marina mooring technique

sarabande

sarabande

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Before yesterday's winds, I watched a number of prudent souls adding extra mooring lines twixt their boat and the pontoon.

Which is "better" ? To make the warps as tight as possible, so that the boat is strapped up close to the pontoon, really tight against the fenders; or to allow an amount of "give", so that when hit by a gust, the boat can move about a bit, and various warps take up the strain sequentially ?

Oh yes, also: we were "advised strongly" by the marina staff that we should not on any account attempt to adjust fenders or lines on other boats which were not securely moored up, even if it looked as if the boat could break free or surge into someone else. Doesn't prudent self-preservation and mutual support transcend insurance policies in these condition ?
 
adjusting anothers lines would give the lawyers plenty of scope for expenses. adding additional lines would not be such a problem.

personally I prefer to allow slack in my lines to allow the boat freedom to react to waves rather than trying to lift the pontoon out of the water!
 
I certainly go for the fairly loose approach. On my berth in the prevailing winds that actually results in the boat being held 12-18" away from the pontoon with a combination of one bow line, the stern line and one spring taut.

In strong winds blowing onto the pontoon I would consider putting a line on to the neighbouring pontoon to try to hold the boat off.

As far as other people's boats are concerned I would probably tell the marina staff if there was a cause for concern rather than doing anything myself unless it seemed that damage was imminent.
 
Tight with snubbers. Anything else allows the boat to gain some way as it saws back and forth, the way will eventually cause chaffing on the lines which in turn...

Don't take my word for it, in Norway where, during the winter they get some failry hefty blasts you'll find the majority of boats tied up in this fashion.

Agree with lines to hold boat off the pontoon if possible.
 
I would prefer a combination - tight springs - running full lenght and not to a midship cleat, and looser breast warps, avoiding snubbing. Snubbers are always useful, but not on springs as you want to try to pervent surge, so perhaps nylon is not the right material for springs. Parcelling the warps to prevent shaif is also sensible.
 
Each to their own, I guess.

All of our lines have snubbers on them and are pulled as tight we can, the warps are made of sheathed multiplait (I think!) so there is some give. We have adopted this since leaving the boat in Norway with what we thought were tight lines. We arrived back to find that the boat had mounted the central pontoon and damaged her prow. No probs since adopting this tactic.
 
The way that i teach and have used for many years is to firstly use the correct type of rope.

Halyard line is not good for mooring.

The Warps should have a little slack but not be loose and never be tight. The Warps should be as tight as you can get them. The use of rubber snubbers is a good idea but only really of use in your home berth.

But i say again never ever use braided halyard or sheet type line for a warp. In a blow or chop the shock loads on the lines can rip your cleats out. Use multiplat as it has some stretch in it and acts as a shock absorber.
 
[ QUOTE ]
The Warps should have a little slack but not be loose and never be tight. The Warps should be as tight as you can get them.

[/ QUOTE ]

Your students must really understand that!
 
Bow and stern lines fairly tight and fitted with rubber or spring snubbers. For a big heavy boat good quality stainless spring-snubbers are best. Fore and aft springs are much longer and at an angle such that you don't need snubbers, again keep them tight or the momentum of the boat will result in snatch. It is snatch that breaks mooring lines and deck fittings. As others have said, don't use halyard lines, use three strand nylon or multi-plait (octoplait). I like multi-plait as it is really nice to handle as well as being the most suitable.

I don't tamper with others' ropes for reasons you mention though I always call the marina office and remind them if they don't do something about it. In the final analysis, on a windy night, I would do something, of course.
 
Thanks to all for the responses and first-hand experiences.

It really doesn't seem possible to guarantee to spread the mooring load equally and perfectly between all lines. Given therefore that loading of the warps will be intermittent and "snatchy", it looks as if the best practice is to use some form of load absorbing device, whether it's in the intrinsic stretchiness of the lines, and/or a steel or rubber snubber.

The disposition of the springs appears to be important, with head (fore) and back (stern) springs being as long as possible, and possibly duplicated. A holding-off line sounds a practical idea, too.

I reluctantly concur that the marina staff should adjust other boats' unmanned lines where necessary, though the point is well made that an emergency may require immediate action.

Off to the chandlers to look at snubbers, then !
 
I'm generally one of the keep-them-tight brigade. However I think that there should be a bit of slack in the breast ropes. If waves get into the marina then the pontoon and yacht will start bucking not exactly in sync, and there is an enormous vertical strain on fittings when this happens that snubbers alone can't cope with, as well as meaning you boat will be pulled in hard to the pontoon.

So tighten springs, fit snubbers to breast ropes, tighten breast ropes up, then let out 2 or 3 inches of slack in the breast ropes.

IMHO of course
 
I spend a lot of time watching boats secured alongside marina pontoon berths. My preference is for the breast lines to be fitted with snubbers, if there is any swell, and a small amount of slack. That is pull tight and then slack off a couple of inches. Springs should have very little slack although mooring bows too I seldom bother with a stern spring unless in a marina with a fore and aft tidal flow. Also the snubbers should be sized to the displacement of the boat, giving a gentle stretch to take out any snatch.
Almost every skipper has a different way of securing their boat, some good, some bad, but most adequate.
On the odd occasion in adverse weather conditions I have taken immediate action to re-secure vessels, but have also notified the marina staff so they can check.

j
 
I find contradictory behaviours: sitting in the boat with tight warps, the jerks and snatches are quite apparent. Loose warps, she just mooches about comfortably.

HOWEVER, two days ago we got the tail end of Gordon, and the wind was gusting to between 9 and 11. My boat was pushed away from the pontoon and was fine. Boats with the pontoon to leeward fell into two groups. the first were tight warps, and they looked fine; those with loose warps were moving out of sync with the finger pontoon and tending to push the fenders up, ie away from water-level, one or two had popped the one and only fender in position (!) and the boats were grinding up against the pontoon. We sorted them (despite any possible insurance claims, deniable anyway) by adding unloaded fenders from elsewhere on the boats and tightened the warps, this pulled the finger up and down with the boat more, and the fenders stayed in place.

I tightened mine, just in case the wind shifted round and pushed the boat onto the pontoon. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
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