quite breezy, and although his crew picked up a line, the boat was getting blown off. The crew was already at full stretch and at risk of being pulled into the water. It is impossible to put any effort into pulling a rope if you are standing on the side deck and leaning out. I went down to help, but he persisted in trying to do the same again, with the same result. After several more attempts, I shouted to him to let his boat drift down against the downwind finger and winch it over. He did, and the boat was secured back in his berth in minutes. I have pre made lines on my berth which I use for mooring, but I'd never dream of trying to use them for coming in with, I use a single line which is long enough to get round a winch as described in my post above.

 

[[163233]]

Do you think the midships spring is the best method for my pontoon? Or are there better/easier methods ?

I've tried this (no midships cleat though I'm trying with the sheet blocks) and have a similar problem with the short finger when approaching how do you cover the considerable distance from the helm to the point you would like to be at when lassooing the pontoon cleat?

Hopefully this will work, I've just shifted the boat further from the pontoon you can see that on most boats it's a good distance from the helm. Do you just leave it while you pop up there?


I was planning on trying a single long loose line tied fore and aft long enough that I can step ashore with it, catch the forward motion of the boat as a spring then step back and tie off the stern with the same line whilst having a grip on the bow if that starts to go wayward, then take it back forward to tie off at the bow sorting out the mess afterwards. But my boat is probably small enough to manhandle like this, I don't know how well it would work yet.

 

[dunedin]

A guy a couple of berths up from me uses the ropes on a pole technique. The other week it was quite breezy, and although his crew picked up a line, the boat was getting blown off. The crew was already at full stretch and at risk of being pulled into the water. It is impossible to put any effort into pulling a rope if you are standing on the side deck and leaning out. I went down to help, but he persisted in trying to do the same again, with the same result. After several more attempts, I shouted to him to let his boat drift down against the downwind finger and winch it over. He did, and the boat was secured back in his berth in minutes. I have pre made lines on my berth which I use for mooring, but I'd never dream of trying to use them for coming in with, I use a single line which is long enough to get round a winch as described in my post above.

But if the first rope on the pole is the one pre-looped and sized for the mid cleat, it should be easy enough to drop onto the cleat whilst still loose. Then use the boat engine to gently power forward on this to keep the boat in situ whilst attaching other ropes (in exactly the same way others have said using this approach, or the looping round cleat version)
Things can always go wrong and need a plan b, but shouldn't ever need to be pulling the weight on a shore rope.

 

[drakes drum]

This is what i was talking about. I use this method when mooring bow to or stern to.

I tried this approach initially, but it meant that if the boat drifted say 5 ft away from the pontoon after you had lassooed it, you needed to pull in, maybe winch in, 10 ft of rope. I found it easier to put a permanent loop in the end of my rope, holding it open with flexible pipe and then feeding the tail through a block to the sheet winch.

 

[DannyB]

I've tried this (no midships cleat though I'm trying with the sheet blocks) and have a similar problem with the short finger when approaching how do you cover the considerable distance from the helm to the point you would like to be at when lassooing the pontoon cleat?

Hopefully this will work, I've just shifted the boat further from the pontoon you can see that on most boats it's a good distance from the helm. Do you just leave it while you pop up there?
View attachment 60722

I was planning on trying a single long loose line tied fore and aft long enough that I can step ashore with it, catch the forward motion of the boat as a spring then step back and tie off the stern with the same line whilst having a grip on the bow if that starts to go wayward, then take it back forward to tie off at the bow sorting out the mess afterwards. But my boat is probably small enough to manhandle like this, I don't know how well it would work yet.

I no longer use the midships cleat, just the midship fairlead. Rope from the sheet winch to the midship fairlead and outboard with a loop on the end. I simply walk up the side deck and drop the loop over the pontoon cleat, then walk back to the helm, put the rudder over and put it in forward gear, then adjust the position with the rope on the winch. Once she's lying where I want then I step ashore and secure the preset mooring lines. I normally sail singlehanded and this works, I wouldn't dream of getting off the boat onto the pontoon until the boat is secure. Even with crew on board, I have a rule, nobody steps or jumps onto the pontoon until the boat is secure. Today's modern boats are too high to make jumping onto the pontoon a safe option, besides, if you're singlehanded do you really want to be standing on the pontoon watching your boat drifting away if something goes wrong ?

 

[thecommander]

Good suggestions.

 

[westhinder]

A spring to the midships cleat always works for me. For my permanent berth it has a permanent loop and only has to be picked up from the catway and dropped over the midships cleat. The other day it was quite breezy, the wind blowing me off the catway and the neighbouring boat had left. A first attempt failed, but the next time I succeeded in picking up the line and driving against the spring I slowly but surely brought the boat alongside the catway and picked up the rest of the mooring lines. Slightly less straightforward if not on my home mooring, but it nearly always works. If it does not, either choose a different place, or let yourself be blown onto the downwind catway and warp across later.

