Mooring stern-to

[FatBear]

Hi,
My wife and I are hoping to rent a sailboat in the Napoli area in Italy this fall. I have noticed in a lot of photos that most or all boats are moored stern to the dock. Almost nobody does that here in the US. So what is the drill? How do you go about it without bashing everyone's boat up, looking stupid, etc.? Most boats I've used don't handle all that well backing down.
Thanks!

 

[branko]

This is common system in whole Med. When I sail with my wife it looks like this:
1. Prepare back ropes
2.Prepare Mezzomarinero (hook) for cathing mooring
3. Start to go stern to shore ( as far as you can). Catch 22 is that people park boats like car. Wrong! the boat must have speed to response to steer. So go to shore with reasonable speed and stop the boat not far than 2 metars before shore.
Here lies another Catch 22. People stops the boat too early and boat turned and go to moorings of another berthed boats.
4.My wife than solve mooring on shore(it is easy when somebody is waiting for you on shore), and catch main mooring with hook
5. At that moment my engine is neutral position ( check with looking the sea back if propeller is stop) and I take main mooring from my wife and go to the bow to tie up.
It is very easy when you have a little practice !

 

[Metabarca]

Just to elaborate on Branko's explanation: firstly, you use your own mooring lines on the stern to tie up to the jetty or pontoon. Secondly, you will find a line tied to a ring on the jetty/pontoon and dropping into the water (the other end is tied to something solid on the seabed 15 or so metres out). This is the one that must be grabbed by the crew using the boathook and 'walked' forward to the bows. There, haul it in until as taut as required and tie off to bow-cleat. You can, if you wish, go in bows first. This gives you the advantage of greater privacy (no-one peering at you from the jetty as you eat dinner) but is more awkward for getting on and off the boat.
I hope that's clear!

 

[Guest]

A lot of Meddi moorings have a main line that runs from the bow buoy to shore .... this can be picked up - DO NOT UNTIE !! .... so that bow can fix warp and ease boat back .... other person walks this shore line back to stern and then eases boat back with this by putting weight on it ... don't strain yourself with this .. the boat will come ! Tell bow to stop easing bow warp at 2m so that buoy will dip and let stern near touch wall for you to hook on.

Well that's how mine was set up ... in fact we were normally bows on not stern. More privacy then - no-one looking into cabin. Easier to berth. To depart .... use that shore to buoy line to ease yourself out ....

Oh and keep that line up on deck !! when moored.

 

[alan]

I think the question you asked has been well answered by previous posts.
If you want to have some information on some places to visit in the Bay of Naples(and this summers berthing prices) and some anchorages, then I'd be happy to let you have them; PM (personal mail) me.

Alan.

 

[alistairh]

some times in the med, you have to moor up with an anchor. its a bit like using a lazy line but you drop the anchor 20 meters or so from the dock and reverse in while dropping chain. then tie up as you would with two lines slipped. and once your secure, bring up the chain until its tight.
if you go bows to, you will be made to do this with the kedge. its the same but harder to bring in. the only annoying thing with doing this is that in busy harbours you can catch other peoples anchors and get them annoyed, and also if the anchour dosnt hold you have to do it all over again until it does.
this is how all the harbours in greece make you moor up, could be the same in spain.

 

[bobgosling]

Yes, sounds like Italy and Greece have totally different systems. In Greece we had to drop the anchor two boat-lengths out and pay out chain as we reversed into the berth. Quite easy really. The danger is when leaving you must make quite sure your anchor is raised before you try motoring off anywhere otherwise you hook someone else's chain.

 

[Guest]

Note that on leaving the rule is to watch and wait for the pull off line to sink below the keel and prop before heading off. I know one yacht that suddenly stopped at the end of the marina when the pull off line finally tightened up around the keel. Most times it just breaks and a diver is needed.

Also once some one starts to pull the line up from the bottom the engine should be in neutral. Good marinas send some one down to help and they make sure the line is positioned so it will not come up off the sea floor under the approaching boat.

 

[steve_cronin]

\"you have to do it all over again until it does\"

Most newcomers to Med mooring make this mistake.

The best way to ensure that your hook will hold is to approach the mooring sequence in two phases.

First - drop your hook at a point 35-40 metres from the bows of the boat you are going to fetch up alongside to and pay out around 20metres - the exercise is usually performed in <5 metres of depth in most harbours - but treat this as if you are going to actually ride to a swinging anchor by setting the anchor first by gently reversing back towards the berth (slip) and being CERTAIN that it has bitten. This not only re-assures you that all will be well but it will ensure that the chain keeps the boat straight as you reverse to the quay.

