Cradle berths

[co256]

My boat sits in a cradle berth, in a drying harbour.

Most cradle users in the harbour tie their boats down to their cradles using ratchet straps, the idea being... when the tide comes in the bouyancy of the boat pops the cradle off the mud and the whole thing sits there floating.

I do not strap my boat to the cradle and sometimes it doesn't float free of the mud, putting strain on the mooring warps, cleats etc.

The ratchet straps on other boats have on occasion done a lot of damage to toe rails etc. and I am wondering if anyone out there has any shared experience or wisdom on the subject?

Many thanks in advance!

 

[alan006]

One way of protecting the toe rails is to get pieces of scrap carpet and fold them up into small pads about 1 foot square and put them between your boat and the ratchet strap. When a friend of mine moves boats on his lorry he does this where the straps cross over the boat.
I hope this helps.
PS if you use old bathroom carpet instead of ordinary carpet its better because it is more resistant to getting wet and won't rot as quickly.