Do you aim for the fenders to contact the pontoon as you park?

[FairweatherDave]

A really basic question almost too basic to ask! Following on from various recent threads and recent experience I feel I have been a bit too "contact averse" with the ponton. We seldom go into marinas but when we do I am on the helm and my wife is usually hoping to pass the lines to a helpful member of marina staff. She is very reluctant to step off onto the pontoon with the lines unless we are being blown on. However I think I instinctively aim for the boat to stop next to the pontoon with the fenders never quite making contact, eg 2-6 inches off, and then I end up maybe a foot away and it is simply too big a gap for her to step off. Next year I am hoping she will take over the helm and I can do the ropes, either lassoing a cleat or stepping off, and we'll get plenty of practice away from any other boats. But I can't help feeling I have been too cautious about postive contact between fenders and pontoon. I know there is always own boat tuition and I have Duncan Wells book and have tried out various methods of his. I think the game changer will be my wife going on the helm. But I am curious if people regard positive contact at minimal boat speed to be the goal, or do you aim a bit further off. Being stuck on the helm it feels quite hard to judge. People always say you can't have too many fenders but if they really don't contact the pontoon until you are tied up there is a lot less of a gain.

 

[jac]

I aim for contact.

The revolution has been bluetooth headphones which enables the crew to keep up a commentary on distance whilst watching it rather than looking and turning aft to talk or speaking forward and voice being carried away.

 

[Refueler]

I have no problem to allow boat to contact pontoon as long as the coming alongside is slow and not damaging. Its not always to ensure a fender is between - but then that's the deck crews job to move the fender nearest to be the contactor.

I commend your concern about contact - but maybe you are being a little too sensitive about it.

As regards Wife and stepping off onto pontoon ... that's the main point - STEP .... not jump !! I also understand that many pontoon finger are at best unstable when stepped onto - especially if no boat on other side of it. My Wife fell in off such ... my life was not best for days after ! ... but I then accepted that it was better to ease the bow to the main pontoon with a fender hung over bow ... then she could step to the corner where finger joined main pontoon .. she knew to throw a few turns on cleat and get back to take stern line if I hadn't already stepped off ...
With more experienced (wife was never interested to learn more ... ) then I would often have them take both bow and stern lines together ... just needs long line from stern led outside all ... that way - they would quick make off bow ... move back and make off stern.

Of course it all depends on wind / any current / what boat etc.

 

[Bouba]

I never ask anyone to step off the boat…I don’t think it’s safe. I watch this boat school yacht the next pontoon over…and people are flying off that thing at all angles and heights.
Pull up to a cleat and tie up

 

[FairweatherDave]

Yep, I'm hoping Santa is bringing the headphones, that was one of the threads inspiring me to this one. But it was also the realisation that I am much much more confident getting on and off the boat than she is. And she has really got a lot more confident on the helm when picking up our mooring. So nothing to lose! It's a win if she takes to helming and the alternative is I will approach the pontoon as if singlehanded.

 

[FairweatherDave]

I never ask anyone to step off the boat…I don’t think it’s safe. I watch this boat school yacht the next pontoon over…and people are flying off that thing at all angles and heights.
Pull up to a cleat and tie up

Completely agree, but she has always wanted to put the lines on the cleats from the pontoon. As stated, we don't get a lot of practice but I have come to realise she really doesn't like standing by the guard rails, inside them or outside them. We are all very different and I don't think my boat handling is that bad, but I am really keen to be the one handling the ropes. However my question was initially about how close do you feel is ideal next to the pontoon. And I don't think I have helped things with a natural instinct to avoid contact. I have been believing it is no big deal to step off what I have thought is a small gap

 

[Refueler]

Stepping off is fine - as long as you actually put boat alongside and its STEP off ....

I wince everytime I see people jump off boats ...

I make it clear to newcomers to my boats ... I will put boat to contact pontoon ... I know I'm there when I see person STEP off / boat stops !! I tell them - boat can always be fixed ...

I also advise not to start pushing / pulling boats as though they are Schwarzenegger .... just use the boat itself ... a steady light 'weight' is enough ... even for a large boat ....

 

[onesea]

I never ask anyone to step off the boat…I don’t think it’s safe. I watch this boat school yacht the next pontoon over…and people are flying off that thing at all angles and heights.
Pull up to a cleat and tie up

No one should be made to step off a boat, if they are not happy to step they don’t.

I wish every time I berthed there was just suitable cleat in the right place I could magically lassoe and be all secure.
With us generally the crew steps off and once safely ashore, helm steps off and ties up the other end.

 

[Clancy Moped]

And if no one is shore side to help and it's all down to you two, welcome to a lot of French marinas.

 

[Pye_End]

Try to avoid contact and movement at same time as fenders can ride up.

 

[Rappey]

Carry on as you are doing and adjust to suit the conditions.
The fenders are to protect your boat from contact with the pontoon.
Ideally you stop enabling a casual step off.
In stronger winds blowing you off a leap of faith may be the only thing thats going to get a line to a pontoon cleat.

 

[FairweatherDave]

Appreciate I have raised a generalised situation and people are bringing up newcomers, sailing schools, crew etc which all have connotations, not to mention different boats and berths. All the responses are appreciated. My situation is a husband and wife team, who function sometimes better, sometimes worse . I'm not giving away all our secrets here but I am excited at the idea of acting as crew instead of helm, and hoping the headphones facilitate. But the key will be practice far away from observers/boats.....at least to start with. And mastering the midship spring/loop/ bridle. And fenders fenders fenders......

