How do you board your boat when at a mooring?

[Daydream believer]

This is for yachties rather than mobos
A comment about preventing swimmers from getting aboard one's boat via the sugar scoop had me wondering.
I see a lot of videos where people take their tender up to the stern then walk down the middle of the tender & step from the bow to the sugar scoop.
Not holding on. Just relying on balance.
I see some on our moorings who bring their tender broadside to the stern, against the tide, & get aboard via the boarding ladder.
It seems to me that both options are dangerous. A friend of mine fell last year whilst boarding his 41 ft Jeneau & broke 2 ribs because he insisted on getting aboard via the stern. Slipped & damage done.
Surely the safest way is to come alongside the shrouds & use them to hold on, high up, to pull one's self on to the side deck. The dinghy can be secured fore & aft quickly enough I have a step that hangs over the side, so that I can stand on the step. Then I am independant of the dinghy. It breaks the overall step up into 2 parts
What I do not do, is try to get in next to the cockpit & heave upwards on the guardrail where my C of G is high up and a sudden roll of the boat could swing me back. Plus it puts unnecessary strain on the staunchions
How do others do it?

 

[Boathook]

There is no correct way in my view but what ever is best for the individual.

For my boat, either the aft side deck or the stern. Both are at the same height. Does vary depending upon tide, waves, wind, etc.

 

[Blueboatman]

You need an inflatable with an onboard inflater pump that allows you to big it up and raise it to deck level !

 

[RupertW]

Mostly bow to the sugar scoop and step aboard - I’ve put a handle by the walk through bit of the stern so people who need to can steady themselves or pull themselves up.

When the waves are calm and there is lots to unload then I have the rib across the stern tied front and back.

 

[johnalison]

The traditional, and safest, way is from the quarter, and this is what we always did at a swinging mooring. However, it can be a long way up, which was OK when we were young but less suitable in later years when we used the sugar scoop. This was easy enough, and if it was necessary to load or unload an outboard I would tie the dinghy across tightly, but this is only really practicable in quiet conditions. In lively conditions I would always use the quarter.

 

[steveeasy]

I go alongside and use the shrouds to pull myself up. Never ever considered using a ladder though but will do now.
Steveeasy

 

[ylop]

I see a lot of videos where people take their tender up to the stern then walk down the middle of the tender & step from the bow to the sugar scoop.

I’ve seen those videos, usually in sun kissed areas wearing shorts and T-shirt, barefoot with flip flops in hand because the consequences of an unplanned dip are refreshing. Never seen anyone do it for real in Scotland wearing foulies and with the rain bouncing off the deck!

(I also see people doing it in the opposite direction without starting the engine before untying and often no oars on board…)

I see some on our moorings who bring their tender broadside to the stern, against the tide, & get aboard via the boarding ladder.

I bring our dinghy broadside to the transom, clip it on (stainless carineerners on ropes the fight length) to eyes for and aft (of dinghy) and then hold the handrails at the side of the walkthrough to the cockpit and step onto sugar scoop.

Surely the safest way is to come alongside the shrouds & use them to hold on, high up, to pull one's self on to the side deck.

on modern boats with high freeboard that’s quite a climb.

 

[Stemar]

Our previous boat had a ladder at the stern. If there was any current, or it was bumpy, I'd tie the flubber bow and stern across the transom, so it couldn't escape from under me. I don't need a ladder on Jazzcat, because there's a grating across the stern. I'll either tuck the bow of the dinghy between the hulls or tie it bow to one hull, stern to the other, so it's immobilised.

That dinghy's tried to send me swimming a few times, and my balance isn't as good as it was, so I'm very wary of it. I haven't forgotten the lady, a very competent sailor, who fell in getting from her dinghy to her boat and drowned some years ago.

 

[westernman]

Don't end up like this:-

 

[Minerva]

We've a centre cockpit boat so often when the dinghy is fully loaded for a trip away, it'll just be me and a mountain of bags in the tender on one run. On these occasions, I'll come alongside and unload into the side decks next to the cockpit. However when we do this, in any sort of chop it's a pretty wet affair with the slightest wave get spurted up between the v the tender and the boots hull makes.

Most of the time it's far easier and drier to come alongside the stern and get up the ladder, even through we don't have a sugar scoop

 

[rotrax]

Our current boat-now sadly for sale due to anno domini-has a proper swim platform at the rear. It was chosen specificaly for this feature. Some years ago First Mate needed a new hip. Easy on, easy off was of first importance. On a mooring we bring the dinghy to the swim platform where we have a line left within reach to grab. Once grabbed, I get off, sit on the platform with my legs holding the dinghy in tight so FM can get out. Works every time. FM did fall in at Ditisham years ago, but it was an own goal, she was overconfident and not holding on tight enough.

