Med mooring techniques

[Andy Bav]

We are lucky in SCM to have a finger berth so leaving and berthing is no different to Torquay.

Having spoken to a few med converts Med Mooring seems to be the first topic of conversation. The Internet is a bit light on information for mobos and old hands say that you squeeze in and "roll along" your neighbours fenders. The ybw cruise further videos also show this.

My question though is what happens if you don't have the luxury of neighbour(s) to stabilise the manoeuvre / bow in a strong cross wind or will you always be directed to a berth (as a visitor) with a neighbour.

Any tips?

 

[Medskipper]

Usually Andy you will be directed to a mooring and help will be at hand to take your stern ropes in a decent marina.
you should moor stern to so alway have a port and starboard warp to hand, use plenty of fenders! The marina staff will hand you a lazy line which you take to the bow and pull tightly before tying it off. Take care with your hands, it's always best to use gloves as the line they hand you may well be sharp with crustaceans.
If no lazy line is available then your anchor has to be dropped before backing into the space, once stern ropes are tied the anchor should be pulled tight.

 

[Jurgen]

Possibly the best example of stern to mooring ?

 

[Johntheoil]

Lots of shouting and deep and meaningfull 'discussions' with SWMBO (don't go there it's a loss-loss situation)
Darling, why did you let the Marineros lift the lazy lines whilst I was using the bow and stern thrusters?
On a more serious note, I've previously berthed alongside the next 'handy' boat, then warped us across later (easy on a 35footer, more difficult on BIG boat) or chosen a convenient 'safe' berth to temporarily use.
Don't forget, you are the skipper so the 'call' (and responsibility) where to go and what is safe is always yours........whatever anyone else shouts to you.
I'm sure some much more experienced med-boaters will be along with sage and detailed advice soon

 

[stranded]

Raggy, so things may be different, but if there are boats to squeeze between and assuming they are well fendered, I tend to use minimal or no fenders to get in - just a tangle waiting to happen - then fender up once parked.

 

[Gentlemanracer]

We had out first stern-to experience st Cambrils last weekend, gamely assisted by Andrew42. It starts with a radio call followed by marinaros waving from the end of a pontoon then pointing; so with fenders deployed we go along the fairway, spot the gap then gulp. Between those two Azzis it is, then, one adorned with witnesses. So, "just" line up & reverse in. Now: whats wrong with a 3.3m beam???

 

[jfm]

To answer first half of Q, it's perfectly possible to berth without neighbours if you're either quick to get the ground line on or have a bowthruster. In a crosswind neighbourless and bowthrusterless scenario, you can also pick up the groundline with the boat's bow into the wind, or have the helper rib hand it to you, then swing 90 degrees into the space, if you want. Either way, it's not a problem. Bowthruster is by far the easiest solution to neighbourless berthing though

To answer second half of Q, no you cannot rely on always being given a berth with neighbours.

If we are being pedantic, the line you attach to your bow is a ground line or bow line. The thinner line tailed to the quay, that you use to pick the ground line up with, is called a lazy line, but the lazy line isn't what you berth with.

 

[NGM]

normally a marinero is on hand to either receive your stern lines (or throw your permanent lines if returning to your home berth). As stated above, he will also pull up the lazy line for you to grab and retrieve the ground line for your bow. In a cross, when neighbourless, I find the real difficulty is not having a marinero there to help. You have to get close enough for someone to hook and tie stern lines and then as quickly as poss repeat for lazy/ground lines - this can be a challenge especially if the thruster is modestly powered of suffering from some mid season fouling. Therefore in any strong cross wind, with a neighbourless berth I would recommend holding off until a marinero is free.

 

[pan]

Assuming it's a decent marina, most Med ones are, then there is no shame in VHF marina & asking for marinero in a dinghy to assist, assuming you feel the conditions warrant it, they would prefer to assist you rather than have damage to other boats or having to put a diver down to untangle bow lines off your props!

Obviously if there is someone on board your windward boat you could ask them to take a line from your bow, to hold your bow from blowing downwind, most boaters are pretty obliging lot, after we have all been there!

 

[Johntheoil]

In a strong cross wind I'd be cautious about holding the boat on the bow thruster whilst the Marinero hauls up the lazy-line to retrieve the ground/bow line.......thrusters and lazy-lines don't make good company.

 

[jfm]

In a strong cross wind I'd be cautious about holding the boat on the bow thruster whilst the Marinero hauls up the lazy-line to retrieve the ground/bow line.......thrusters and lazy-lines don't make good company.

hmm, I wouldn't fully concur there. The marinero on the dock can't pull up the lazy line and twang it up into a bow thruster some 12m away. And in addition the crew person on side deck /foredeck would have to be pretty unfortunate to lead the lazy line or ground line anywhere near the bow thruster in view of the flare of the boat's bow

 

[MapisM]

My question though is what happens if you don't have the luxury of neighbour(s) to stabilise the manoeuvre / bow in a strong cross wind

I'm surprised to see that nobody so far mentioned the most important thing to do in this situation.
After reversing in your place, just throw your upwind stern line at the dock hand, and secure it to your cleat as soon as he has made it fast.
Job done, that's all you need.

