Rafting responsibilities

[Nick_H]

From the bow fairlead to the quay

Look closely, it's a black rope not a white one, but clearly visible

 

[ostra4]

Well spotted ,yes it does -

 

[Jonmendez]

One other aspect is that if you all have lines ashore, if there is room ahead or astern the inner boats can leave just by sliding out even if the other boats are unattended by using a crew member ashore to tighten the other raftees lines after, the crew can be collected from the outer boats after. Had to do this many times over the years.

 

[MapisM]

Well spotted ,yes it does -

Ah, but! Yes, very well spotted. But nope, it doesn't.
I'll explain that with some other pics I made, but I don't have on the pc I'm using ATM.
Will follow up asap, stay tuned....

 

[superheat6k]

Yes sail boats and mobos are different shapes and should avoid rafting with each other wherever possible

They actively practice Yacht / Mobo separation in certain harbours e.g. Bembridge, but i don't fully agree with this. A 30 - 40' powerboat presents a broad flat surface to moor against, and is less prone to rolling on its fenders with tide or wind changes. 2 or 3 Mobos inner boats properly secured on a raft of five would be a very stable raft

Besides this separation exacerbates this Us and Them problem. I like being amongst the raggies, was one for long enough, and it is only by chatting and discussing the drawbacks of each discipline are the barriers broken down, especially for those newer to boating.

 

[MapisM]

I actually thought to have some clearer pics, but here goes anyway.
That line which Nick_H spotted is actually attached to the other icebreaker moored in front of the two sisterships rafted.
Which makes good sense, imho.
As someone previously mentioned, it does make sense to bring SPRING lines ashore, but if there's space in the dock, why raft at all?
The mooring arranged by these folks seem to confirm this logic...

 

[MapisM]

Yes sail boats and mobos are different shapes and should avoid rafting with each other wherever possible

Can't see the point of that, tbh.
I mean, yes, for any given size, sailboats are normally lower than mobos, but that's no big deal. It's rather the hull curvature of sailboats that makes a difference.
But that's something which doesn't make sailboats unsuitable for rafting with mobos, it makes them unsuitable for rafting at all - arguably, even more so when both the rafted boats have such hull shape.
Not meant as a criticism, of course. There are good reasons behind the hull shape of sailboats, obviously.
But separating sailboats and mobos sounds like a moboer idea, cause imho it makes life easier only on the mobo "side"...
Where would sail catamarans be supposed to raft, btw??

 

[JumbleDuck]

If the inner boat does lose a cleat, or a warp breaks, the whole raft is unstable.

There is a lot of weight in a raft of boats, irrespective of sail or mobo. Expecting the inner boat to take all the weight of the raft on its gear is unseamanlike.

Agreed completely. For the structural engineers here, this discussion is reminiscent of the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse. In that case there were two walkways suspended above an atrium which were supposed to be hung off the same support bars. To simplify construction the contractor changed the design so there was one bar (on each side) from the rood to the higher walkway and another from the higher walkway to the lower. The result was that the connections between the higher walkway and the bars to the roof were taking the loads of both walkways instead of, as designed, the higher only. A hundred and fourteen people died when those joints failed and both walkways collapsed.

Asking any boat's cleats and lines to take the mooring forces of two, three, four ... eight or more boats is just asking for trouble.. Maybe not on a nice calm day in a peaceful harbour, but if it blows up a bit or a fishing boat decides to belt past at full chat with a mountainous wake the forces can be enormous.