December WNS Scenario

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TonyJones

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README FIRST.
What Now Skip presents awkward boating scenarios for forum members to discuss. When a suitable period has elapsed the author will comment on contributors' suggestions and offer his own solution. Forum members are then invited to comment on that - preferably in a polite fashion. An expanded version of this solution, plus extracts from forum contributions will appear in the next issue of MBY. The purpose of What Now Skip is to give contributors the opportunity of learning from each other's experiences and opinions. Please bear that in mind when posting.

December? Well this will appear in that issue which hits the bookstands early November. And we are nearly in October now!

Another boat handling conundrum.

You are visiting a waterside pub restaurant a mile or so up a picturesque tidal river. When you arrive the pontoon is full and the only available berth is between two piles on the edge of the narrow fairway. No problem: the pub launch will respond to a hail and come and pick you up.

The piles are No 1 and No2, being the most N'ly pair. They have mooring rings running on vertical poles with retrieval lines to the top of the pile so you can haul them up.

The river at this point runs North/South. There is a N'ly force F2 blowing. The ebb has about an hour to run and the river flow plus tide is producing a current of about 1.5kt. However, water depth is not an issue.

Unfortunately, a 17ft open dory is occupying the slot, made fast fore and aft by light lines which are looped through the rings, taken back on board and drawn bar tight. If you try a conventional approach you will elbow the dory out sideways, almost certainly breaking his lines and casting him adrift.

Your boat is a twin engined 40ft flybridge cruiser with a bathing platform that extends about a foot aft of the transom buttresses but is also about a foot narrow then the transom.

Your crew is new to boating and indicates he/she is unwilling to climb into the dory to slacken off its lines. So you are effectively single handed. Your job is to moor between the piles without damaging the dory or casting it adrift. What Now Skip?

Best wishes
TJ
 
Anchor north of No. 1 pile.
Pay out anchor cable until stern of your vessel is close to that pile.
Attach a long line with a fender, or buoy, to the pile. This will eventually be your head-rope.
Allow the fender to stream astern of no. 2 pile.
Weigh anchor and steam to a position south of no. 2 pile and pick up the fender and head-rope..
Haul in on the head-rope using windlass until no. 2 pile can be reached from your vessel.
Attach long stern line to no.2 pile but leave it slack.
Continue hauling in on head-rope line until in position alongside dory [positioning fenders, as necessary].
Tension stern line as necessary.

If successful - swagger ashore in front of admiring onlookers.

If not - slink off to another pub whilst cursing the dory owner.
 
Twisterowner,

Nice lateral thinking -and just the sort of thing I would expect of the owner of such a nice boat. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

My concern is that as you shortened up the head rope your boat would try and take up a position directly downstream of pile No 1 and thus shoulder the dory out of the way - breaking its light lines. Seems to me you have to somehow get into that dory and slacken its lines so that it can move sideways.

Btw, it has been pointed out to me privately that there is a very sneaky short cut solution to this problem which I had not spotted. Once someone has twigged it I will move the goal posts (he-he) by disqualifying the shortcut - and giving a perfectly feasible reason. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Best wishes
TJ
 
Ask the chappie in the pub's boat if he wouldn't mind slackening off the lines in the dory. Tool around till done then park up, tip the boat taxi and head into the pub.
 
benjenbav,

Congrats! That's the shortcut I was referring to. But let's suppose he is a grumpy 'jobsworth' who say's he's not allowed to interfere with other boat's mooring lines for 'elf 'n safety and insurance reasons. WNS?
 
Having now read your original post more carefully, I think that you have in mind using the bathing platform in some way.

As you are effectively single-handed you only dare leave your vessel if she is securely anchored or moored.

Anchor upstream of no. 1 post and pay out the anchor cable until your bathing platform is near the dory's bow.
Climb into the dory, taking with you a line from your vessel.
Slacken the dory's lines.
Pull the dory back to uour bathing platform and climb back on board.
Remove the line to the dory.
Weigh anchor and then berth on the piles in the usual way.

Or, much simpler, forget about the dory and:

Anchor upstream of no.1 pile, attach a stern line to it and stay there!
 
Well someone has to let the stern line on the dory slack so it can move sideways as you take up your position, so I guess your reluctant crew will have to stand on the swim platform while you manoeuvre alongside on the engines and hold position using engines and if available bow thruster while they reach over (wearing a life jacket of course) slacken the aft warp on the dory allowing you to slide in picking up the head rope (disgruntled crew will have to go forward to make fast the head rope), thereafter you can bear down on the 2 nd pole by slackening the head rope pick up aft ring and loop warp back to stern cleat and allow some slack then engines ahead a touch to bring up the head rope tight again. Realise the swim platform is a foot narrower than your transom but that only equates to 6" either side so unless the crew is a midget should not be a problem.

