One or Two springs when moored.

[MADRIGAL]

Force of habit from working on big ships, I always try and use bow and stern, fwd and aft breasts, and two springs. I also believe in one line one job.
I also so the cleating to the boat with only the spliced end placed over the cleat on the dock so that other boats can use the same cleat (by dipping the eye).

If I was there only for the night, then I'd perhaps forego the breasts if conditions were light.

While docking the boat this may not be the configuration I use, but once engine is off and boat settled I'll go out and rearrange.

I have seen only single springs used (3 lines total) but I wouldn't be comfortable with these even though I've seen it done reliably.

If you don't have that many lines, you can use longer lines to double up their jobs but just ensure they way they're setup allows it to still do their other job if it was to part in one place.

That’s definitely the belt and braces approach. Poorly secured small boats go adrift quite frequently. It’s easy to assume that because they are small, they don’t need proper lines.

 

[johnalison]

Mooring often involves a bit of flexibility, and even creativity. While a basic mooring set-up may stop a boat from breaking free, it often leads to a jerking motion if there is a slop in the marina or anything of a wind. A heavy boat might not notice this but my 5 tons certainly does and I like to use long lines if possible. On a finger, the two bow lines will stop the boat from moving aft securely, but may need snubbers for comfort, or better still a spring from the boat's stern forwards. In an exposed box mooring I have even been driven to running a line forward from each stern quarter to the shore at the bow to ensure a bit of sleep.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

The springs keep the boat from moving forward or aft. The bow lines keep it parallel with the pontoon.

 

[johnalison]

The springs keep the boat from moving forward or aft. The bow lines keep it parallel with the pontoon.

That is only partly true. A boat with a pair of springs properly set up will lie fairly quietly and will only exercise the bow and stern lines occasionally compared to one without springs.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

That is only partly true. A boat with a pair of springs properly set up will lie fairly quietly and will only exercise the bow and stern lines occasionally compared to one without springs.

My home berth, in Malahide, has a very strong tidal current on a north-south axis, (i.e. in line with the pontoon), that changes direction every 6.5 hours or so, coupled with prevailing winds from the southwest that veer through to northwest constantly, combined with easterlies about one third of the time, so the boat is pushed every which way.

 

[[70521]]

Two and please use decent lines.

Last winter we had a storm from the SE and the number of boats who had snapped their rater thin mooring lines had the marina assistants rather busy.

Having visited a lot of marinas this summer the thin line was repeated time and time again. The number of locking turns were amazing, I counted a maximum of 10 on one cleat, will not stop a line snapping