After this is acomplished, move on to phase 2 -

The Approach.

With the knowledge that the bow will be secure and the windlass man paying out the chain you can approach the quay with confidence. Finding the point of steering which is the switch between going left or right - usually a very fine movement either way - will ensure that you have good control. However, there is no time limit so DO IT SLOWLY (Siga, siga as the Greeks have it) and you won't make a fool of yourself nor do any damage.

When within crew leaping distance of the quay, send 'em ashore with the stern lines, make fast and when happy pull up on the chain to keep you off the wall.

Some places, particularly marinas have lazy lines and/or bouys to allow you to pick up a fixed mooring line which is tailed to the quay. Expect, however to be handling a barnacle encrusted and very muddy line so if there are gloves available, make sure that your crew member is wearing them. The main line needs to be gotten on board and run up to the foredeck quickly before any cross wind gives you a leverage problem and you end up involuntarily moored alongside instead!.

Whatever happens don't make the mistake of dropping masses of chain and charging backwards for the quay. Then you really WILL look like a rookie when you DO "have to do it all over again until it does"

Steve Cronin



There is very little rise and fall of tide except up in the northern Adriatic (<1 metre)

 

[ShipsWoofy]

One of the posters on Mobo chat 'TCM' wrote a really good 'how to' on this subject. I copied it out and saved it, I will have a search now and post it verbatim back here, it was so worth a read I kept it.

Back in a bit....

 

[Tomkat17]

Re: \"you have to do it all over again until it does\"

When dropping the anchor, the only issue I would raise is that if there is a strong wind blowing from the beam you can't do it too slowly as your bows will be blown off which sometimes leads to the anchor being dropped on top of your neighbours. If in doubt ask for help from others already moored. They are usually very glad to fend off or handle lines.

 

[steve_cronin]

Re: \"you have to do it all over again until it does\"

No, No, No. You aren't addressing the point which was having to do it all again because the anchor is not in. Get the flaming thing properly set BEFORE you start to approach the quay and all will be well. Just dump it and run and you're building in potential problems. Unless it's some skittish lightweight, your boat isn't going to blow about much in the few moments it takes to get a grip of the bottom in shallow water. Besides which my "Slowly" was referring to the speed of final approach between the neighbouring boats when wind won't be a factor as you will be in their shadow.

I follow this procedure a couple of times a day and often watch the antics of the charters with great amusement. I had an italian (god Bless the Ionian this and last month!) leaning on me all night on Sunday last because he backed his motorboat into half a space in Gaios without first securing his anchor.

The only refinement we have and this is down to being only two handed is that after my wife has set the anchor and ensured that it is holding, I switch control over to the cockpit buttons so that she can come back to deal with the lines whilst I use a combination of engine, windlass & steering to guide me back with great precision.

Only time I can remember getting it wrong was in Sami four years ago when we didn't ensure that the anchor was holding before reversing and got a couple of scratches in the gelcoat AND the admonishment of a senior and well known UK yachting correspondent who was standing on the quayside as a result.

Steve Cronin

 

[steve_cronin]

Having had visitors sever our marina berth pick-up line twice now we have joined several of our neighbours in fitting a pick-up bouy attached by a straight up-straight down 6mm riser to a sinker (big shackle) in a loop in the bow line. This sits just off the stbd bow when we are in position and it is the simplest job for my wife to retrieve it with a boathook and temporarily hold the bows straight until Mr Muscle can get to the foredeck and retrieve the heavy line from the harbour bed after he has secured the stern to the pontoon. The old lazy line isn't used to retrieve the bow line at all now but just to locate it.

As to the original posting. perhaps we should point out that end on mooring in the Med is of either this type, with a fixed line, by using one's anchor - say on a basic quayside and also, what our US contributor might actually be used to, "Slip mooring" - four poles, one at each corner, which is common in some of the newer italian Marinas now.

Steve Cronin

 

[Tomkat17]

Re: \"you have to do it all over again until it does\"

Steve - Not disputing the point of setting the anchor. I am making reference to something which has as yet not been addressed in the other posts, which the difficulty you can get into when a strong cross wind is blowing. This will be an issue to the novice if they are too tentitive in the process.

 

[steve_cronin]

Re: \"you have to do it all over again until it does\"

Once you've got the anchor in and you're moving (backwards) through the water, your keel and the trailing chain will keep you on the straight & narrow. Imagine what difficulties they will get into if they ahve to go out and re-do it because the hook trips, not to mention some blighter assuming that they're off and trying to pinch their spot!