From this point onward, you can take your time with all the rest, because that single line is sufficient to keep your boat where you want her to stay, and for as long as you wish.
When the wind pushes your bow, just a touch forward with the engine (the downwind one, if you have the luxury to have two) will keep you straight, regardless of the crosswind strength. Even the most powerful bow thruster isn't anywhere near as effective.
Joysticks, thrusters, dinghy assistance etc. are all nice to have of course, but this approach works without any of these things, and also if singlehanded.

Otoh, I agree with NGM that without a dock hand, mooring stern to is more tricky,
Still feasible in the very same way actually, but not singlehanded, because you must reverse close enough to the dock to allow someone to jump on it and secure the upwind line.
FWIW, if singlehanded and with no dock hand available, I'd rather not try mooring stern to in strong crosswind.

 

[Andy Bav]

Thanks for all your responses so far, all very helpful.

 

[Hurricane]

Andy
I suggest that you have a go on the spare Med moorings in SC
Several people have done this.
I have a couple of points that can be helpful.
Hopefully, I will be out in SC from about the 10th/11th Oct until the end of the month.
If you are out then, pop round and I can explain my technique over a bottle of Cava.
After the second bottle the technique becomes much clearer!

 

[Andy Bav]

Thanks Mike - think we found the Cava you were talking about but disappointed it had gone up to €1.98 extremely drinkable though!

We had planned on a mid October trip but the wife won't be able to fly until early November at the earliest unfortunately.

 

[jrudge]

The nice thing about med mooring is it is totally predictable.

The ropes are the same, the fenders are the same ( 95% of the time ). On the occasions we come along side there is always switching of fenders, ropes and so on.

In a cross wind thrusters are pretty much essential in my book.

Without a neighbour can be a pain but with a reversing camera does not really make that much difference. Single handed parking on a big boat is a pain.

One tip I was given which we sometimes use if windy is the have a line ready on the mid cleat. Tie that to the boat next door and the boat is pretty stable then to sort out lines. Particularly it won't go backwards which is the only thing to hit.

Lastly it is really useful to put the paserelle 3/4 of the way out before you come in. This makes handing lines to the Marinero simple and also allows you to get off to secure lines without gymnastics.

The first time I did it I just read a few articles. Briefed swmbo and it worked.

God luck

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

When the wind pushes your bow, just a touch forward with the engine (the downwind one, if you have the luxury to have two) will keep you straight, regardless of the crosswind strength. Even the most powerful bow thruster isn't anywhere near as effective.
Joysticks, thrusters, dinghy assistance etc. are all nice to have of course, but this approach works without any of these things, and also if singlehanded.

Yes I remember your advice from our stop in Santa Maria Navaressa last year but the problem is that it puts an enormous load on the stern line, the stern cleat and the bollard on the quay, particularly with a powerful planing boat. I tried this technique in Teulada this year in a crosswind mooring situation whilst we messed around with extending our bow lines but the SWMBO started to get worried that we would snap the rope! The problem was that I couldn't just leave one engine in gear and maintain a constant tension on the stern line because actually the bow moved too much; I had to go in and out of gear to hold the boat stationary and that put a huge snatch load on the stern line and the cleat.

IMHO boats are fitted with thrusters just for this situation and if you have them why not use them? Also you can do less damage with the thrusters than with the engines

 

[Medskipper]

Andy
I suggest that you have a go on the spare Med moorings in SC
Several people have done this.
I have a couple of points that can be helpful.
Hopefully, I will be out in SC from about the 10th/11th Oct until the end of the month.
If you are out then, pop round and I can explain my technique over a bottle of Cava.
After the second bottle the technique becomes much clearer!

Much clearer but harder to achieve!

 

[MapisM]

IMHO boats are fitted with thrusters just for this situation and if you have them why not use them?

Can't argue with that, but the "IF" is critical in your assumption.
Aside from the fact that my old tub is not the only thing afloat with no thrusters, a thermal switch can always trip off...
You are also correct re. P boats of course: the righting effect can be too much even at idle (I did say that the technique is even more effective than any B/T, in fact! ), hence requiring a bit of in/out of gear.
But as long as a properly sized stern line is secured to a decent bollard - frinstance, the ones in CF where you are moored atm have been used for boats well in excess of 1000 tons (yes, thousand, not a typo!) - I can assure you that it's feasible.
I fully agree that those cleats where they parked us in SMN last year were a joke, though. Good thing that you did have a b/t and that it didn't trip off, in that occasion!

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

a thermal switch can always trip off...

Yes this is an oft quoted disadvantage of electric thrusters but how often does it happen? I've never experienced a thruster tripping out in many years of boating with boats having thrusters. Yes sometimes they haven't worked but that wasn't because of over use (actually more likely under use!)

What I would say is that your technique is the ultimate get out of trouble method because it's still going to work however strong the wind whereas of course thrusters are sometimes simply not powerful enough