Distance between moored boats on pontoon

Loggo

Loggo

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Can anyone help or point me towards a solution ? I am adjusting the moorings on a riverside, nose to tail mooring. I want to get the best distance between vessels to maximise capacity yet ensure safe leaving and mooring. It has been suggested that 1.
2m is adequate although the current average seems to be a little under 3m. Vessels are a mix of single and twin prop, some with bow thruster and some with bow and stern. I an not convinced that one size will fit all !
Can anyone assist before blood is spilt please ?
 
I don't think there is a magic answer.
If you look at how people end up on visitor's pontoons, the space is often much less than 1.2m.
But squeezing in an extra boat does not go far towards paying for repairs.
These people are presuambly customers, and not being wedged in to the limit of their ability is part of what they pay for.
OTOH, people will use whatever space you give them.
You have to strike a balance.
One thing that affects how accurately you can expect people to moor is whether the morrings are subject to crosswinds. Mooring/leaving when you are being blown on/off requires a little more room for error.
 
Our club has approx 100 boats on the tidal moorings. up to 2-3 knot flows..
2 metres min. between anchors and davits.
If like me you have removed your waste of space davits you can enjoy more relaxing mooring technics .
For the cautious, subject to availability, you can rent a berth suited for bigger boat.

We have remarkably few major "events" each season, most involve red faces and polish, the worst usually being bent stantions.
The last serious event involved a strangers passing boat touching the bottom and colliding with a club member.
The passing boat, shouted back he would moor up and drive back down.
The skipper duly turned up and said he would pay...end of.
The club member told the offending skipper he was *uggered if he was losing the boat for "
Lord knows how long" that early in season and would contact the man at the end of the season to get stuff fixed.They shook hands.
Damage to rubbing band,toe rails and stantions was sorted when boat was out for winter A/F.
Mind you this was a brick outhouse Broom not some fragile white carpet and decals soapdish. :)
 
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Thanks Oldgit. That very much mirrors my circumstances
We have a member who feels that 1.2m
is adequate although he only goes out twice a year ! More regular cruisers feel this is a recipe for disaster. I guess a twin prop with bow and stern thrusters will need less space than a single prop with no thrusters though ?
 
Last edited:
Loggo said:
Thanks Oldgit. That very much mirrors my circumstances
We have a member who feels 1
2 m is adequate although he only goes out twice a year ! More regular cruisers feel this is a recipe for disaster. I guess a twin prop with bow and stern trustees will need less space than a single prop with no trustees though ?
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You need the spacing for the worst case scenario. Most of us should be able to put a boat into a tight space in gentle conditions, especially if there's a bit of flow to help with ferry gliding, but as lw395's post implies, it's far harder in a strong crosswind when a heavier hand on the throttle is needed.
 
lpdsn said:
You need the spacing for the worst case scenario. Most of us should be able to put a boat into a tight space in gentle conditions, especially if there's a bit of flow to help with ferry gliding, but as lw395's post implies, it's far harder in a strong crosswind when a heavier hand on the throttle is needed.
Click to expand...

And at the end of the day, these are facilities for amateurs, not pro boatmen with competent crew.
 
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