On the water at last - mooring advice please?

[Sire]

Hi

Well, yesterday evening some friends and I managed to get our boat launched.
Although the process wasn't totally free of, um, issues, it wasn't the comedic disaster that I was expecting.

The slipway is right next to the mouth of the river Vuoksi - the outlet of Saimaa into lake Ladoga. The current is really strong. Anyway, the outboard kept running, we didn't get sucked into the hydro-electric power station, and I managed to motor round to our mooring:

The mooring is the usual type for Finland, namely a rear buoy and some form of attachment to the pontoon.

The question is, how best to handle the actual mooring process.

It was relatively easy to hook a line onto the rear bouy. At this point however I've lost steerage way, and the bows blow off downwind. Engaging forward gear I immediately worried about getting the line around the prop.

My assistant on the bank suggested I steer with the outboard, which worked but I needed two hands, one for the outboard and one for the rudder. this of course left no hands free to pay out the mooring line and keep it away from the motor.

After a couple of approaches I managed to get the bows close enough for the chap on shore to grab the pulpit, and we tied up as you can see. Actually I think I should have left the line to the bow a bit looser - it looks a bit strained in the photograph. Also I could have adjusted the fenders a bit. They are just as the ex owner left them.

So, anyway, how to handle this type of mooring?

One idea I had - would it be easier to arrange a rope between the buoy and pier, arrange a line from the bows back to the cockpit, and use this bow line for the buoy, and pull myself in backwards with the permanent rope? But how do I manage when mooring elsewhere?

Thanks!

"Z"

 

[KAL]

I'd suggest fixing a floating line (or a sinking one with a pick-up buoy attached) between the aft buoy and the pontoon. Then you simply motor up slowly past the aft buoy, pick up the floating line (which you can then use to hold the boat), affix to the aft, then the pontoon, et voila! (or whatever they say in Finland...)

It's a bit like mooring to a trot, I suppose.

 

[Searush]

That style of mooring is very specific to your area. You need to see what the locals do & chat to your neighbours. From your charming pic, you may need to wait a week or two for them to arrive. Altho you could go & look at the white boat behind you.

 

[ProDave]

My thought is you want to set it up as a running mooring, so you can pull the boat up to the pontoon to get on and off, and pull the boat back away from the pontoon when leaving it.

But you do need to check what others do. If leaving a permanent line between the pontoon and bouy, perhaps you need to put a marker bouy on it when you leave the mooring in case anyone tries taking a short cut?

 

[nimbusgb]

Hmm. I can't see your aft bouy or is it the one well off to your stbd side? I see a line attached to that one. Is it yours or is it a 'lazy line' attached to the pontoon already? It seems to run off in the wrong direction.

My approach would be to hook a line to the bouy and then motor up to the pontoon. stop close enough for someone to hop off the bow and tie
up forward, then take up slack on the aft line to hold her off. Alternatively do a mediterranean style mooring. With a sinking line from the pontoon to the bouy. Back into the mooring, right up to the pontoon. Lasso a bollard ( don't see any on the pontoon so fit one yourself ) then pick up the bow line and haul up tight.

 

[PeterR]

Your neighbours all appear to have sinking lazy lines running from the buoy or post to the pontoon. If you do not already have one I would do the same. When you moor you just pick up the end of the line while you set a stern rope to the buoy and then pull yourself forwards.

 

[Sire]

Wow! lots of replies already, thank you all very much.

It really will be a few weeks before I can discuss with my neighbours, I'm off to Europe and the UK for a fortnight now. In any case I think it will be a while before the more sane element puts their boats on the water here.

nimbusgb, you can just about make out my buoy - it's visible through my pushpit, slightly to my port side. I'm going to slaken off the bow line a bit tomorrow (before I truck off to Paris ) as it looks like if I don't my 17 footer is going to be 19' when I get back At least I know there is enough 'give' to be able to pull her to the pontoon for boarding.

It seems that the consensus is indeed that I need to rig a line between the buoy and pontoon. I'll attend to that when I get back from my trip.

Anyway you've all given me food for thought...

Thanks again

"Z"

 

[Fantasie 19]

I'd suggest fixing a floating line (or a sinking one with a pick-up buoy attached) between the aft buoy and the pontoon. Then you simply motor up slowly past the aft buoy, pick up the floating line (which you can then use to hold the boat), affix to the aft, then the pontoon, et voila! (or whatever they say in Finland...)

It's a bit like mooring to a trot, I suppose.

+1

..it will also make it easier when you're solo sailing with no-one to jump ashore...