Steve Cronin

 

[Appleyard]

Re: \"you have to do it all over again until it does\"

Steve...Good advice ...But any tips on how to Med-moor when single handed? I have an electric winch but no remote ,so can't be on the bows and at the wheel at the same time.My method has been..up till now ..to line the boat up about three lengths out,release the chain clutch,nip back to the wheel and take her in astern ,throw mooring lines to kind bod on quay,(there is almost always someone who will take them) ,make fast and then nip back up to bows and take up the slack in the chain. It,s a bit hairy at the best of times,so if there is another method I would be very interested to hear.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

Mooring stern-to The TCM way

Posted originally by tcm, was on Mobo chat, but is worth the read... (
I made it to pdf for my own reference, but this appears to have ruined the layout a little, sorry)

Stern-to mooring need not be a nightmare, espcially larger boats since althoug they have more windage they have much more inertia. Singlehanding is perfectly feasible, especially if you are into your own home berth as i will explain. There are two main different styles of berth - those witha lazy line leading from the quay out to a bigger rope or chain to hold the bow out into the fairway, and those with no gear in the water and you have to use an anchor. Doing anything at speed is usually a bad idea. You need fenders and plenty of them position at the widest part of the boat. The CG is nearer the rear, not the bow. Fenders can be dragged by neighbouring fenders as you go in so make sure they are attached near the stanchions where support is stronger, otherwise the guardrails can get bent. Main things is the wind. Ideally you want this blowing straight off the pontoon, so that it never pushes you sideways or onto the quay. The wind is almost never like this. Most important thing even the pros get wrong is the wind. This determines whether you sort-of line up with the bow a bit to the left or a bit the right as seen by someone on the quay. Whichever way the wind is coming from, make sure you reverse INTO the wind as you go into berth. This gives more control: - if you reverse with the wind then just as you think you have got it right the wind will take the bow and whack it into the downwind boat - and with a bowthruster you would be helping this happen really quickly. Hence, start the manoevre with the bow downwind so that you are reversing tiowards the wind. You need to have lines set up, but the boat driving is everything. The crew can save the boat if you catclysmically cock it up, but that's a bonus. Really ,though, it's entirely down the the driving. If you have spare crew, gettem to use a roving fender and direct them to where they are needed. It's usually on the downwind side. As you reverse, with twin engines and shafts, set the steering dead ahead and don't touch the wheel again. look towards the stern, and now think of the stern as actually being the bow - and the operation of the throttle becomes obvious. The starboard engine aft ("fwds" as seen going in reverse) will move the stern towards port , the port engine aft (fwds as seen going backwarrds) moves the stern to stbd, and vice versa. There is initially a tendency to "drive" the boat in, but this should be avoided - you are only moving the boat a small distance - only a tiny bit more that its own length, so essentally everything can be done on tickover, dropping the engines in and out of gear unless it really is blowing hard 6 which it rarely doesin the protection of the marina. Okay, bow downwind. Both engines astern, to get sternward movement of a knot, then drop the inside (of the curve) engine out of gear untill the boat comes into the slot and lined up. You want to catch the moment the boat is lined up. At that moment give both engine a short time in reverse and it goes straight back. But gently mind, not a "burst". It will look a bit slow. Let your maxim be that if the crew are getting a bit bored - it's
the right speed. Hopefully, the boat will now be going down the slot, frghteningly close on both sides. Resist the temptation to take it faster- if the boat is going in, relative to the neighbour there are only a few metres to go to the quay. With a bit of experience, you will be able to get the rearward speed just slow enough so that the boat is almost static as it reaches the quay. If you go at speed, you need to graunch stop the speed, then in turn undo that forward movement and so on which is a right mess. You should be able to stop the boat at the righ point agauin just by dropping both engines ahead for a second. The slower the move into the berth the better - less speed to try and wash off at the end. A "silent mooring" forbids any speech. This is necessary on big boats or in high winds cos you can't hear anything. Have someone at the stern hold fingers up to count down the distance ten metres, 5,4,3,2, and stop the boat. Ask them to ONLY give the distance NOT direct by saying things like "Back a bit!" - otherwise there 's lack of clarity does this mean go sternwards more, or are they seeing the stern of the boat as as the front, driving into the quay, hence does "Back!" really means "put the engines ahead!" Single handed , you must make sure you have stopped the boat, ready to leave the helm and attend to lines. Check the boat is stopped by looking