It has been a while - New Poll

[ShipsWoofy]

Please take the time to fill in another poll.

This poll is regarding your first cruising sailing yacht that you kept on the water. Please keep to sailing boats. Sorry Mobo guys, but I have a slight agenda which I will reveal later. (nothing sinister).

 

[milltech]

[--word removed--] I can't join in. When I cruised under sail I was my Dads guest and apart from dinghies I rooted for motors the moment I got the choice!

 

[ShipsWoofy]

Okais, so far 69% of people when new to bigger boats (assumption!) of their own, did not start with a pontoon berth.

So why do all the rags seem to permeate around 'how to bring your boat alongside' for what seems 3 full pages of pretty pictures a month, taken by a mag man stood on the local marina for a morning?

Shirley, these articles are supposed to be aimed at new sailors, yet the target audience would probably welcome an article or two on getting a boat off a trot mooring when the spring tide and strong wind is up the chuff.

Or how to successfully moor to a pile, without twanging the sodding great pole when trying to sort the lines etc.

This is not directed at IPC, but at all the mags. When you come north of Watford you will find that many people do not moor anywhere near marina's. New people are left in bewilderment when allocated a chain, or two supported by a large orange float(s).

How about looking at the figures above and aiming your training on the target audience? Lets be fair, getting on and off a pontoon is generally easy, by their nature most* are in more sheltered areas than moorings.

*I said most.

This is not even a personal gripe, I am generally fairly comfortable manoeuvring onto pontoons and moorings, but I do believe you are in general, talking to the wrong people.

Just a thought to the sailing writers on here.

 

[BrendanS]

Assuming the poll is correct (unlikely, far too many people just press buttons to get the result).

That aside, yes, fair point.

As an aside though, why just first boat? Many might have different moorings in different places through the years, and would have needed just as much advice. Also why exclude mobos - you think we never pick up buoys or moor off piles? We do, frequently

 

[ShipsWoofy]

Because I do not read Mobo mags so could not comment regarding their content.

You are right with regards to sailors who have moved to a different type of mooring. From experience Harbour Masters just let them get on with it, on numerous occasions I have nipped over in the dinghy to talk new mooring holders through the basics.

No one even tells them how to make up strops, lengths or how best to attach them to the cleats.

The biggest sins seem to be having only two strops on a fore and aft, this means in general the aft strop is tied to port or starboard pulling the vessel into the fairway.

Another is not tying the strops together when leaving the trots, this means the whole trot drifts apart, and for me on the end it means our rudders get a belting from the buoy.

I think it would be very helpful for at least one of the mags to pick up, on a marina there is generally always someone wandering up and down to take lines, more often than not, people arrive at the mooring and are totally alone.

 

[powerskipper]

Very good point, I am asked , I know it's mobo boats but peeps always want to know how to get off and on there own moorings, sometimes I have the chance to go though it with them , other times we just have to talk about it. so some articles would be good. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif