Single handed marina berths

adpmijs1

adpmijs1

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Hi all,

I'm after some advice.

I'm just about to complete the purchase of my new boat...a Beneteau Oceanis 36 CC. I 've got to go to the prospective marina tomorrow where she will live, and I have a choice of berths to be allocated to me!

More often than not, I'll be sailing single-handed or very short handed (10 yr old crew!), and so was wondering what would be the best type of berth for this situation....

Assuming conditions for the prevailing wind....what would be best?

1) One where I'm being blown into the berth and onto the finger..

2) Blown into the berth, but away from the finger..

3) Blown away from the berth but into the finger..

4) Blown away from both!

I can see some merits in all of these cases...I guess 1) may be favoured for getting in...but may need some nimble foot work to get the lines attached before she drifts into the woodwork, unless a bit of reverse throttle is used to balance it...but if the wind drops....she'll be reversing away with me waving on the pontoon! :-)

As a CC, she's got more than her fair share of windage topsides, and doesn't have a bow-thruster either...but does come with a fin keel and spade rudder so "should" be fairly manoeuverable.

Anyone got any experience of this (single-handing in particular), or can offer any words of wisdom?

Thanks!

Andy
 
Generally being blown onto the finger is a good start.

If you make up a bow (spring) line and pass it outside of everything and back to the cockpit , you can go bow in and drop the line over the dock cleat and make it of on the aft cleat on your boat. Leave the boat in forward gear and it should hold the boat nicely against the finger so you can get another bow line to a forward dock cleat.

I would also try and get a finger so you can berth starboard side to.

The solutin to safe berthing is the ability to manouvre your boat confidently at very low speeds ..... which mean lots of practice.
 
You want to be blown ONTO the finger, that is for sure. It is much harder to deal with an off-finger wind, than an on-finger wind. As you lose way coming into your slip, you will go onto the finger. That's what you want. If you can steer yourself into the middle of the slip, the wind will do the rest for you. Otherwise you will be fighting the wind as you lose way and steerage, and on the contrary will be getting blown onto the boat next door.

Onto or off the pontoon -- if you have a choice (!), probably off the pontoon. That will allow you to keep some degree of power on and get you a bit more steerage.
 
I'd choose option 3. I often single-hand my 35ft boat. My technique is to have a loop of rope on a midships cleat. Motor gently into the berth, drop loop of rope over the cleat at the end of the pontoon, then motor gently against it. Using the rudder, it's possible to line the boat up neatly against the pontoon. I can then drop a stern line over the pontoon cleat and secure it before getting off with a bow line. Works every time!
 
I had a very similar problem to solve and I chose a finger pontoon where I am getting blown onto in the prevailing wind. I use the beam cleats when coming along side single handed and the pontoon mid cleat to secure the boat.

Getting alongside and off the boat to secure her is more important than departing considerations with regards to wind in my opinion.
 
adpmijs1 said:
More often than not, I'll be sailing single-handed or very short handed (10 yr old crew!)
Click to expand...

Agree with the foregoing with one addition:

It’s usually easier to manoeuvre into an “OPEN” berth – that is where the berth is on the “outside” of your vessel’s turn.



I have used the methods above regarding attaching a spring. They work well, but you may find this short-handed method to work well:

My wife has limited mobility. We use the short spring from midships to hold the vessel alongside.

As we approach, my wife sits on the coach roof with a hook-on line - similar to the Bosco 1000 (you can get cheaper with a bigger “jaw”) http://www.mailspeedmarine.com/search.bhtml?productNumber=&keyword=boat+hook&brand=&leaf=&x=0&y=0

I have the line led back to the cockpit round a winch.

As we approach (go past) the pontoon cleat, she hooks on. I take up the slack, the boat eases to a resting place.

I make off the spring.

With the engine ticking over in ahead and the stern kept in (by the rudder turned away from the berth) the boat stays alongside.

I then see about the other lines.
 
Just to be different.

The nicest berth is one that heads into the prevailing wind (sw) when you approach.

( But consider tides too if applicable. A strong cross currant is not fun. You havent mentioned current so assume nought).

Then the only question is-in a bad blow do you want your boat hanging off its mooring ropes ( windward pontoon) or riding up and down on the fenders ( leeward pontoon)?

On the other hand, your boat will handle so well under motor that with practise you will find 'em all a doddle with practise!

Often a marina will let you change berths too, subject to availability.

It is always, in my opinion, a good idea to attach a corner fender to the end of the finger pontoon, and a 'stop' fender to the main pontoon where the bow might touch.
 
Great using midship cleats to keep control. Make your fore and aft lines long enough to hold as you jump off. I leave the made up springs on the pontoon and attach as quick as possible so that the boat cant go far and then make fast at bow and stern...

However my greatest consideration would not be wind but prop walk. My current berth is handy but is wrong for my prop walk. Engaging astern to kill the last of the way swings my stern out off the pontoon and I need to compensate for this by reducing most of my speed before entering the berth.. not the best situation on a windy day. When berthing on the opposite hand that last burst astern slides the stern into place ready for me to jump off. Definitely consider prop walk.
 
Contrary to other posts, I prefer to be blown off both. I used to SH my old Moody 44 and currently SH a 29 footer and have the same preference with both boats.

Why?

The hardest single manoevre that you can do SH is to spring off cause the wind is blowing you on. Tried various versions of highwayman's hitches and it is always hit and miss and always made me nervous. When coming in, if the wind was really strong I would simply fender up on the opposite side, come to rest on my neighbour (or their pontoon if they are out) and warp across. Mostly I managed to go straight in with anything below 20 knots.
 
I agree with smeaks the prop walk is definitely something to concider, If your36cc has a Volvo engine and a fixed prop it will probably have quite a kick to port when going astern.
 
As a fellow 36cc owner you are right to wary of the windage as the bow will react to the slightest puff. Our propwalk is to stbd so selected a stbd berth and although prevailing wind blows us off by using the midship cleat/spring technique we manage in fine.
 
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