mcframe
Well-Known Member
You want to see my single-handed technique for a drying swinging mooring:
(1) Arrive early, on a rising tide.
(2) Run aground 3 feet from mooring buoy.
(3) Be glad you've got a 6-foot boat-hook.
Simples ;-)
Leaving/Returning to a Berth Single-Handed...
- Thread starter V1701
- Start date
You want to see my single-handed technique for a drying swinging mooring:
(1) Arrive early, on a rising tide.
(2) Run aground 3 feet from mooring buoy.
(3) Be glad you've got a 6-foot boat-hook.
Simples ;-)
dratsea
Well-Known Member
First perfect single handed tie along for refueling was not just me but I also had new born primary cost centre in arms and as you so perfectly point out, no one witnessed the event. And next attempt was a disaster in full view of watching, and erudite (I had taught them), members of the club.
John
peterb
Well-Known Member
As Dratsea said at post #3, "Plan it all well ahead, try to get berth with wind blowing you on". But if you're faced with a berth where the wind is pushing you off and on to another boat, don't be afraid to berth onto the other boat and then to warp across to your correct berth. It's better to make a gentle, pre-planned and well-fendered contact with another boat, rather than have your efforts at coming alongside a pontoon come to nothing as your bow blows across and makes unfendered contact. If you can discuss it with your neighbour first then it can be even better.
Oh, and make arrangements that only one of you will put on outside fenders. If you both have outside fenders then they can easily get tangled, resulting in broken fender lines.
Oh, and make arrangements that only one of you will put on outside fenders. If you both have outside fenders then they can easily get tangled, resulting in broken fender lines.
V1701
Well-Known Member
Many thanks all for taking the time to reply and for the humour, next thread on Reader to Reader about retrofitting a remote controlled bow thruster!
mcframe
Well-Known Member
Many thanks all for taking the time to reply and for the humour, next thread on Reader to Reader about retrofitting a remote controlled bow thruster!
A _waterproof_, _wireless_ remote control would let you operate the bow thruster when you've fallen off the pontoon
V1701
Well-Known Member
A _waterproof_, _wireless_ remote control would let you operate the bow thruster when you've fallen off the pontoon
Yes! I will be able to prevent myself being crushed between boat & pontoon so all angles covered. Nice use of the word "when"...
Cliveshep
Well-Known Member
An alternative mooring method..........
is, as Searush says (quote) "Planning, preparation & even more preparation & planning, oh, & did I mention planning & preparation?".
You might take this with a pinch of salt of course but it does work.
As you leave, look around for someone with a nice inflatable on davits or tied astern. BTW this is most effective if you have a bowsprit, in fact mobo owners could well benefit from fitting a decent bowsprit anyway.
What you do when coming back is drive into the inflatable. Ignore the hissing noise, that is quite normal. Spear the inflatable with the bowsprit, that will keep you in one place. It also cushions your arrival. It is then a simple matter to climb over the front (that's the pointy bit in nautical parlance) and tie off to whatever presents itself as convenient. I have made good use of water taps in the past, they make a good cleat, failing that winding the rope a few times round the shore-power post is almost as good. Then you can go off for a few bevvies.
is, as Searush says (quote) "Planning, preparation & even more preparation & planning, oh, & did I mention planning & preparation?".
You might take this with a pinch of salt of course but it does work.
As you leave, look around for someone with a nice inflatable on davits or tied astern. BTW this is most effective if you have a bowsprit, in fact mobo owners could well benefit from fitting a decent bowsprit anyway.
What you do when coming back is drive into the inflatable. Ignore the hissing noise, that is quite normal. Spear the inflatable with the bowsprit, that will keep you in one place. It also cushions your arrival. It is then a simple matter to climb over the front (that's the pointy bit in nautical parlance) and tie off to whatever presents itself as convenient. I have made good use of water taps in the past, they make a good cleat, failing that winding the rope a few times round the shore-power post is almost as good. Then you can go off for a few bevvies.
westernman
Well-Known Member
I wondered what that hissing sound was.
You learn something new everyday on this forum
Searush
Well-Known Member
You've seen that technique used haven't you Clive?
mcframe
Well-Known Member
Ah! Bowsprits!
"A fair wind slightly astern had carried us into Ostend, and we were still going at a speed of about two knots when the moment came to make the tangenital approach approach to this quay. We had been slow in getting the mains'l down due to some hitch and when close to and parallel to the quay we were still going much to fast. Now this dock had a brick wall at it's far end, which formed a right-angled corner with the quay in question. Into this corner we were now going with a momentum of 19 tons mass times 2 knots velocity and the imminent certainty of hitting the wall head-on with our bowsprit. .. I had a sudden thought and, rushing to the foredeck, seized the iron handle of the winch and with it knocked out the great wooden pin that held the bowsprit in place.
Then came the impact.
Freed from it's lateral confines, the square butt end of the 21-foot spar thrust inboard. There was a rope that must have been used as an out-haul, which ran in a groove round the butt and and was cleated in the bitts. I had undone this at the moment of knocking out the pin and now used it as a means of checking the speed of the backward-traveling sprit. It came in and on the Jersey went towards the wall, but slowing all the time. The butt end went past the mast as far as the companion and the ship came quietly to a stop with her stem head a foot from the wall and the bowsprit neatly housed, all 21 feet of it."
