Help with trot mooring to pylons

[Hairsy25]

I would appreciate some advice.

In the next few weeks I will start using a trot mooring that is set up with pylons. I’ve never used this type of mooring before and would appreciate some advice on how best to set it up and technique for mooring. I’ve struggled to get anything useful with my google skills.

I've attached pictures of how the pylons are set up and how another yacht is currently moored to a similar mooring.

A few points about the moorings and environment:

a) The wooden pylons at the bow and stern each have a very solid bar with a strong ring that can move up and down the bar to allow for tidal movement.
b) People generally appear to attach mooring lines to this ring using a large shackle. The pylon ends of the mooring lines have a metal thimble spliced in to the end for attaching to the shackle. There appear to be various options for thimble material (galvanised / stainless / heavy duty stainless)
c) There are large hooks at the top of each pylon, presumably where people leave the mooring lines when the mooring isn’t in use
d) I presumably need to be careful about line lengths in case one falls in the water and then gets caught in the prop
e) There are a number of unused moorings that I’ve been able to look at. Some of these have heavy duty mooring lines but also some lighter lines - perhaps to initially secure the boat before attaching the main mooring lines?
f) The mooring I will be using is in a fairly narrow part of the river, and around 40’ downstream of a low bridge. The river is slightly tidal but the flow is generally downstream from the bridge. The tide won’t normally be taking me towards the bridge but manoeuvring space is tight. I need a setup that allows a reliable method of mooring.

So my main questions are:

1) What line setup would be recommended?
2) Assuming a spliced in thimble is part of the setup, what material do I need for the thimble?
3) What technique would be recommended for leaving the lines when departing and then picking them up again upon return?
4) Are there questions I haven’t asked but should have?
5) Does anyone have experience-based tips that can be provided to make the whole process easier?

All advice appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[jdc]

I hesitate to answer as my boat isn't on a mooring of this type so my experience is only occasional(1). But since nobody else seems to be answering, a few comments:

1. Welcome! I hope loads of good people come along v soon with more and better advice.
2. I always called them 'pile moorings', not pylon, but maybe you're correct.
3. They are not the easiest, but familiarity helps. The key thing which drives all else is how you are to pick them up. There seem to be two principal ways:
3.1 If there's a tide you motor into the stream and pick up the stern line first. Then drive forward and reach the other line. Then drop back to a position between the two. That means that the lines, or at least the stern line, has to be longer than you might think.
3.2 Tie the two lines together, with floats, and use this as a sort-of pontoon to come alongside. Pick it up in the middle using a boat hook and attach the ropes to the boat's cleats fore and aft, sometimes with a loop dangling free in between the two parts taking the load. Bungee is quite good for this bit, or a quick-release mechanism like a carabiner.

To answer some of the secondary questions:
4. The ropes have to be long enough, so may very well fall in the water. Don't get too hung up on getting them around the prop: the bow one won't and the stern one will ride with the tide and you'll probably see it. Or use floating rope such as Polysteel which is quite a good choice anyway. To get that in the prop you'd have to drive across it, which is unlikely in this situation.
5. The thimble material is a pretty secondary consideration imho. You don't say how heavy or long your boat is, but even nylon thimbles will probably be ok. I'd go for st steel tho.
6. Make sure that the ring always has a rope on it which you can use to pull it above the water. If no rope it'll sink and won't be retrievable until the next LW springs, if then. The pics show lanyards for this purpose.
7. You'll see in the excellent pics that some kind of snubber is sometimes used. That's a good idea.
8. When coming in to the trot you don't have to use the permanent lines. You can put a line around the whole pile, or around the vertical rail, or even lasso the damn thing! Just get yourself attached. Then sort out the proper system - rings, doubled up lines with snubbers etc - at your leisure.
9. Leave the boat facing the stronger stream. That'll be the ebb. Tie the tiller or wheel amidships very securely.

(1) Trots cause more skipper-crew, and particularly marital, friction than any other cause I can think of. It's really not easy to control a boat without water passing the rudder.

PS: I think they are not usually made of wood but steel, pile driven into the river bed. Hence 'pile moorings'.

 

[ashtead]

You might find if you plan to stay that the owner of the trots will let you instal your own floating pontoon. Clearly you can go to Walcon as they have plenty but might be an investment if you and you crew plan to stay together at that mooring. They are at the Soton boat show in case of interest.

 

[LadyInBed]

My fore and aft is on buoys but I would try treating piles in a similar fashion.
Continuous port and starboard lines cow hitched at the centre point onto the rings, no shackles (both fore and aft).
Make up a jackstay with snap shackles on each end. This jackstay is clipped onto the fore and aft rings just before you leave the mooring and used to hold onto, I would throw a fore and aft line over the jackstay and make these lines off on the spring cleats, on return whilst you retrieve the mooring lines.
When you put the jackstay on the rings, tie off the rings at the top of the vertical slides for easy retrieval on your return.
With a pile trot you can approach from either side, I would approach on the downwind side so you don't get blown on to the jackstay, equally, rig the jackstay on the windward side for ease of leaving.

 

[Boathook]

I would use a steel thimble and the biggest rope that will fit your cleats and shackle the thimble onto the ring using a decent size shackle. Looking at your pictures it seem that some mooring users have put 'hooks' at the top of the risers where they leave their mooring lines.
Overall I would copy what others have done as it works for that location.

 

[Hairsy25]

Great replies - thank you very much.

 

[blush2]

It may be a good idea to check whether the provider of the piles has any instructions/requirements for their use regarding types of lines, etc. On the Dart there are rules for using any of the harbour board's moorings.

We have been on a pile mooring on the Hamble in the past and had the mooring lines joined with a pick up buoy, makes it easier to tie up. I would be wary of hanging the lines on a hook if there is a large tidal rise and fall, they may be difficult to reach at the bottom of spring tides.

 

[LadyInBed]

they may be difficult to reach at the bottom of spring tides

A boat hook with a U shaped fitting should do the job.