How do you tie your boat up in a marina? Simple question???

[Even Chance]

If you have your boat in a marina berth and theres some surge in the marina causing the boats to move, do you tie her up drum tight to avoid snatching, or leave a bit of slack?

I personally think its best to tie her up tight. I do this and she lies perfectly whilst others around are surging around and tugging at lines violently. I have been told that what Im doing is wrong...

Enlighten me please.....

 

[Sans Bateau]

I'd tend to agree with you I think. The only time I'd leave the lines slack would be if I had snubbers on them.

 

[Coaster]

No matter how firmly you tie your boat some slack will always develop over time, assuming the use of conventional rope. So most people allow a bit of slackness in the lines. If sensible allowances are made for movement, ensuring the boat cannot come into contact with something it shouldn't, there should be no problem.

The details will of course depend on individual circumstances.

 

[Even Chance]

No matter how firmly you tie your boat some slack will always develop over time, assuming the use of conventional rope. So most people allow a bit of slackness in the lines. If sensible allowances are made for movement, ensuring the boat cannot come into contact with something it shouldn't, there should be no problem.

The details will of course depend on individual circumstances.

Your right of course, but,

I use the boat a few times a week, so the lines are adjusted very regularly.

 

[Robin]

Surge is basically cyclical so allow enough slack fore and aft to accommodate it but have spring lines set to prevent the boat riding ahead onto the main pontoon. I prefer having rubber mooring compensators (snubbers) in the two bow lines with the boat bows in, that way the boat is free to move aft away from the pontoon but is prevented by a spring line from going forwards. I have no snubbers in either spring or stern lines. I also use an outside (opposite side to finger) spring very taut to the main pontoon, this holds the boat off the finger.

IMO tight lines all round cause rather than relieve snatch loads.

 

[Seajet]

As stated individual situations vary, but generally I have springs relatively tight, breast lines a little slack.

I'd never have anything really tight in normal circumstances, that's not to say I'd leave her ranging about !

 

[snooks]

As stated individual situations vary, but generally I have springs relatively tight, breast lines a little slack.

I'd never have anything really tight in normal circumstances, that's not to say I'd leave her ranging about !

That makes sense, but no matter how tight they are when I start off they usually have lots of slack in when I return. C'est la vie.

 

[[2574]]

Taut springs, relaxed breasts (if you get my meaning!)

rob

 

[KenMcCulloch]

I think it's more useful to think about length than tension. At the moment we are on the windward (prevailing W winds) side of a finger which means the springs and bow line on the side away from the finger are adjusted to hold her off the finger. That means the stern line and bow springs on the pontoon side are all pulled tight, the only lines with slack in are a bow line and a spring from midships led fwd on the pontoon side. When the wind changes so do the lines indeed one would consider shortening lines on the E (pontoon) side to make it possible to get across the gap when she is blowing off. A swinging mooring would be much more sensible in some respects...

 

[LadyInBed]

Springs tight, breast lines a little slack.

 

[sarabande]

if you snug all lines down really hard, then the boat and the pontoon attempt to become a single mechanically linked unit.

However, as the natural roll frequency and characteristics of a boat and a pontoon are very dissimilar, then this induces strains on the lines and especially on the cleats of the pontoon (as most lines have an upward component from the pontoon cleat).

This leads to looseness, leads to snatch, and snatch on a pontoon is a Bad Thing.

Use good squidgy fenders, head and stern ropes, breast lines, and springs to locate the boat laterally, and fore and aft against the fenders.

 

[AliM]

Taut springs, relaxed breasts (if you get my meaning!)

rob

That's exactly what we've been advised in our boatyard. But there, the tide runs strongly parallel to the alongside pontoons, and at LW the boats (sometimes) ground, so the slack in the breast lines is essential to make sure you are not trying to hold the pontoon up! The springs, being a lot longer, are OK when tight. I appreciate that most posh marinas do not have problems like that, but it's worth looking out for peculiarities when you visit other places.

(At my age, breasts tend to relax whether you want them to or not!)

 

[NPMR]

I was once snarled at by a RN officer who advised that "Sheep are tied up, ships are secured"

Does that hold true for boats, too, I wonder?

In a big blow recently, on a French Marina finger (very short of course), we had about 8 lines out, to try to stop the boat being bounced onto the many fenders we had out, all lines of various tautnesses and attached to different places around the walkways and pontoon and some still 'snatched' very uncomfortably as they arrived at the end of their 'travel' or slackness. Tight lines had less distance to go before they pulled up short. But still snatched.

But the difference is that we were watching over the lines all the time - the boat was not left whilst the storm went through.

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Tight stretchy springs and looser head and stern ropes. Snubbers on the latter and all ropes double.

 

[Seajet]

Improvised snubber

In case of interest, I have found in the past that a snubber to take the shock out of mooring lines can be improvised using a standard car roof-rack style bungee strap.

Simply form a loose bight of the mooring line, and tie the bungee tight around the line with a rolling hitch or similar either side of the slack.

Takes a bit of trial and error, but works surprisingly well if one is in a snatching situation; which can of course be quite horrible on cleats, boat & crew !

 

[Poignard]

I always leave some slack in the breast ropes, especially the after one, because if you get a few people standing on the finger pontoon their weight will add additional load on the after cleat. Also, if the boat rolls I don't want her trying to lift the pontoon.

 

[Sandyman]

In case of interest, I have found in the past that a snubber to take the shock out of mooring lines can be improvised using a standard car roof-rack style bungee strap.

Simply form a loose bight of the mooring line, and tie the bungee tight around the line with a rolling hitch or similar either side of the slack.

Takes a bit of trial and error, but works surprisingly well if one is in a snatching situation; which can of course be quite horrible on cleats, boat & crew !

What size boat are we talking here ?

 

[Seajet]

22' medium displacement, but I got the impression it would work for larger; come to that one could double the bungee if keen, with a large boat and / or really severe conditions.

 

[LadyInBed]

22' medium displacement, but I got the impression it would work for larger; come to that one could double the bungee if keen, with a large boat and / or really severe conditions.

on a 22 footer you could get away with just using the bungees

 

[Seajet]

on a 22 footer you could get away with just using the bungees

There speaks the voice of zero experience cruising a 22' boat then !