Single handed tips

[Laundryman]

I have been reading http://sfbaysss.org/tipsbook/SinglehandedTips.pdf and have found it very good. In the section re, leaving and returning regularly to the same berth, there's a suggestion that it makes more sense to leave your mooring ropes fixed to the pontoon and also your fenders. Anyone doing that, does it work in practice please.? Thanks. Alan

 

[uxb]

Don't seem such a good idea to me. It's much easier to drop a loop over a cleat from the boat than to try and pick up a rope off the pontoon?

 

[Anwen]

Yes, I single hand and have permanent mooring lines attached to the cleats on my pontoon. When I return to my berth, I have a line on my mid ship cleat which I jump off and secure to the adjacent cleat and then loop the spring lines onto the boat cleats. Having the lines already attached to the pontoon makes it much easier to get the boat secured quickly. I have spliced eyes into all of the lines too, which makes it even quicker.

 

[stav]

For the last ten years had the dock fenders and left warps attached to the pontoon/cradle. If the wind is from the wrong direction then have attached the necessary light ropes and perhaps added the extra fenders to protect the boat next door or to enable me to ly along side before warping boat over to my finger, but not used that often.

 

[ProDave]

well my boat lives in a harbour and I leave the mooring lines tied to the harbour and coiled up safely on the harbour wall.

I do take the fenders with me though.

As I come alongside, I have a short centre mooring line that I clip into one of the ladders to secure the boat while I go up the ladder to fetch the lines.

Works single handed for me.

 

[Croak]

"Multi-hulls
A quick note to say that multi-hulls require a skill
set that it well beyond the scope of this book and,
I believe, well beyond the abilities of all but the
most experienced singlehanders. The issue is that
cat’s and tri’s have a nasty tendency to flip. Once
overturned, there is no way to bring them back
upright. Multi-hulls are constantly sailed on the
razor’s edge. It takes an experienced helmsman to
keep them under control. An autopilot cannot
reliability perform this role, but singlehanding
relies on an autopilot. So there is a necessary
contradiction. "

lol

 

[Downsman]

I don't leave my mooring ropes on the pontoon, although I use the same berth. I have put an insulating tape 'marker' round each rope where it runs out of the fairlead. This allows me to put the rope ashore and turn it up on the cleat with the marker at the fairlead, knowing that I will not have to re-adjust the tension on any of the ropes no matter in which order I put them ashore, and she'll be back in the same position as before I left the berth.

 

[Seajet]

One point; if using a visitors' berth it can be a right pain if someone has spliced / whipped their thick 'permanent' lines on and taken up too much space on the cleats ( yes, I've seen a lot which do a figure of 8 first ).

I would never use anyones' permanent lines except maybe temporarily grabbing one if singlehanded, then restoring it to its' place.

Leaving ones' normal, not screwed on special, fenders at the pontoon is absolutely begging for some sort of situation where one ends up alongside a rusty trawler or similar.

If the lines made on are floating type polyprop, they can become a hazard if they get kicked into the water etc, personally even with my own marina berth I'd make the lines on each time, but then I happen to enjoy doing that sort of thing...

 

[Searush]

It is standard practice on the Slate Quay wall at Caernarfon to have mooring warps & fender planks left set up on the wall so it is an easy matter to pick them up & quickly be fully protected against the rough wall & big tidal range.

Visitors generally ignore them & just set up their own gear for a temporary stay. The difference is that visitors tend not to leave their boats unattended like the locals have to.

 

[Seajet]

With high walls there's a good case for the same practice as in some locks, leaving a line of average length where a boats' crew turning up should at least find something to hang onto temporarily.

I've seen quite a few walls with fender planks, I think it wise to chain them on loosely or there'l always be the one who fancies taking it home for his decorating scaffold, leaving the returning resident stuffed !

 

[onesea]

there's a suggestion that it makes more sense to leave your mooring ropes fixed to the pontoon and also your fenders. Anyone doing that, does it work in practice please.?

On a marina berth for winter at present, and have ended up with a combination of both... As always allot comes down to what works for you on your berth..

Must admit if overnight in marina and some one clogs up the cleats with there ropes I would either use them or remove them.

 

[rob2]

There's no need for permanent lines to take up any space on a cleat. Mine are simply hard eye spliced and shackled to the foot of the cleat with spliced soft eyes to drop onto the cleats and winches on the boat. As others have said, when coming alongside single-handed you need a midships line to immobilise the boat whilst you hop ashore to make the proper lines up, whether permanent or not.

Rob.

 

[Tranona]

Yes. Dock fenders on pontoon and lines permanently attached. As topsides are high have a pole with a hook on top at the end of the finger with lines hanging off. Makes it possible to berth a 37' single handed without leaving the deck.

 

[Seajet]

There's no need for permanent lines to take up any space on a cleat. Mine are simply hard eye spliced and shackled to the foot of the cleat with spliced soft eyes to drop onto the cleats and winches on the boat. As others have said, when coming alongside single-handed you need a midships line to immobilise the boat whilst you hop ashore to make the proper lines up, whether permanent or not.

Rob.

When mentioning permanent lines taking up cleat space I did mention a surprising amount of these have a figure of 8 as well...

If springing on alongside with a midships cleat - I agree, an excellent move of course - another line one will need is one around the tiller, I use a line running from one aft mooring cleat to the other across the aft cockpit with one turn round the tiller in between; this gives enough slack to move the tiller as required on approach, but enough friction to keep the helm over as one motors slowly into the spring while sorting out lines.