sideways at the neighbourting boat. One option is to hang off the neighbouring boat immediately, a quick turn with a short line cleat to cleat gives some breathing space. If this isn't possible, or at any rate once you've stopped the boat, you need to decide which lines to get first- bow or stern. Obviously its the upwind line, and same applies choosing which sternline - the one furthest upwind is the one that stops the boat moving first. In day boating to and from your own berth, you can leave you own lines hooked over the fenders of the neighbouring boat. Lettem know you are doing this, and/or make sure the lines are just hooked over such that if the boat drove off, the lines are dropped. The same goes for the "lazy lines" - you can hookem over a fender instead of dropping the water and having to fish them out all over again. Make sure you leavethem well to the back of the berth - to avoid catching them with the props. If using an anchor you must first be very sure that you need an anchor- i put an anchor down where there were lazy lines and it was a right mes (diver €100) to get it out. It is quite feasible to single hand with an anchor, dropping it 3 to 4 boat lengths out and coming back gently against it steadily letting it come all the way. In wind, this must all be down a bit more briskly - the wind will catch hold more severely and more quickly. Wind or not, you aim should be to keep the movement into the berth reasonably smooth - a load of reversing loses "way on" or directional stabiilty. Again, going easy on the throttles mean you won't need loads of undoing the gentle rearward movement. Bowthrusters are useful to help reach that point at which you are nicley lined up and ready to go in both astern - to stop the bow swinging about, and kee it stopped from moving about which if it did trnslates to the stern going to wrong way as well.
But often, reagrdless, the boat starts going off course and not nice and straight in. Remebring the throttling thing, pull the boat back from imminent crunch by ahead with the throttle on the other side, and (if you have one) bowthruster away - but remeber that the throttle movement is much more important - if you use the bowthruster alone to try and stay off a neighbour it wion't work - in fact it will push the bow around to drive into him all the more decisively. In extremis, if you are a bit knackered and boat is gonna crunch before you get into the slot, do not try a heroic last gasp big-throttle escape - use the throttles only to lose speed relative to that neighbour, and ask crew to stuff in a fender at the impact point - this will usually be cheaper that the highe speed glancing blow between you and a downwind boat. Pilots have no problem with one tip- if it's gone to rats, come out, calm down, start again. They call this "going around". Also, some berths are just too hard for some boats in some conditions, so try somehwere else, or another time. Stern-to mooring is much harder on an empty pontoon, with no other boats around, than with a full pontoon and just one space for you - there's no wind in a slot, whereas there's lots of wind in empty space. If you have space and depth, and there are lazy lines, just come alongside, stop, put a longish sternline on and haul the bow out on the lazy line. Sometimes, people start trying to help and the least useful can sometimes marina staff, especially if as you begin to come in, they begin to take up the slack in the lazy lines, hoping to pass you a taut line for quick attachement to the bow. But in fact they can sometimes be doing mor harm than good- cos they tension up the line right under your props. Be wary of this, and if necessary stoppem taking up that line. As the lazy line fwd is sometimes sometimes cholera-ridden, have some crappy gardening gloves around to avoid cutting yourself on coral growth on the line. Oh, finally, other will know if any of this works with sterndrives - I've mostly used shafts.

 

[FatBear]

Thanks to everyone for so much advice. Sounds like I'm in for a new adventure!

Dogwatch, if you do find that write-up, I'd like to see it, too. More details cannot hurt!

 

[ShipsWoofy]

I think I must have deleted it, sorry.

 

[billcowan]

Just a note. for coming to an empty jetty when there is a wind as has been said, is very difficult. But rare! every marina is chock a block and the med in summer rarely has anything like wind. However, when faced with this, especially if short handed. Just come alongside as you would in UK. then pick up your pull off line, and just pull yourself round into the end on position. A lot of people forget that its often easier to just tie onto anything handy, and then walk your bout to the final position.

Another tip for coming in bow first if its very windy. Just drive right in at speed, well fendered on the leward side and mash into the neighbouring vessel. Station your helper amidships on the leward side with instructions to grab any part of the neighbour they can. Then observing which way their arms are being pulled out of their sockets, you use ahead and astern to come to a stop, you then rush up the windward side deck and leap onto the jetty with the bow lines if the wind is from ahead, or if it is from behind, just grab the pickup line with the hook and pull like billy ho as you go back to the stern. works a treat.

The rest of the time you dont need much fenders, everybody else has them!