Dermod MacCarthy - "Sailing With Mr Belloc"
"A fair wind slightly astern had carried us into Ostend, and we were still going at a speed of about two knots when the moment came to make the tangenital approach approach to this quay. We had been slow in getting the mains'l down due to some hitch and when close to and parallel to the quay we were still going much to fast. Now this dock had a brick wall at it's far end, which formed a right-angled corner with the quay in question. Into this corner we were now going with a momentum of 19 tons mass times 2 knots velocity and the imminent certainty of hitting the wall head-on with our bowsprit. .. I had a sudden thought and, rushing to the foredeck, seized the iron handle of the winch and with it knocked out the great wooden pin that held the bowsprit in place.
Then came the impact.
Freed from it's lateral confines, the square butt end of the 21-foot spar thrust inboard. There was a rope that must have been used as an out-haul, which ran in a groove round the butt and and was cleated in the bitts. I had undone this at the moment of knocking out the pin and now used it as a means of checking the speed of the backward-traveling sprit. It came in and on the Jersey went towards the wall, but slowing all the time. The butt end went past the mast as far as the companion and the ship came quietly to a stop with her stem head a foot from the wall and the bowsprit neatly housed, all 21 feet of it."
Dermod MacCarthy - "Sailing With Mr Belloc"
puddock
Well-Known Member
I have enclosed the bill for the laundering of my trousers and undergarments.
Brilliant, still have tears in my eyes. My wife thinks I am having a breakdown .......
Cliveshep
Well-Known Member
Well, actually m'dear it's a variation on a theme developed by Michael Green ("The Art of Coarse Sailing") only there Beaver stuck the bowsprit through a cruiser's porthole, I've just updated the idea.
I mean, if you MUST hit something, and Murphy's Law insists that you must, better to plan ahead as you said and make sure it's something soft and resilient.
All good clean fun!
Ok, not actually clean perhaps, taking account of the vast quantities of goose and duck poo covering most pontoons, but "fun" especially if it's someone else that has to jump off and skid and fall on their ass!
Fire99
Well-Known Member
A chap down the the Harbour recommended a book to me and it's a great read.
It's called 'Dockmanship' by Cornell. It's a small paperback book but all it deals with is mooring, covering all types of configuration and goes into using Prop Rotation of your engine to your advantage etc.
A great little book that does exactly what it says on the cover.
It's called 'Dockmanship' by Cornell. It's a small paperback book but all it deals with is mooring, covering all types of configuration and goes into using Prop Rotation of your engine to your advantage etc.
A great little book that does exactly what it says on the cover.
Cliveshep
Well-Known Member
Now come on, that's not fair! Education for yotties attempting to moor up is going to ruin one of the greatest onlooker sports available without a Sky subscription, that of admiring the pandemonium, mayhem and outright dismay and vessel damage experienced by the unwary whilst one is safely moored up a safe distance away!
Moodyjim
Well-Known Member
Why do you think I chose this for my signature?
Cliveshep
Well-Known Member
Ah! Well, I take comfort in the fact that you are probably a hundred miles away from me then!
V1701
Well-Known Member
Thanks for that, just got a copy from Amazon £2.90 (15p plus standard amazon £2.75 postage), from a new seller on there called mysailingbooks who has 140 odd second hand sailing books for sale...
(no connection to seller)
wrr
Well-Known Member
Steady now!
After some mishaps, we believe that we have got this down to a fine art in a 10 ton long keel boat with overhangs. A lenght of line with spliced loops at either end is looped around a midships cleat, led outside the stanchions and back to the cockpit where a few turns are taken on the genoa sheet winch. The loop at this end is dropped over a convenient cleat to prevent the tail of the line dropping overboard. We come along side with the minimum way on to maintain steerage, drop the belly of the line over a convenient cleat, take the way off with a little blast astern and winch the line tight. Boat is held to the pontoon by the line effectively forming a midships line and spring. The entire manouvre can be conducted from the cockpit.
Bow, stern and breast lines and springs can then be arranged at leisure.
Leaving single handed can also be managed using the same line as a short slip line functioning as a spring to the sheet winch. For the single-hander, long slip lines invite trouble with prop!
Having once had a throttle/gearshift lever come away in my hand, I always like to approach a berth as slowly as steerage and leeway will allow!
After some mishaps, we believe that we have got this down to a fine art in a 10 ton long keel boat with overhangs. A lenght of line with spliced loops at either end is looped around a midships cleat, led outside the stanchions and back to the cockpit where a few turns are taken on the genoa sheet winch. The loop at this end is dropped over a convenient cleat to prevent the tail of the line dropping overboard. We come along side with the minimum way on to maintain steerage, drop the belly of the line over a convenient cleat, take the way off with a little blast astern and winch the line tight. Boat is held to the pontoon by the line effectively forming a midships line and spring. The entire manouvre can be conducted from the cockpit.
Bow, stern and breast lines and springs can then be arranged at leisure.
Leaving single handed can also be managed using the same line as a short slip line functioning as a spring to the sheet winch. For the single-hander, long slip lines invite trouble with prop!
Having once had a throttle/gearshift lever come away in my hand, I always like to approach a berth as slowly as steerage and leeway will allow!
Squeaky
Well-Known Member
Good evening:
I posted a couple of scanned images under "Caigue Swing Anchoring technique" earlier this afternoon which explains my technique for entering a berth when either single handed or with crew.
As mentioned will be happy to explain further if my explanation is not clear.
Cheers
Squeaky
I posted a couple of scanned images under "Caigue Swing Anchoring technique" earlier this afternoon which explains my technique for entering a berth when either single handed or with crew.
As mentioned will be happy to explain further if my explanation is not clear.
Cheers
Squeaky
Daedelus
Well-Known Member
I've often felt that I've been leading with my b*lls too.