Lazy lines without hands?

[MapisM]

Yes, they're good and mean that you can walk forward with the lazy line hanging between you and the next door boat relatively easily. Works well...

Do you normally ask the dock hand to keep the lazy lines tight(ish) at the dock side, while you walk forward?
If you don't, you might wish to try, because this way the hook which you linked works much better:
By the time you reach the bow, you already are (approximately) at the right position for pulling the line through the fairlead and secure it to the cleat.
I have some boating mates who regularly use that tool, and that's what they do.

That said, imho mk1 hands still are the better tool for the job.
If nothing else, because two of them give a much better control and reduce the risk to drop the line - which typically happens in the worst possible moments, as per Murphy's law.

 

[MapisM]

Isn't that the usual thing to do with larger boats (use for foredeck windlass to tighten the bow line)?

Define "larger". Really big boats normally use their own anchor(s).

 

[MapisM]

Idle foreigners I suppose. Good thing we're leaving

Why, are you, really? Did anything happen in the last minutes which I missed?

 

[petem]

Define "larger". Really big boats normally use their own anchor(s).

Bigger than a boat (like mine) that you can pull the boat forward using Mk1 arms .

Or on Mike's boat would you tie the bow line off first (with loose stern lines) and then pull the boat back with the stern winches? All rather academic for me having no bow or stern winches.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Or on Mike's boat would you tie the bow line off first (with loose stern lines) and then pull the boat back with the stern winches? All rather academic for me having no bow or stern winches.

Actually I mostly use the engines (very carefully!) to pull the boat back. I find the stern winches a bit of a PITA to use

 

[MapisM]

Or on Mike's boat would you tie the bow line off first (with loose stern lines) and then pull the boat back with the stern winches?

That's precisely what I'd do on his boat, and on mine as well.
In your home berth, that's even easier if you put a mark on the bow lines, but even elsewhere, you can just secure the bow lines first, with the boat still far from the dock,
That doesn't require any effort to pull them (neither manual nor winch-assisted), and releasing them a bit afterwards if they keep the boat too far from the dock is pretty easy.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

T
That doesn't require any effort to pull them (neither manual nor winch-assisted), and releasing them a bit afterwards if they keep the boat too far from the dock is pretty easy.

I think the main point is that with a Med stern-to mooring, its a lot easier to tighten the stern lines than the bow lines

 

[MapisM]

Actually I mostly use the engines (very carefully!) to pull the boat back. I find the stern winches a bit of a PITA to use

Yup, that's a rather popular alternative.
I prefer the winch just because it gives a better "feeling" of when the lines are as tight as I want them to be, but engines indeed make life even easier.

 

[Bouba]

In boating, the most stressful part is mooring. Med mooring just adds strenuous activity to the mix

 

[BartW]

Actually I mostly use the engines (very carefully!) to pull the boat back. I find the stern winches a bit of a PITA to use

why is that ?
I never use the engines, because a sMapsim say's with the winches you have better controll,
I don't want to engage the props while crew is handling the ropes around the cleats,
do you have gear levers in the cockpit, or a remote controll ?
I only have controlls from the helm stations, when mooring alway's from the FB !
moreover I switch the "noisy" engines off before doing the fine tuning of the ropes,

at Petem
very occasionally I use the anker winch the pull the bowlines in order to move the boat further from the quay, (when leaving the boat alone for long period)
but then I first slack the sternlines with the length that I want to move the boat.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

In boating, the most stressful part is mooring. Med mooring just adds strenuous activity to the mix

Its the only exercise most of us Med boaters get! I find the whole exercise of Med mooring the boat to be exhausting and I normally need a G & T afterwards to aid recovery

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

do you have gear levers in the cockpit, or a remote controll ?

I've had a cockpit helm on my last 3 boats. I dont put the engines into gear and just leave them there. I just flick one or other engine into and out of gear for a second or two just to get the boat moving backwards on the side that my crew (usually SWMBO) is pulling the stern line. The ZF electronic controls that Ferretti use are very good for that. Its all about taking the tension of the stern line so she can pull it in further

My personal opinion about winches is that firstly they are a bit dangerous especially for crew who dont know how to use them because there is always the risking of trapping a finger and secondly there is always the problem of how you remove the line from the winch to put it on the cleat without losing its tension. I do have one method for doing that but actually it takes some time and again the crew have to be trained how to do it. So for me overall it is easier and safer to use the engines

 

[Hurricane]

Isn't that the usual thing to do with larger boats (use for foredeck windlass to tighten the bow line)?

