Wansworth
Well-Known Member
For mooringup and unmooring a 24 light displacement yacht from a marina berth,hig topsides and guard rails added problem
Hints and tips
- Thread starter Wansworth
- Start date
johnalison
Well-Known Member
Dead easy. Just treat it like a dinghy, and invest in a few fenders, better still if attached to the mooring. Never go out > force 2.
veshengro
Well-Known Member
Before you do anything else, fit a good strong midship cleat, both sides..
Boathook
Well-Known Member
Ask the previous owner how he would do it.
Or has he put you on ignore already
Or has he put you on ignore already
ylop
Well-Known Member
What problem?
LittleSister
Well-Known Member
Mainly suck it and see!
I imagine a Dufour 24 will manoeuvre easily, especially if you can turn the outboard.
For the guardrails (which also might make it easier for your wife boarding) you can put pelican clips on the ends of the wires so that you can quickly disconnect and lower them to the deck (where they can roll under foot, so beware).
For casting off it might (or might not!) be useful to make up appropriate length lines attached to the pontoon cleats (ideally on the underside if the cleats suits), and these can be dropped on the pontoon when you leave. If conditions are benign you might be able to pick these up with a boathook on your return (another trick is to hang them on flexible poles from the pontoon so you can reach them by hand. But also have longer lines at the ready aboard, in case that works better or you can reach the short lines on the pontoon.
Another potential wheeze when casting off is a line from the boat to the pontoon, where it has a type of slip knot (forgotten name - search online) and then back to the boat. One side of the line is under tension and will hold the boat until you pull the 'loose' second line, which collapses the knot and frees the whole line to be brought back aboard.
Particularly useful for coming alongside, as I think was highlighted in an earlier thread, is a line with the loose end in the cockpit running forward and threaded from amidships (centre cleat if you have one, otherwise threaded through genoa car, failed or stantion base) and then brought back outside everything and over to the cockpit with a fixed loop run the end. The loop can be held open by threading a bit of plastic tubing (bit of garden hose?) over the rope within the loop. Loop is then dropped over a cleat, the spare pull in to the cockpit at the other end, and the boat held against the pontoon by gently forward power and appropriate use of the rudder or turned outboard.
But do not worry too much about it. It will all come back to you, and it really doesn't matter if you have a few bumps or scrapes, or have to have several tries at coming alongside. Don't fret about it, laugh at yourselves instead.
I imagine a Dufour 24 will manoeuvre easily, especially if you can turn the outboard.
For the guardrails (which also might make it easier for your wife boarding) you can put pelican clips on the ends of the wires so that you can quickly disconnect and lower them to the deck (where they can roll under foot, so beware).
For casting off it might (or might not!) be useful to make up appropriate length lines attached to the pontoon cleats (ideally on the underside if the cleats suits), and these can be dropped on the pontoon when you leave. If conditions are benign you might be able to pick these up with a boathook on your return (another trick is to hang them on flexible poles from the pontoon so you can reach them by hand. But also have longer lines at the ready aboard, in case that works better or you can reach the short lines on the pontoon.
Another potential wheeze when casting off is a line from the boat to the pontoon, where it has a type of slip knot (forgotten name - search online) and then back to the boat. One side of the line is under tension and will hold the boat until you pull the 'loose' second line, which collapses the knot and frees the whole line to be brought back aboard.
Particularly useful for coming alongside, as I think was highlighted in an earlier thread, is a line with the loose end in the cockpit running forward and threaded from amidships (centre cleat if you have one, otherwise threaded through genoa car, failed or stantion base) and then brought back outside everything and over to the cockpit with a fixed loop run the end. The loop can be held open by threading a bit of plastic tubing (bit of garden hose?) over the rope within the loop. Loop is then dropped over a cleat, the spare pull in to the cockpit at the other end, and the boat held against the pontoon by gently forward power and appropriate use of the rudder or turned outboard.
But do not worry too much about it. It will all come back to you, and it really doesn't matter if you have a few bumps or scrapes, or have to have several tries at coming alongside. Don't fret about it, laugh at yourselves instead.
Wansworth
Well-Known Member
Thanks
Wansworth
Well-Known Member
Ask the previous owner how he would do it.
Or has he put you on ignore already
Wansworth
Well-Known Member
Like the stick holding up a line .earlydays yet I guess but one reason to get a boat was to get out the house and have new things to think about!
Mark-1
Well-Known Member
Speaking as a fellow small boat owner, if you have an outboard, steer with that, even if you have to contort yourself a bit to do it. There is no substitute for total directional control of your prop in a tight spot. Also - if everything is lined up nicely - 90% of the time I just shut my outboard off with the kill cord off and coast in the last bit. Far less prone to mishap than reaching around for the gear lever.
Stemar
Well-Known Member
Highwayman's hitch?
If your Good Lady, like mine, doesn't do knots, set up your fenders at the right height for your pontoon with snap shackles, so they can just be clipped onto the guard wire.
This kind of thing
Blueboatman
Well-Known Member
Practise!
Again and again
Preferably early morning with no one to watch of course
Until you learn what the boat can and will not do, you won’t know what to plan for or against doing
Again and again
Preferably early morning with no one to watch of course
Until you learn what the boat can and will not do, you won’t know what to plan for or against doing
LittleSister
Well-Known Member
Yes, I think that's the one I tried long ago to deal with tricky situation where I had turn a long-keel boat in a confined space as Ieft the berth.
According to the website you linked to -
'Quick Release Hitches: Many quick-release hitches have been described. The TumbleHitch Knot, the Siberian (Evenk) Hitch Knot and the Mooring Hitch Knot are also described. Of the four, the Tumble Hitch may be the most secure.
Uses: It might be reasonable to use a Highwayman’s Hitch Knot to briefly tie up a kayak while getting into it. However, it makes more sense to learn and use the Tumble Hitch Knot which is more trustworthy.'
johnalison
Well-Known Member
No need to fuss the old boy. He'll learn from his mistakes, and he's far enough away to cause us little concern.
Wansworth
Well-Known Member
KevinV
Well-Known Member
Oooh, where's the Live-stream of your first attempts??
………discovered Ihavewifi on the marina berth
capnsensible
Well-Known Member
These are great. The yachts I'm involved with have them and saves a lot of flapping from the owners.
You can get them for the corners of the pontoon as well.
You can get them for the corners of the pontoon as well.
Poignard
Well-Known Member
Get rid of it and buy a yacht with a low freeboard and take the guardrails off.
Seriously, Duncan Wells' book "Stress-Free Sailing: Single and Short-handed Techniques" will answer all your questions. He has also produced videos demonstrating his techniques.
Wansworth
Well-Known Member
Yes in my youth little fourtonner didn’t have guard rails ,but I am a wee bit unsteady these days
Mark-1
Well-Known Member
Speaking as owner of a boat with low freeboard, low freeboard is a curse in marinas. But yeah, I've never been convinced by the benefits of guard rails and I'm still not!