Bow thrusters and mooring buoys

[dunedin]

Recently there was an RNLI callout near here to a power boat that had managed to entangle its bow thruster in the mooring pickup rope when departing a mooring.
I had assumed that people wouldn’t be mad enough to use a bow thruster when either picking up or departing a mooring buoy that has a pick up rope. Clearly it is almost perfectly designed to suck in the rope. Surely this was just an isolated case.

Yet today in exactly the same location a sailing yacht came in - rather than head downwind, then turn upwind towards the buoy it zig zagged around for ages using the bow thruster close to 3 separate moorings before finally succeeding in getting close enough to pick one up - fortunately via the boathook, miraculously failing to snag the rope in the thruster. Bizarrely even after hooking the loop on a cleat, they continue to bow thrust side to side for 5 minutes or so, seeming to think the boat wasn’t angled correctly - rather than letting the wind gently settle the boat.

Fortunately they are downwind of us. Never seen this before in Scotland. Is this common (mal-) practice elsewhere?

 

[doug748]

I have heard bow thrusters being used when anchoring, no idea what that is for.

 

[Bobc]

Some people just can't leave their toys and gadgets alone.

 

[mjcoon]

Some people just can't leave their toys and gadgets alone.

I've heard that some people take their anchor alarm to bed with them! ;-)

 

[dune16]

I've heard that some people take their anchor alarm to bed with them! ;-)

I do

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Can you imagine the bliss of having neither a bow thruster nor an anchor alarm. And why anyone would meed a thruster to pick up a mooring is beyond me. The issues are only ever related to the speed of arrival. Surely anyone can steer a boat at a buoy. Arriving facing the right way at the right speed is obviously a big bonus.

 

[ashtead]

On yachts with stern scoops often easier with small crew to back up to the buoy for a simple way of catching it -often seen in med but maybe not a uk approach.

 

[mjcoon]

On yachts with stern scoops often easier with small crew to back up to the buoy for a simple way of catching it -often seen in Med but maybe not a UK approach.

Been there, done that... But again, have to be careful not to get lines round the prop; never tried "backing up" under sail alone!

 

[srm]

First stop on trip home with new to me boat. Crew had difficulty hooking mooring with usual head to wind approach in strong gusty winds as bow kept blowing off. Made a stern into wind approach then hovering with engine countering windage to give crew time to pick up buoy rope and secure.
No bowthruster though, they are for people who do not have time or inclination to learn boat handling. And yes, I have used one when appropriate, on a 3000 ton seismic survey ship when recovering the cable.

 

[srm]

never tried "backing up" under sail alone!

Remember reading an "how to do it" article as a means of getting out of a crowded anchorage under sail. Never tried it though as usually had sufficient space to sail off the anchor in a more conventional way.

 

[dunedin]

PS Yesterday's bow thruster mooring, was very light wind and flat water
Looked to be novices - but as seems the norm these days, novice in a large boat

 

[johnalison]

Remember reading an "how to do it" article as a means of getting out of a crowded anchorage under sail. Never tried it though as usually had sufficient space to sail off the anchor in a more conventional way.

I can think of only one occasion when I have had to back under sail when cruising. This was when we picked up a load of weed in the Markermeer. I did what I used to do in dinghies and shoved the boom out into the wind until enough sternway was gained. It cleared the weed anyway.

 

[capnsensible]

I'm not getting why someone using their own bowthruster on their own boat as they see fit should bother anyone else?

 

[mjcoon]

I can think of only one occasion when I have had to back under sail when cruising. This was when we picked up a load of weed in the Markermeer. I did what I used to do in dinghies and shoved the boom out into the wind until enough sternway was gained. It cleared the weed anyway.

There's a potential contradiction. The point of picking up a buoy going astern is to have the boat "weathercocking" so the bows naturally point downwind and approach is made upwind to the buoy to pick it up from the sugar scoop. I'm not sure that is physically possible under sail...

 

[dunedin]

I'm not getting why someone using their own bowthruster on their own boat as they see fit should bother anyone else?

Perhaps because somebody else doing that a few days earlier resulted in a lifeboat callout and a destroyed mooring pickup which now cannot be used and will cost the community to replace ?

 

[Chiara’s slave]

The idea of us reversing up to a mooring… an outboard hanging off the back, plus walking it around the ama to get to the bow, all in 3kn of tide at the club That would all end in an absolute circus. Only the red noses would be missing.

 

[capnsensible]

Perhaps because somebody else doing that a few days earlier resulted in a lifeboat callout and a destroyed mooring pickup which now cannot be used and will cost the community to replace ?

Does that happen a lot?

 

[srm]

The idea of us reversing up to a mooring… an outboard hanging off the back, plus walking it around the ama to get to the bow, all in 3kn of tide at the club That would all end in an absolute circus. Only the red noses would be missing.

As the saying goes, "Different ships, different long splices"

Sailing my old Prout cat singlehanded I found the easiest way to secure to a big mooring buoy with just a ring was to gently nudge the buoy under the bridgedeck then lean over the bow and attach a temporary line with snap hook before setting up my bridle.

 

[johnalison]

There's a potential contradiction. The point of picking up a buoy going astern is to have the boat "weathercocking" so the bows naturally point downwind and approach is made upwind to the buoy to pick it up from the sugar scoop. I'm not sure that is physically possible under sail...

I'm going to practice that and make it my party trick.

 

[dunedin]

Does that happen a lot?

Perhaps more than spliced eye mooring rope issues you get agitated about

PS If you read post #1 you will see this had surprised me as not seen before