How do you board your boat when at a mooring?

[johnalison]

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.

Our last boat was a Sadler 29 which also had quite a high freeboard but we were younger then. An Avon is easier but we managed from a small pram. If necessary, a small ladder, or perhaps better still a step-fender, would make it easy enough.

 

[Graham376]

On mooring or anchor, when unloading shopping or water containers, wife uses step fender by the shrouds. If we're not going ashore again, I then drop the dinghy back and clip on broadside to the sugar scoop, step aboard and then haul the dinghy up. If going ashore again, we leave the dinghy alongside tied fore and aft and both use step fender. If calm with no shopping, we often board via sugar scoop, broadside on. with dinghy clipped on fore and aft,

 

[PabloPicasso]

Fender steps are good for high freeboard. There are one, two and even 3step fender ladders

 

[Daydream believer]

Fender steps are good for high freeboard. There are one, two and even 3step fender ladders

I do not like fender steps because I cannot get enough of my foot in to the step. I always think that my foot will slip out as I apply my weight. I do not want to smash my knee on the gunwhale if I slip

 

[Malish]

Don't end up like this:-

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?

I'm wondering what anchor they were using ;-)

 

[blush2]

Blush had high freeboard so if boarding from the inflatable we came in from the stern. There was an opening in the pushpit and the backstay was in reach. We added a horizontal grab handle as a step just above the height of the dinghy, we tied up sideways on and boarding was easy in most conditions.

Boarding from the RIB or river taxi was at the shrouds with the help of a fender step.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Our last boat was a Sadler 29 which also had quite a high freeboard but we were younger then. An Avon is easier but we managed from a small pram. If necessary, a small ladder, or perhaps better still a step-fender, would make it easy enough.

Fender steps are good for high freeboard. There are one, two and even 3step fender ladders

I've got one of those, and it's sort of OK for a low pontoon. But the Moody also has a slight tumble-home so the step fender doesn't hang against the hull or vertically, making it less secure.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Blush had high freeboard so if boarding from the inflatable we came in from the stern. There was an opening in the pushpit and the backstay was in reach. We added a horizontal grab handle as a step just above the height of the dinghy, we tied up sideways on and boarding was easy in most conditions.

Boarding from the RIB or river taxi was at the shrouds with the help of a fender step.

Similar for us except we have a ladder on the transom plus a Hydrovane and the very sturdy davits themselves to hang into. Our dinghy lives on davits so the stern is the obvious and only sensible place to board from. Our freeboard makes it almost impossible to board from mid ships using the shrouds as grab points.

If the OP wishes to come and demonstrate how much better it is to board at the shrouds on our boat, he’s very welcome. First rum at the beach bar us on me.

 

[winch2]

We wait till no ones looking... Its not a pretty sight as we roll each other over the gunnel..!

 

[alahol2]

I've got one of those, and it's sort of OK for a low pontoon. But the Moody also has a slight tumble-home so the step fender doesn't hang against the hull or vertically, making it less secure.

See the pilot ladder mentioned earlier. Adjust the step width to match the curvature.

 

[Sea Change]

Similar for us except we have a ladder on the transom plus a Hydrovane and the very sturdy davits themselves to hang into. Our dinghy lives on davits so the stern is the obvious and only sensible place to board from. Our freeboard makes it almost impossible to board from mid ships using the shrouds as grab points.

If the OP wishes to come and demonstrate how much better it is to board at the shrouds on our boat, he’s very welcome. First rum at the beach bar us on me.

Same for us, on both the previous boat which was very similar to John's, and the current one which has a large bathing platform aft.

The only time I've chosen not to board this way was one day in Marigot Bay, St Martin, when a sudden northerly blew up and set up a vicious short chop that had the boat pitching like mad. Approaching from astern, about half the rudder was coming out of the water. I didn't fancy having nine tons of yacht come crashing down on top of me so I chose to come alongside amidships- where I got thoroughly soaked by the waves squirting between dinghy and yacht.

At the time I was using my old 3.5hp which has no neutral, and didn't always want to restart first pull, just to make things a little more interesting.

 

[TiggerToo]

....plus a Hydrovane

We also have one of those. I did not install it for this purpose, but it is a really great hand-rail for climbing into and out of the (inflatable) tender tied at the stern. It is sturdy, the bars are just the right size, plus the main vertical axis comes down right to the water level.

 

[Refueler]

I have a folding ladder I carry ... hook it on and then climb up for my 25ft. I do have two sprung fold down steps on the stern - but they are too high.

My 38ft has a boarding / swim ladder on the transom .... my 24ft MoBo has a boarding / swim ladder on stern ..

 

[westernman]

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?

Conditions were forecast to get worse and beyond the holding capacity of the anchor....
I.e. coming back later was not a great option either.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

On my own boat, just aft of the beam, where the gate in the guardrail is fitted. Freeboard at that point is about 4', maybe a little bit more. I use a portable ladder that hooks over the gunwale and is about 2; below the waterline. As I approach I grab the gunwale forward of the beam, stand up, tie the painter to the cleat such that the dinghy sits along side the ladder. Works well for me. I have a reverse counter stern but it does not have a ladder as the Monitor vane gets bolted in that space.

Sailed on a few yachts with sugar scoops, not much of an issue to use them. Same approach as my own boat, everyone remains seated in the dinghy, come along side, reach when sitting,. feed a line through a cleat or round a push pit stanchion, then position dinghy and one at time get out, only one standing at time when holding onto something on the yacht. It is not difficult to do it safely. Of course there can be conditions where the risk is increased and that just needs to be managed using a bit of thought.

 

[philwebb]

Just watching that video was making me feel seasick!

 

[johnalison]

It is usually Newton's third law of motion that catches people out as they attempt to step out of a dinghy.

 

[[70521]]

I usually come alongside tie the step fender to the toe rail and climb aboard.

 

[Refueler]

It is usually Newton's third law of motion that catches people out as they attempt to step out of a dinghy.

High sided pram dinghy ... Snapdragon 23 ..............

I paid a price for not being able to stop myself laughing .....

My Ex Wife decided that she would stand in dinghy and hold onto boat .. I advised her to sit .. but no - she stood .... dinghy did its natural action .... moving out from boat ... wife getting more and more angle till finally she was horizontal with 'bits' touching the cold Langstone water ... feet hooked over dinghy gunwhale ..

I just managed to say - "You're gonna have to just let go and I'll pull you out .... "

But she with grit and determination stated "I will get this bloody dinghy in if it kills me - I am NOT going in the water .... "

Amazingly she actually managed it .. a feat I have never seen repeated .....

 

[johnalison]

High sided pram dinghy ... Snapdragon 23 ..............

I paid a price for not being able to stop myself laughing .....

My Ex Wife decided that she would stand in dinghy and hold onto boat .. I advised her to sit .. but no - she stood .... dinghy did its natural action .... moving out from boat ... wife getting more and more angle till finally she was horizontal with 'bits' touching the cold Langstone water ... feet hooked over dinghy gunwhale ..

I just managed to say - "You're gonna have to just let go and I'll pull you out .... "

But she with grit and determination stated "I will get this bloody dinghy in if it kills me - I am NOT going in the water .... "

Amazingly she actually managed it .. a feat I have never seen repeated .....

Not quite the same thing but tomorrow I will be meeting old friends and one wife was with us in Deauville when our boats, Sadlers 29 & 32, were side by side. She attempted to cross from one to the other by stepping from deck to deck, over the lifelines. Of course, the boats drifted apart as she adopted the pose of an African dancer, and shrieked. I can’t remember how long it took for us to recover our composure, but to this day she refuses to acknowledge that it ever happened.