Seven Spades
Well-known member
Well the saying is you learn something new every day. I had never heard the phrase "Dipping an Eye" but this is a really fantastic video.
Dipping an eye?
- Thread starter Seven Spades
- Start date
veshengro
Well-known member
It's basic procedure, or at least it once was, for a merchant ship's mooring ropes when sharing a Bollard with another ship's mooring ropes.
RunAgroundHard
Well-known member
These days dipping eye is problematic as each pontoon cleat appears to have multiple figure of eights, multiple lines and multiple round turns, plus many locking hitches. Neatly attaching one’s mooring line to the cleats is long dead from what I see these days.
Good video.
Good video.
Greg2
Well-known member
I tend to agree. My learning on bends, hitches and mooring, including ‘dipping the eye’, was courtesy of the RN and it is all based upon simplicity and being able to undo something that has been under load.
Unfortunately it appears that many in the leisure boating world either, in the absence of knowledge rely upon friction with multiple turns or they are risk averse and pile on the locking turns/hitches in a belt and braces approach. Either way getting a line onto an already occupied cleat is usually a challenge!
Poignard
Well-known member
I was taught that it's best to make a round-turn-and-two-half-hitches aound one leg of the pontoon cleat, and have the figure-of-eights on board my boat, and that's what I generally do whenever I have to share a cleat with someone else.
Porthandbuoy
Well-known member
I showed two of my grandkids (12 & 8) how you could have multiple bowlines over a bollard and any one of them could be cast off without disturbing the others. Fascinated, they then went on to demonstrate the technique to a neighbouring boat.
I think the problem of multiple figures of eight and repeated locking turns stems from the majority of us making off the boat end first and relying on the person on the pontoon hauling the boat in, taking up the slack and tying off. Few of us have motorised bollards on each quarter to do the pully hauly.
I think the problem of multiple figures of eight and repeated locking turns stems from the majority of us making off the boat end first and relying on the person on the pontoon hauling the boat in, taking up the slack and tying off. Few of us have motorised bollards on each quarter to do the pully hauly.
jbweston
Well-known member
It's a good video. I like his competent, polite and helpful style. So many 'experts' have a ranting tone which I'm sure puts off anyone who's keen to learn. It's far easier to learn from a nice guy.
I've never come across the expression 'dipping the eye', but I thought it was standard procedure taught to everyone by their skippers, grandads, instructors, etc.
Apart from good etiquette and considerate behaviour, it always seems to me that it's better never to give the crew of anyone else's boat the need to untie the lines of my own boat, particularly when I'm not on board. Sooner or later someone doing that will let go of the line, or tie it in a patent un-untieable knot or one that gives up in the first strong wind.
I've never come across the expression 'dipping the eye', but I thought it was standard procedure taught to everyone by their skippers, grandads, instructors, etc.
Apart from good etiquette and considerate behaviour, it always seems to me that it's better never to give the crew of anyone else's boat the need to untie the lines of my own boat, particularly when I'm not on board. Sooner or later someone doing that will let go of the line, or tie it in a patent un-untieable knot or one that gives up in the first strong wind.
NormanS
Well-known member
Many many years ago, I was shown how dipping the eye was a respectful way of dealing with mooring lines. That was back in the old days before marinas and pontoons. You either anchored, or tied up in the rough world of harbours. If you were either daft enough or thoughtless enough to drop your eye on top of another's, you would find that when the fishing fleet departed at dark 'o clock, your line would be simply cast off and you would be adrift.
I shudder when I see boats made fast to pontoons with all sorts of OXOs. Copy shipping, and moor with, preferably spliced, eyes to the shore, and keep all your Christmas parcel knots out of sight aboard.
I shudder when I see boats made fast to pontoons with all sorts of OXOs. Copy shipping, and moor with, preferably spliced, eyes to the shore, and keep all your Christmas parcel knots out of sight aboard.
Moonbeam
Active member
Surely you lot remember the heated discussion on this one back in 2015 Dip the rope
ylop
Well-known member
it’s what I’ve always done - but I didn’t know it had a name.
Greg2
Well-known member
We rarely secure to the pontoon cleats but instead return our lines to the boat as it keeps the pontoon cleats clear and we can slip our mooring with everyone onboard
lustyd
Well-known member
This is great when leaving, but can lead to chafe if you do it for the whole stay so not best practice.
Greg2
Well-known member
Been doing it for years and never had a problem but then we are rarely in any one place for more than two or three days at the most. I think you would need to be in a mooring do a long time before chafe becomes a problem. I am talking marina berths here.
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lustyd
Well-known member
I’ve been in several marinas where it would be a problem in a day. Not having seen a problem isn’t evidence there isn’t a problem. Good practice exists so you don’t have to see all the problems first hand!
NormanS
Well-known member
Provided that both parts of the line are brought back aboard through the same fairlead, and made fast on the same cleat, how is it going to generate chafe?
lustyd
Well-known member
Movement of the boat. With the rope effectively loose on the shore cleat there is more movement in the rope unless you tie your boat uncomfortably tight. I know a lot of people do tie off with their lines tight but that’s a whole other issue!
NormanS
Well-known member
So how is that going to be any different from having a spliced eye onto the cleat?
Seven Spades
Well-known member
Because you don't drop the eye over the cleat you pass it through and over. It is the same when tying off to a mooring buoy you should always take an extra turn around to minimise chafe.
NormanS
Well-known member
Ships seem to manage perfectly well by just dropping spliced eyes over bollards, without suffering chafe. Don't muddy the waters by bringing in mooring buoy arrangements, which is a completely different situation.
Greg2
Well-known member
Very true but I do have a reasonable amount of qualification/experience and I too have moored in some lively marinas and no sign of chafe after a day, and I always leave sufficient slack in the lines to let the boat move. Not saying I would do this in a longer term mooring, just a relatively brief visitor mooring. Whilst I acknowledge your point we can just agree that we have differing views on the matter
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