 

[steveeasy]

Id say if your wife is not too confident id not pressure her to do the Helm. If your confident your be better using your acquired skills to bring the boat to a dead stop right next to the shrouds. your have a line ready to grab from midships cleat and calmly step off and tie the boat. Then your wife will happily step off and take your bow and stearn lines and tie these to cleats. In time she will grow in confidence. in the meantime your have the best of both worlds.

Helming in close quarters is a real skill and any errors should fall on the skippers(owners) shoulders. Ive never let another person no matter who shoulder the responsibility.

Steveeasy

 

[Baddox]

My wife usually helms the boat while I tend the lines. She generally aims for a more gentle stop and contact than I do when coming alongside a pontoon. When we come alongside another boat, we ensure our boat stops without contact and then use lines to snug up alongside.

 

[Halo]

I aim to come jently into fender contact with the pontoon with little or no fore and aft movement by coming up to the pontoon in an arc with the outside of the arc on the pontoon side. With no wind or current taking her off this is done very slowly. It may have to be a little sharper if it’s blowing or pushing off. The fenders need to be quite low to avoid popping up.
Concertos trick of having a long line tied fore and aft which you or the crew can hook over cleats is a good one when mooring to pontoons

 

[dunedin]

What size of boat? The height of freeboard and weight of boat make a difference.

With bigger boats it can make sense to work on the principle of nobody stepping off until fully secured (and a side ladder fitted), just like any commercial ship.
The usual trick here is a mid rope with a large loop on the end (ideally in a bit of plastic pipe to keep open), with the tail taken back to a genoa sheet winch.
Drop loop over a cleat at end of finger, or where want stern to end up on a longer berth, take up slack then motor on the rope steering stern towards the pontoon, bows away.

PS. If we are having a crew step off, it is from a fender step by the shrouds to reduce the height, and generally aim for a few inches out - unless blowing on which is easy, as stop a foot out and let wind close the gap. Again take ashore only mid rope.

 

[stranded]

I come in parallel to the pontoon, port side to, 150mm off, at 1.7 knots, then apply sharp reverse and the bow thruster together so the fenders tenderly kiss the pontoon, swmbo steps off, does a little pirouette and ties off the bow and stern in the order I instructed her before taking a bow.

I bloody wish! Swmbo, quite rightly, demands that fenders are at least touching, if not a little squished, or else she is going nowhere. I therefore aim to please, and after many many parkings, including when I get it wrong and a fender two has ridden up, I have been amazed that there has been absolutely no damage to the topsides, not ever. Gelcoat is very tough stuff.

 

[Alicatt]

The usual trick here is a mid rope with a large loop on the end (ideally in a bit of plastic pipe to keep open), with the tail taken back to a genoa sheet winch.
Drop loop over a cleat at end of finger, or where want stern to end up on a longer berth, take up slack then motor on the rope steering stern towards the pontoon, bows away.

That is what is on the todo list for after the new year, splice a loop with a pipe over it to make it a bit easier to lasso a cleat on the dock. It made it so easy when coming along side when we were doing our training, that plus the wife has asked for one
As I have no bow thruster, and unlikely to ever fit one on this boat, I have thought of stationing the wife on the bow with the paddle to help bring the bow into our mooring

 

[dunedin]

That is what is on the todo list for after the new year, splice a loop with a pipe over it to make it a bit easier to lasso a cleat on the dock. It made it so easy when coming along side when we were doing our training, that plus the wife has asked for one
As I have no bow thruster, and unlikely to ever fit one on this boat, I have thought of stationing the wife on the bow with the paddle to help bring the bow into our mooring

We just have a loop tied with a bowline (pre tightened plus a bit of tape to ensure can’t come loose) - no splice needed, at least until optimised the system.
PS I like your bow thruster Mark 0 When you get the lottery win issue her with one of these
Hand bow thruster

 

[Minerva]

What size of boat? The height of freeboard and weight of boat make a difference.

With bigger boats it can make sense to work on the principle of nobody stepping off until fully secured (and a side ladder fitted), just like any commercial ship.
The usual trick here is a mid rope with a large loop on the end (ideally in a bit of plastic pipe to keep open), with the tail taken back to a genoa sheet winch.
Drop loop over a cleat at end of finger, or where want stern to end up on a longer berth, take up slack then motor on the rope steering stern towards the pontoon, bows away.

PS. If we are having a crew step off, it is from a fender step by the shrouds to reduce the height, and generally aim for a few inches out - unless blowing on which is easy, as stop a foot out and let wind close the gap. Again take ashore only mid rope.

This is a technique I learnt from this forum and have been using to good effect for a good number of seasons now.

We use a length of 12mm (quite thin) 3 strand nylon with a hose pipe 0.5m long holding the spliced eye open. We use the thin stuff as it stretches a wee bit and doesn’t jar the boat when it takes up tension making the boat whole operation smoother.

Out technique is aproach berth slowly enough, my wife by the shrouds and holding the eye out with a boat hook. As I approach the cleat, a wee thirst astern so we are going slow enough to get the spliced eye over the cleat with do drama. Then engine on forward tick over forward and full Steering lock away from pontoon.

100% success rate with minimal stress. Boat comes along side the pontoon nicely, regardless of wind tide and just sits perfectly secure. If we needed to, we could have a cuppa before doing the rest of the lines.

I would whole heartedly recommend this technique.