Alongside or reversed into a finger berth you just step onto the swim platform, through the gate into the rear cockpit where a small step leads into the Pilothouse. Easy Peasy.

 

[Baggywrinkle]

Back in 2000 and something, Bavaria made a fantastic stern platform that lowered electrically - I've got one on my boat. It is high enough for the dinghy to fit under it.

I can step on to the platform from the middle of the dinghy, or I can sit on it and swing my legs up. It also serves as a great place to put bags while someone on board ferries them into the boat.

 

[Goldie]

We have a gate either side, just aft of the shrouds and have a fold down boarding ladder which reaches 3 steps under water - perfect for boarding from a dinghy or after a swim. When leaving the boat for a short period by dinghy, we fold the ladder rather than returning it to its stowed position (it has hinges just above the WL) and secure it with a slip knot. Folding prevents it banging against the hull due to water movement. For boarding from a larger vessel such as a water taxi, we use the gate on the other side (the ladder is interchangeable and only takes a moment to change from side to side). We could position the ladder on the transom, but we never have.

 

[bikedaft]

benefit of boarding amidships or just aft is in waves - boat moves the least there. still scary (watched that Pitcairn vid again!)

 

[alahol2]

Wife getting two new hips and using a hard dinghy prompted me to make a small pilot boarding ladder that hangs from the shrouds. When the boat is left on the mooring the ladder is swung upside down and the bottom rung flips over the guard wire to hold it in place.

 

[Alicatt]

We are required by law to have a boarding ladder on any boat that is longer than 7.5m, the boat length may be shorter but as my boats have been more than 7.5m and that I know that the rule applies to them.

Normal boarding from an alongside berth is via a step on the side and through the gate on the guardrails, stern to mooring is a bit more difficult as the swim platform is quite small, we are looking at getting a boarding plank or such that will clip on to the ladder on the transom and be able to go to the quayside

 

[Roberto]

Don't end up like this:-

That was the video I immediately thought about after reading the title of this thread

 

[Stemar]

Yikes! Why did they even try in those conditions?

But I suppose that if the boat is their home, and they're anchored off a lee shore ... I wouldn't have a lot of confidence in my anchor holding in those seas.

It's easy to be wise and safety conscious as an armchair admiral, but out there, I would have wanted to get aboard to move to a safer spot too. No way would I try now, but 20 years younger, fitter and bolder?

 

[AntarcticPilot]

It entirely depends on the boat. My Moody 31 mk II has a high freeboard, and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to board from a dinghy anywhere except the sugar scoop. It's a bit of a stretch from most pontoons! I don't know how owners of Mk Is manage (they don't have the sugar scoop), but I guess it's still easiest at the stern where there's a step halfway up.

That said, I wouldn't stand up in the dinghy until I was in a position to step onto the sugar scoop.

 

[dunedin]

This is for yachties rather than mobos
A comment about preventing swimmers from getting aboard one's boat via the sugar scoop had me wondering.
I see a lot of videos where people take their tender up to the stern then walk down the middle of the tender & step from the bow to the sugar scoop.
Not holding on. Just relying on balance.
I see some on our moorings who bring their tender broadside to the stern, against the tide, & get aboard via the boarding ladder.
It seems to me that both options are dangerous. A friend of mine fell last year whilst boarding his 41 ft Jeneau & broke 2 ribs because he insisted on getting aboard via the stern. Slipped & damage done.
Surely the safest way is to come alongside the shrouds & use them to hold on, high up, to pull one's self on to the side deck. The dinghy can be secured fore & aft quickly enough I have a step that hangs over the side, so that I can stand on the step. Then I am independant of the dinghy. It breaks the overall step up into 2 parts
What I do not do, is try to get in next to the cockpit & heave upwards on the guardrail where my C of G is high up and a sudden roll of the boat could swing me back. Plus it puts unnecessary strain on the staunchions
How do others do it?

IT DEPENDS. Lots of different factors mean there is no single best solution.
Your “surely” solution makes lots of assumptions that may not apply in other situations
- some boats have higher topsides that make getting on board at the shrouds near impossible without proper boarding ladders left out at all times
- not all moorings have 3 knots of tide flowing through
- some people have mobility issues
But it is worth thinking through a safe method for the individual, their boat and the location.
Certainly inflatables give more options as generally more stable than hard dinghies, and the fact that the slip sideways easily is in fact an asset if wanting to board from the stern, as often can be safely tied sideways to the stern even with a bit of current flowing.