 

[Spirit of Glenans]

I've tried this (no midships cleat though I'm trying with the sheet blocks) and have a similar problem with the short finger when approaching how do you cover the considerable distance from the helm to the point you would like to be at when lassooing the pontoon cleat?

Hopefully this will work, I've just shifted the boat further from the pontoon you can see that on most boats it's a good distance from the helm. Do you just leave it while you pop up there?
View attachment 60722

I was planning on trying a single long loose line tied fore and aft long enough that I can step ashore with it, catch the forward motion of the boat as a spring then step back and tie off the stern with the same line whilst having a grip on the bow if that starts to go wayward, then take it back forward to tie off at the bow sorting out the mess afterwards. But my boat is probably small enough to manhandle like this, I don't know how well it would work yet.

To answer your first question; you don't have to be right up beside the midships cleat, (if you have one) or in your case, sheet blocks, You need to make the loop long enough to throw from the cockpit. It should probably be just a bit shorter than it would be if you had it in place when finally tied up. You need to be able to throw it while still holding the tiller, or be able to do it while letting go of it for the briefest moment as you will also need to be in reach of the throttle.

 

[Neil]

That's what I use (40ft, single-hander, typical shortish marina finger). With a slight variant that looks like this:

So when I come in (as slow as possible, as fast as necessary if there's wind/tide), I have the line set up like this, with one end made fast on the midships cleat, forming a loop outside the stanchions and then leading back through the center hole in the same cleat. From there to a winch I can reach from the helm.

With that ready and the loop resting on the lifelines, I can leave the cockpit when the boat is lined up, drop the loop over the cleat, get back to the helm and pull it tight as well as let it in or out as needed while motoring gently against it and using the rudder to keep the boat straight.

All credit goes to Duncan Wells, I've picked this up from his excellent book, which contains QR codes for videos where he demonstrates a lot of tricks like this.

I also picked up a Handy Duck mooring aid a year ago, but haven't yet used it as the above trick seems to be sufficient, and possibly quicker

Oh, and add some fenders to your picture! They help! ;-)

This is the method I use, and you can pull yourself tight to the pontoon and it's good for visiting other moorings . I also have a fixed length line terminating in a loop held open with hose that I can drop over the pontoon cleat and will bring me up short on my summer mooring, which is a very short finger pontoon: good to motor against in strong cross winds.

 

[[163233]]

To answer your first question; you don't have to be right up beside the midships cleat, (if you have one) or in your case, sheet blocks, You need to make the loop long enough to throw from the cockpit. It should probably be just a bit shorter than it would be if you had it in place when finally tied up. You need to be able to throw it while still holding the tiller, or be able to do it while letting go of it for the briefest moment as you will also need to be in reach of the throttle.

I guess I'll have to try this again, I actually moor as in the example in my normal spot, throttle is port side aft, so clearly I end up a long way from it but the finger is short so I really can't have much way on by the time I'm alongside that end cleat on the pontoon if I intend to hook it. So I'd basically have to stop the boat as it is in the diagram to get the loop over then power forward again.

I'm really not sure about throwing loops, I never really made it as a cowboy.

 

[ianj99]

My method uses a single bow to stern line* with plenty of slack. I step onto the pontoon and take some turns around the middle pontoon cleat. Having one line secured at both ends of the boat means you can control them from the pontoon like the reins of a horse.

*There is no midships cleat on my side decks.

 

[dunedin]

I'm really not sure about throwing loops, I never really made it as a cowboy.

Hence why a fixed rope on the pontoon on a pole makes sense on the home berth

 

[Poignard]

A good thread with some clever tips but what do you all do when faced with a short pontoon with no cleats but only a horizontal u-shaped large diameter tube on its outer end (the type commonly found in French marinas)?

 

[ghostlymoron]

"I'm really not sure about throwing loops, I never really made it as a cowboy."
You don't need to be Roy Rogers, just drop a loop over the cleat. All explained in the RYA competant crew course book. Don't forget to keep hold of an end!

 

[laika]

Having one line secured at both ends of the boat means you can control them from the pontoon like the reins of a horse.

Whilst this obviously works for you, would it be fair to suggest that there's an upper limit of size/weight/windage for which this technique is applicable other than in calm conditions? My boat is less like a horse and more like a recalcitrant elephant charging away from the wind. I'd want it attached to the dock and pinned there with the engine before stepping off.

 

[dom]

.... but what do you all do when faced with a short pontoon with no cleats but only a horizontal u-shaped large diameter tube on its outer end (the type commonly found in French marinas)?

Consult the link Serin provided in post #17

 

[Poignard]

Consult the link Serin provided in post #17

No, no. That won't do at all. Its jaw opening is nowhere near wide enough to fit over the tubing I'm talking about.