Mooring lines in a F4 plus

[Seastoke]

so over the weekend we have had a bit of wind and it got me thinking ,my lines had a little slack in them ,so the boat moves a little in the wind .But then it got me thinking are they not better tight against the jetty with fenders ,as if the wind is blowing and the lines are slack when the boat moves it has gained a bit of momentom when slack.what do you think is best

 

[[2068]]

I try to have the spring lines to the centre cleats as tight as possible, and bow/stern lines with a fair amount of slack that allows the hull to be a little way off the dock if it’s blowing off.

The distance between my stern cleat and the dock cleat is quite short, so I might add some sort of snubber there.

.

 

[BruceK]

Not so much a problem in the marina but the lines should be loose enough to be able to ride a small wave / wake when in the river without snatching. If they are too tight I have also had fenders pop out above the pontoon and unable to fall back in. I used to go tight but found the ropes would stretch out over the course of a week and now that I do them with a bit of slack of a foot or so they do not and the boat actually sits better in the water. Again this is all in the tidal estuary, in a marina the rules are probably different

 

[[2068]]

Yeah, in a marina it's really sheltered - most of the time!

I posted this up before - this was from last winter.
A couple of mooring lines didn't exactly survive: the outer sheaths got trashed, but no other damage.

 

[jrudge]

Wow. Thought of a more protected marina?

There seem two types of view on moorings. Tight or loose.

I am in the med and do tight bow line / stern lines and relatively slack cross lines.

The stern lines have very large stainless springs on them ( as do pretty much all boats on their perm moorings) to ensure a degree of movement.

I have no idea if you mooring gets as bad as Flower Powers, but I would suggest using springs ( steel ones not the lines) as it removes all the snatching which is what causes the real damage.

If you jetty moves ( like the video) then the boat wont move at the same rate so lines will snatch all the time.

 

[nicho]

Which marina is that?

 

[[2068]]

Which marina is that?

Sparkes in an F9 gusting F10 NW squall.
That was exceptional - it's not usually anything like that.

 

[kashurst]

so over the weekend we have had a bit of wind and it got me thinking ,my lines had a little slack in them ,so the boat moves a little in the wind .But then it got me thinking are they not better tight against the jetty with fenders ,as if the wind is blowing and the lines are slack when the boat moves it has gained a bit of momentom when slack.what do you think is best

I prefer a bit of slack so fenders can relax and stay in position. If you tie up tight to a floating pontoon the fenders just grind against the hull and may pop over the pontoon. In this way most of the time the boat, fenders etc are all in a relaxed state and the boat just bobs up and down. Make sure you have some sort of for - aft springs set up and if possible stern springs so the boat can't move too far.

 

[nicho]

Sparkes in an F9 gusting F10 NW squall.
That was exceptional - it's not usually anything like that.

I thought Sparkes was well sheltered, but I guess not so in a Northeasterly.

 

[Poignard]

I prefer a bit of slack so fenders can relax and stay in position. If you tie up tight to a floating pontoon the fenders just grind against the hull and may pop over the pontoon. In this way most of the time the boat, fenders etc are all in a relaxed state and the boat just bobs up and down. Make sure you have some sort of for - aft springs set up and if possible stern springs so the boat can't move too far.

+1

 

[petem]

Wow. Thought of a more protected marina?

There seem two types of view on moorings. Tight or loose.

I am in the med and do tight bow line / stern lines and relatively slack cross lines.

The stern lines have very large stainless springs on them ( as do pretty much all boats on their perm moorings) to ensure a degree of movement.

I have no idea if you mooring gets as bad as Flower Powers, but I would suggest using springs ( steel ones not the lines) as it removes all the snatching which is what causes the real damage.

If you jetty moves ( like the video) then the boat wont move at the same rate so lines will snatch all the time.

J, it's been suggested to me that cross lines can do more harm than good. Reason being that without them your boat will move with the rest of the raft (Med style).

I have, as you recommend, purchased some permanent lines with chains for the bollard and stainless steel springs to prevent snatching. Another €100 spent.

Incidentally, I always thought the black OEM Fairline lines had a bit of give in them but apparently not.

 

[jrudge]

Given everyone uses them ( except the chartered cat next to me the other day) the aim as far as i am concerned is that my lines support my boat, not everyone elses who cant be ar*** to put cross lines on.

Within them in a blow ( and when visiting sometimes i don't put them on) the swing in the stern can be very significant.

I would not moor for any period of time without them.

 

[TonyR123]

As per jrudge - tightish bow/stern (with stern on springs) and slack cross lines.

 

[petem]

Given everyone uses them ( except the chartered cat next to me the other day) the aim as far as i am concerned is that my lines support my boat, not everyone elses who cant be ar*** to put cross lines on.

Within them in a blow ( and when visiting sometimes i don't put them on) the swing in the stern can be very significant.

I would not moor for any period of time without them.

In the row of boats that I'm on, nobody else has cross lines. So if I used them (assuming I had cleats in an appropriate position) I'd effectively be taking the cross strain of a Phantom 46 and a Dufour 40ft yacht to my starboard side or a Rodman 41 plus 4 or so other boats on my port side. As I said, the guy that does the Gelcoat repairs down there (ex Fairline) says he sees more damage from the use of cross lines than without.

Talking of storms here's a vid from our marina. The crew / marineros earned their many that day!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTvBjjntx0Y

 

[jrudge]

Cant explain that Pete.

I can honestly say that nearly all boats in Cala Dor, Palma and Andraxt ( being the 3 places I tend to take reasonable term moorings) have had cross lines. The damage without them of the boats hitting ( even fendered - but bear in mind winter is 8 months long) would be significant.

The other day the cat i mentioned above did not have them in a blow. He was pushing on me, asked him to put lines on and he did.

A can think of no reason not to put them on.

 

[pan]

Without stern spring lines and a space next to your boat (neighbours boat may be out on the hard) and strong wind on the bow, your boat will try to slew across, the port & starbd stern lines will tend to pull your boat into the quay. I always put loose(ish) stern spring lines on if leaving for extended time or strong winds on the bow forecast. :encouragement:

 

[Greg2]

When in a short term mooring (overnight) we usually have relatively tight springs to keep the boat in for ease of boarding and a bit of slack in the head and stern lines.

On the permanent berth some slack in all lines to allow the boat to ‘ride’ is the way to go.We spent five seasons in a coastal marina just inside the harbour mouth, which sometimes got a little lumpy and we quickly learned that allowing the boat to move reduced wear and tear on the gel coat and avoided fenders popping out as already described. We also have rubbber ‘snubbers’ on all permanent lines to absorb any shock loading from particularly violent movements of the boat.