Departing Pile Mooring

[SimonP85]

Our boat is on a pile mooring with a pretty standard setup (2 lines forward and aft). To starboard is the main dredged channel and to port a smaller drying channel between the two rows of piles.

Our mooring is deep water (just) but around low water if we try and leave into the smaller channel we go aground immediately. However, the prevailing wind means that leaving up the smaller channel is the easy and obvious option as we can release the lines, drift out and away we go.

Any suggestions for a cunning way to leave the mooring into the main channel very much appreciated.

Diagram of our setup attached for clarity.

 

[ChrisE]

Hmm, so what happens when you let your lines go is that you go aground on port side. If you were to rig a line from the stern pile, could you use this to pull your nose down on the stern pile whilst 'parked' ? Once you have the stem into the wind or have the wind on your port side give the iron donkey a bit of whelly and you *ought* to go into the deep channel.

All depends how much aground you go and how much HP you have to, I believe. On our girl we could pivot and then gun it and off we'd go.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Could you turn your boat around bow to stern and then just back out with port prop walk? Any reason your bow has to face that way?

 

[prv]

I guess if you were to bring the stern line forward up the starboard side she'd swing round the right way. Size of boat (and wind) will determine whether that's practical by manhandling or needs so much rearrangement of warps as to be unwieldy.

Pete

 

[onesea]

Is there a buoy in the channel you can warp off?
Could you lay an anchor (getting hard work?)

Can you rig a rope between the piles? lift stern or bow to get clear of berth?

Something like picture ish?

Depending on current & wind strength if should get you out in most conditions?

Would need to be well marked and can assist berthing...

Just careful of your propeller or you could be moored in undesirable way particularly with the current ahead.

 

[TSB240]

Let go your port side rear line.

Shorten your starboard side rear line and have bow lines ready to let go.

Give engine plenty of welly with helm hard over to get nose to swing into wind.

This can take some time but eventually the boat will warp around enough for you to make your way off to starboard.

A push from the bow with a stick on the front pile will help.

Its a bit easier if you have any tide flowing against you. Its a lot harder if you have a tide flowing in the direction you are pointing.

You could also try moving the starboard rear line slightly further forward to a cleat or winch on the starboard side to give a bit more turning moment.

Worked for me quite a few times.

 

[Malish]

Rig spring from bow pile to port side aft of yacht pivot point, release port side stern, ease starboard side stern to enable tensioning of spring line, release bow lines (except spring), apply some reverse welly to bring bow round, easing stern line if required, when feeling confident quickly release stern line and engage ahead, gather spring as moving forward to avoid fouling prop. Bit of a challenge if single handed ;-)

 

[bluerm166]

pulling out into the wind

We have the same problem where the typical sidewind wants to push our shallow draught vessel onto our trot mooring and away from the channel.You probably have an inboard but we find it easy to wind our stern out into the channel by putting both rudder and the outboard hard over and reversing out,whilst slowly feeding out the bow line.
if we go forward the opposite happens and its impossible to keep the stern away from the aft buoy and the tender.

 

[SimonP85]

Many thanks for all the replies, excellent advice as usual. Certainly some ideas to try next time we head off.

 

[little_roundtop]

We have the same problem where the typical sidewind wants to push our shallow draught vessel onto our trot mooring and away from the channel.You probably have an inboard but we find it easy to wind our stern out into the channel by putting both rudder and the outboard hard over and reversing out,whilst slowly feeding out the bow line.
if we go forward the opposite happens and its impossible to keep the stern away from the aft buoy and the tender.

This seems to me to be the safest approach and (for an inboard engine) using the prop-walk to assist. Going out in reverse seems to me to allow you to slip the lines as you go, so you retain contact with the piles in case you need to abort, and it also allows the wind to help turn the boat in the right direction.

My concern with most of the suggestions for going out forward (with lots of "welly") is that they seem to be "$hit or bust" options. Once you start there's no way back and if it all goes wrong (and you can't hold the bows up into wind for example) there's a good change of hitting a pile - hard.

 

[Poignard]

This seems to me to be the safest approach and (for an inboard engine) using the prop-walk to assist. Going out in reverse seems to me to allow you to slip the lines as you go, so you retain contact with the piles in case you need to abort, and it also allows the wind to help turn the boat in the right direction.

My concern with most of the suggestions for going out forward (with lots of "welly") is that they seem to be "$hit or bust" options. Once you start there's no way back and if it all goes wrong (and you can't hold the bows up into wind for example) there's a good change of hitting a pile - hard.

Yes - 'welly' conjures up images of crunching fibreglass, people shouting and general mayhem!

The boat's natural tendency is for the stern to seek the wind - so why not let it, and come out astern into open water?

I think I would rig a spring from forward of the boat's pivot point on the port side to the aftermost pile. Then let the remaining lines go (headrope last), motor ahead against the spring with the rudder to port until the stern is towards the wind, and then come astern and slip the spring.

Alternatively, if not in a hurry to leave, I would wait until there is sufficient tide flowing from ahead to enable me to ferry-glide out.

 

[ianat182]

I think that my comment is basically the same as Parsifal's, but you may recall some recent discussion of bringing a yacht alongside a marina berth,where a spring is rigged from ahead of midships and dropped onto the first cleat on the pontoon berth, motoring ahead brings the bow inward to the berth; substiute the cleat for a aft spring on your stern pile mooring ring and do exactly the same, motoring ahead steadily. As you know the bow has the tendency to drop off with any side windage first so any incoming tide could help to do the job as well - just be quick at releasing the spring end from the pile ring once you've got your position/angle right.


ianat182

 

[lenseman]

Our boat is on a pile mooring with a pretty standard setup (2 lines forward and aft). . . . .

What is the distance between the piles, how long is your yacht and is there ever a tide running, if so how fast? Are you one your own or do you have a crew and how competent are your crew? All these things effect the way you slip your moorings.

 

[Penelope123]

so amazing!

 

[Boo2]

The boat's natural tendency is for the stern to seek the wind - so why not let it, and come out astern into open water?

Good point, what's required is to get the tiller to windward and gun the engine a bit to shove the stern into the wind.

I think I would rig a spring from forward of the boat's pivot point on the port side to the aftermost pile.

I wouldn't do that though, the wind will keep the bows down without a spring and the OP doesn't need anything else pulling downwind into the shallows.

I am a very long way from being an expert but I'd let go the port rear line and get the tiller up into the wind and motor forward letting the aft starboard line out if everything seems OK. The starboard bow line should stop the bows drifting downwind and if the rudder is properly hard over then all that should happen is the stern should move into the wind.

Sunrunner doesn't have a skeg though and I can turn the rudder completely around so can get 90 degrees of sideways shove with little forward motion at all, the OP's case may differ...

Boo2

 

[SimonP85]

Thanks again for the further replies.

The piles are about 50ft apart and the boat is 34, tide runs parallel to the piles and there are nearly always at least 3 of us on board.

I’m not terribly keen on the “give it some welly” procedures for fear of smashing into piles at speed. Far prefer the suggestions of using a spring to get the stern into the wind. We’ll be off next weekend (weather depending) and likely to be leaving around low water so should give an opportunity to try out some of the ideas.