An autopilot on standby is another option I use now and again, but more usually to keep the helm over than to manouvre beforehand.

 

[haydude]

I have been reading http://sfbaysss.org/tipsbook/SinglehandedTips.pdf and have found it very good. In the section re, leaving and returning regularly to the same berth, there's a suggestion that it makes more sense to leave your mooring ropes fixed to the pontoon and also your fenders. Anyone doing that, does it work in practice please.? Thanks. Alan

I have been sailing single handed for years and the most challenging part is always berthing and going through locks. Perhaps the booklet's author has a small boat, but with a 42ft yacht there is no way I could pick up my warps from the pontoon.

Going through locks there is a pontoon alongside. Here I rig fenders and warps both sides, because I do not know which side will be available before getting in. To prepare I fix the bow warp to the guard wire by the shrouds with a loose knot and I coil the stern warp ready for a lasso. Once in and a alongside I walk to midship with the stern line in my hand I tie the midship cleat and then the stern line. Then I go back and pick the bow line and do that last. If a good soul instead picks my bow warp I lasso the stern one without even leaving the boat.

To get back to my berth the best way is stern to. So I remove the stern mid seat to be able to walk ashore easily and I prepare stern and mid warps running outside and in through the stern ready to pick them up, the bow warp still tied to the guard wire.

Once aligned and near enough to walk to the central pontoon from the stern I grab mid and stern warps that I had prepared, step off, walk to the finger pontoon and tie them one at a time. Depending on the wind I deal with one or the other first, otherwise I take my time.

 

[prv]

For what it's worth, I often sail singlehanded and I leave my lines on my berth. I did that even before I sailed on my own though - it's an "own boat / own berth" thing, not a singlehanding thing.

(If Seajet doesn't like it he can bugger orf - he shouldn't be using my berth anyway! )

My lines are attached with thimbles and splices, so they don't actually block the cleats. Certainly haven't heard any complaints from the motor boat next along the pontoon who shares the cleat midway between us.

Usually, coming back I first pick up a spring that runs forward to a deck cleat level with my cockpit (midships would be better, but there isn't one). Tickover ahead against that holds the boat in place till I put a headline on, then that's us fixed and the rest go on at leisure. Most times, I simply pick up the lines from the pontoon with a boathook; the boat is happy to sit still in the water for a few seconds while I do it. Perhaps due to a long keel and low freeboard?

If there's a strong breeze off the pontoon, to be on the safe side I rig lines from bow and stern, meeting at one of those boathook-mounted carabiners usually used for mooring buoys. There's enough slack in the lines to reach right out with the pole, so all I need to do is grapple a pontoon cleat and I'm secure. I can then haul in and rig the standing lines.

I try to stay on the boat until I have a couple of lines ashore - last thing I want is for something to go wrong and the boat drift off (or even just swing around with one end secured) with nobody on board. Absolutely the rule at my home berth, obviously not always possible visiting elsewhere.

I have dock fenders fitted, but actually get questionable value from them because I put out normal ones as well. The reason is stories of rubbing against a static fender scuffing the hull, where a round one rolls. They'd provide protection if I bashed an un-fendered end of the boat against the pontoon, but I don't think I ever have. More often, they trap the hanging fenders as I slide in or out. Hmm. Might put them on the for-sale forum soon

Obviously, anyone leaving lines and fenders rigged at their berth carries a set on board as well, for use when visiting other ports - a fact that Seajet seems to ignore with his rusty trawler in post 8.

Pete

 

[Seajet]

post 8[/URL].

Pete

Not so obviously Pete, that wasn't what the OP inferred; sounded like take 'your set' of fenders or leave them.

Anyway there's nothing wrong with fixed lines, the old bread knife soon makes a visitors' berth - which it is as soon as you toddle orf - much more welcoming, and anyway there's hours of fun to be had tying such lines in unfathomable knots or 'adjusting' any name sign at the berth !

Now where are you based again ?

 

[prv]

Not so obviously Pete, that wasn't what the OP inferred; sounded like take 'your set' of fenders or leave them.

But that would be silly - what if you have to moor alongside a rusty trawler?

Anyway there's nothing wrong with fixed lines, the old bread knife soon makes a visitors' berth - which it is as soon as you toddle orf

No 'tisn't.

We don't do visitors.

People whose faces aren't recognised get challenged. Only a couple of weeks ago I was hanging around waiting for my mate to finish in the loo block, and one of the liveaboards came and asked me who I was and what I was doing there (obviously you can't remember everyone you've seen around the place). Quite happy once I named my boat and where she's moored, and I thanked him for keeping an eye on the place.

Must warn them to keep an eye out for unsavoury characters in Anderson 22s coming to cut people's warps

Pete

 

[doug748]

Chap I know singlehands his 50 foot modern boat.

He has a raft of fenders at the head of the berth, and motors gently into it with the helm over, in order to hold the boat. The rest he completes at his leisure. Having a plumb bow helps.

 

[dunedin]

Yes. Dock fenders on pontoon and lines permanently attached. As topsides are high have a pole with a hook on top at the end of the finger with lines hanging off. Makes it possible to berth a 37' single handed without leaving the deck.

Snap. Have three ropes looped on the pole,and boat hook ready to lift them.
- centre spring, with loop sized such that when dropped on mid cleat the boat can't touch the front of the berth
- short stern rope, also with loop - drop this over genoa winch to stop stern swinging out
- light rope attached to a bow rope - walk forward pulling this in to secure bow

Could of course just motor forward on spring once secure, provided not dropped other ropes in water