Plan B is pump up your rubber duck take a position 30 'ahead of pole get crew into duck and play out 20'/30' of painter off your aft cleat, let yourself drift down towards pole one allowing rubber duck to glide past it and alongside the dory then hold yourself on the engines, crew can then (without transferring to dory) slacken off the dory's lines. They can then pull themselves back or paddle to you, climb aboard and carry out normal pile berthing procedure.

PS, you could also undertake plan B by anchoring upstream of pole one and play out the cable instead of drifting down and holding on engines, this might be more preferable if you are not that much of a whizz with holding station with engines in a tide.
 
I actually wouldn't bother and would go to another pub but to answer the question with all the limitations in it, I'd anchor upstream of pile#1 and 15-20 feet to the side of the projected line that passes through piles 1&2. Then pay out chain to let myself drift back till alongside the dory but not putting any sideways "elbowing" force on it. Use thrusters/sideways prop force to sidle up to the dory. Fenders of course (sheesh nearly forgot to mention that, would have been -1 mark!). Then tie a line to dory to stop the two boats drifting apart. Board the dory and sort his lines out. Then weigh anchor and come back and moor beside the dory in the usual fashion.

All quite a palava for a pint, when I have a perfectly good beer fridge of my own on board :-)

I've no idea if there are "no anchoring" rules in the river

I dont think the question said which direction (n to s, or s to n) the current was running but I've assumed n to s, as you can see from the above. Arguably the statement the pub is "up" river defines this, but it would be better if the brief were clearer imho. You might want to consider this before printing it TJ?
 
"Anchor upstream of no.1 pile, attach a stern line to it and stay there! " Great idea, and very mediterranean. Remember to hoist your anchor ball :-)
 
Another answer. It's a busy day cos the moorings are all full. So just hang about and wave the boat behind you into the dory berth. He will naturally thank you and proceed to moor. Not having read WNS he will break the dory's mooring lines and it will drift off (it must, cos the question said so). Much as you would like to rescue the dory, you can't, cos you're single handed and there are loads of other boaters on this busy day who can catch it. There will then be just one boat between the piles, namely the boat you waved in, and you can moor alongside him in the usual fashion
 
I wouldn't be frightened of snapping the Dorry line, it is unlikely and as there are two lines the worst case is putting it back afterwards, as there are two lines you are not going to set it a drift.

Even washing line twin thickness would hold the bit of pressure I would need here.

This works either side but I have assumed I want to berth with the Dorry on my starboard side, I would choose the side where wind and current takes me off the Dorry.

My bow line would be from Starboard 3 ft off bow.

Nose up to the upstream pole and make fast, crew should manage this but I could do it by being at 45' there would be a delay before I get near the Dorry.
the ferry boat principle keeps the boat from hitting the Dorry as I am fastened to stdb side and not made fast central.

I would be at the helm while the boat settled in the current.
then use boat hook for me to board Dorry and use his thin line to take my stern line double through pole, make fast adjusting bow line and use half my double line to pull his thin line back on his boat, nice and loose so it will not snap when the tide turns.

I would like to make it clear this is not suggested as the correct way, just the way I would do it. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I'm probably missing something here.
What would be wrong in just dropping the hook somewhere and let the boat hold her own, without bothering with lines, piles and dory?
 
Well if we take the well known Folly Inn as an example, there simply isn't room in the channel for boats to anchor and swing, and not impair navigation for other vessels.
 
I can think of a thousand ways this can be achieved, but are we on a life or death mission, or just going to the pub. Now doubt a smart arse will tourn up in a minute and sort us all out.. Probably involving anckors and kedge anckors, or zooming up at 30 knots, killing the engines at the apropriate time and ariving alongside dead stopped.
 
"well known Folly Inn "

Not to someone who is based in Sardinia, it isn't /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif. The nearest similar pub to Mapis would be the Cala Di Volpe hotel, where he could indeed drop his anchor in the channel and then call the pub's tender to ferry him to the bar. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
No experience of the Folly Inn unfortunately, but with current plus wind blowing in the same direction, swinging couldn't be an issue. I accept that my option would require a bit more space than others, though.
 
Now your comparison is making me curious indeed about this Folly Inn... /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 
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