Not for me.
Imagine - you have everything under control and some plonker who doesn't know what he is doing goes and drops your anchor over the front of the boat.

Yep - stern winches for me.
I just think it is too risky to use the engines - especially when you have the stern winches - thats what they were put there for.

 

[Hooligan]

Rots the kids, wow!

Mmmm, you may want to reread. judicious use of commas . Although there are times when......

 

[markc]

I seem to do the opposite! I have stern lines that are chained to the dock one end and a loop in the other, the perfect length, so I slip those on then use the anchor winch to tighten the bow line. This then allows me to attach a bridle to each side of the bow, then release the line on the winch. This way I can keep the tension whilst securing the bow, but then release it from the winch when ready.

 

[MedMilo]

Do you normally ask the dock hand to keep the lazy lines tight(ish) at the dock side, while you walk forward?
If you don't, you might wish to try, because this way the hook which you linked works much better:
By the time you reach the bow, you already are (approximately) at the right position for pulling the line through the fairlead and secure it to the cleat.
I have some boating mates who regularly use that tool, and that's what they do.

That said, imho mk1 hands still are the better tool for the job.
If nothing else, because two of them give a much better control and reduce the risk to drop the line - which typically happens in the worst possible moments, as per Murphy's law.

Yes, that's exactly what I do though often end up using hands anyway, as you say.

In terms of the order of the lines, I always get the bow lines tied first with the stern lines left slack. Then tighten up the stern lines with the winches. IMHO much easier to let off half a metre of bow line if required than to tighten up a metre of bowline (which involves loosening off the capstan, attaching a bridle to the bowline etc etc etc!)

 

[MapisM]

I seem to do the opposite! I have stern lines that are chained to the dock one end and a loop in the other, the perfect length, so I slip those on then use the anchor winch to tighten the bow line. This then allows me to attach a bridle to each side of the bow, then release the line on the winch. This way I can keep the tension whilst securing the bow, but then release it from the winch when ready.

Well, whatever works for you, of course! :encouragement:
I can't see it working well if you have two bow lines though - which btw is what I'd rather have if possible, on a boat like yours which ain't exactly light...

 

[markc]

I can't see it working well if you have two bow lines though - which btw is what I'd rather have if possible, on a boat like yours which ain't exactly light...

The arrangement I have in the marina is 2 bow lines coming off the bow chain, plus a third line which is attached to the lazy line. I use the 3rd line on the winch, then tie each of the others off on port & stbd cleats then release the 3rd line. Not sure if that made sense on my earlier post

 

[MapisM]

Actually I didn't get that, but that's me, maybe. In fact, I'm still not sure to have understood the arrangement of your marina.
I mean, do you have just one lazy line, attached to the dock astern and to the chain at the bow, plus two short(ish) lines attached only on the chain side, which you must grab with a hook at the bow after pulling up the chain with the lazy line?
If so, I never came across such setup - or maybe I'm still not getting it...?

 

[markc]

Actually I didn't get that, but that's me, maybe. In fact, I'm still not sure to have understood the arrangement of your marina.
I mean, do you have just one lazy line, attached to the dock astern and to the chain at the bow, plus two short(ish) lines attached only on the chain side, which you must grab with a hook at the bow after pulling up the chain with the lazy line?
If so, I never came across such setup - or maybe I'm still not getting it...?

I wish I had a photo, but to clarify

Lazy lines both port and starboard attached to dock leading to the same 20mm rope which is attached to chain. Use this rope around winch to tension and yes, then grab 2 shorter lines with boat hook that are attached to the chain. Tie these off port and stbd, then release line on the winch. This means that I can use the central tension of the winch to get the boat in place and also easily get equal tension on the port & stbd bow lines before letting go the winch line.