soft shackle as midships cleat alternative

[EddBee]

It seems that solo sailing is going to be a skill I need to acquire, if I can't magic up a freely available, willing crew to mess around on 22ft of GRP bathtub at the drop of a hat. the most daunting thing about this for me is coming in and out of a lock, and eventually getting in to the marina berth, so I am looking at putting something amidships to make it all easier.
I am reluctant to drill if not absolutely necessary so was thinking of a soft shackle and block attached to the shroud bottle screw with a line running back to the cockpit (cleat) inside and outside of everything with a loop to catch the pontoon on entry.
If i assume this is temporary until the proper mooring lines are on and secure, and I'm not coming in apace, will this be a functional solo mooring set up?
I did look at the cleats that clip onto the sheet cars but space and money is tight...

 

[Georgio]

if you are going to do this i would attach the soft (or hard) shackle onto the chainplate/ubolt for the shroud, not the bottlescrew. The bottlescrew is not designed to take a side load.

I don't have a mid-ship cleat but I occasionally take a line around the mast and then out under the guard rail between the shrouds. Works well as a temporary line. I have a keel-stepped mast so it's not going anywhere.

 

[lw395]

I think this could give the rig a hard time.
I would say bite the bullet and fit some cleats. They need not be huge and for a 22ft boat, nylon ones might be OK.

Alternatively, have a line running from bow cleats to stern cleats, with a small loop in the middle and take a line from the loop.

The big deal of centre cleats is that you can quickly get a line from boat to shore and back to boat, and cleat it. All from one place on the boat, with a fairly short, manageable warp. Having to take the line back to the cockpit to secure it is not the real deal.

 

[DHV90]

Try a pair talines spliced onto caribeaner clips then you can easily and quickly snap a line onto any u bolts, the toe rail etc. To get a good mooring line midships to port and starboard. Much quicker than a soft shackle.

Also worth adding, running it back to the cockpit could be more complicated and time consuming than a fixed length warp with a loop on the end so you can drop it over the cleat in your lock and know that its the right length to motor against while you tie.the rest of your lines

 

[Daydream believer]

You do not need springs in a lock if passing through.
Get a fairly thick stern line ( does not get kinks in it easily & coils better)with a loop to fit over the cleat & the free end under the guard rail & back into the cockpit.
You also need a bow line pre fitted to the cleat. One each side in case you have to change sides a bit quick on entry.
As you are at the helm you do not have to run forward to fix the spring but have a line ready next to you to catch a bollard or a riser chain or whatever to get the boat stopped on approach. Doing this from the cockpit means you are near the helm & throttle. Flip the free end onto a winch with a clove hitch- it is quick & easy to do. Leave the engine on tickover & forward gear. This will hold the bow in. Go forward & fix the bow. You now have the boat held & can quickly swop the stern line for a longer one enough for the rise & fall.( do not try a long line at first it just causes tangles) Then leaving the boat in tickover you only have to tend the bow line provided you have fastened the stern line to a high enough bollard.
Even if you miss you can reverse back & get the stern in to the wall & hook on.
Whatever you do , do not fix the bow first. Quite often in a lock with a spring the stern will just swing out & make it hard to get the line on & crunch the bow on the lock wall Especially if the spring is not in tight.
After 300+ lock passages ( 50% single handed) I have found a spring is no longer needed.

 

[Stemar]

A centre line is invaluable for coming alongside in less than benign conditions. Jissel doesn't have a centre cleat, but I have a line with a snap shackle attached which I hook on to my middle stanchion base. It shouldn't be strong enough, but it's one of those things that was rigged in a hurry when I needed it and because it worked so well, it never got the permanent fix. The shackle is chosen with the idea that it should break before the stanchion base (I hope )

 

[PaulRainbow]

You do not need springs in a lock if passing through.
Get a fairly thick stern line ( does not get kinks in it easily & coils better)with a loop to fit over the cleat & the free end under the guard rail & back into the cockpit.
You also need a bow line pre fitted to the cleat. One each side in case you have to change sides a bit quick on entry.
As you are at the helm you do not have to run forward to fix the spring but have a line ready next to you to catch a bollard or a riser chain or whatever to get the boat stopped on approach. Doing this from the cockpit means you are near the helm & throttle. Flip the free end onto a winch with a clove hitch- it is quick & easy to do. Leave the engine on tickover & forward gear. This will hold the bow in. Go forward & fix the bow. You now have the boat held & can quickly swop the stern line for a longer one enough for the rise & fall.( do not try a long line at first it just causes tangles) Then leaving the boat in tickover you only have to tend the bow line provided you have fastened the stern line to a high enough bollard.
Even if you miss you can reverse back & get the stern in to the wall & hook on.
Whatever you do , do not fix the bow first. Quite often in a lock with a spring the stern will just swing out & make it hard to get the line on & crunch the bow on the lock wall Especially if the spring is not in tight.
After 300+ lock passages ( 50% single handed) I have found a spring is no longer needed.

I use a midships line, but in a similar way to your stern line. I double a mooring line and run it forwards, around the front of the midships cleat and back to the cockpit. A spliced eye on one end goes over a sheet winch and the other end is taken around the winch 2 or 3 turns. I also have a stern line rigged as you describe. When coming alongside i drop the midships line over the bollard/cleat and leave the engine ahead, at tickover. I can adjust the line from the cockpit, as it's tied to the winch. I then tie the stern line off. No need for a bow line and no need to leave the cockpit. With just the midships line tied off and the engine ahead the bow can be turned in or out by moving the rudder.

 

[Daydream believer]

I use a midships line, but in a similar way to your stern line. I double a mooring line and run it forwards, around the front of the midships cleat and back to the cockpit. A spliced eye on one end goes over a sheet winch and the other end is taken around the winch 2 or 3 turns. I also have a stern line rigged as you describe. When coming alongside i drop the midships line over the bollard/cleat and leave the engine ahead, at tickover. I can adjust the line from the cockpit, as it's tied to the winch. I then tie the stern line off. No need for a bow line and no need to leave the cockpit. With just the midships line tied off and the engine ahead the bow can be turned in or out by moving the rudder.

You are dead right about not always not needing a bow line but if you get the water coming in from the front rather than going out it can catch the bow & push the bow out & catch one out sometimes.
Occasionally someone may complain in a small deep lock about engines running if there is no breeze to clear the fumes so one has to have a certain amount of consideration towards others

 

[PaulRainbow]

You are dead right about not always not needing a bow line but if you get the water coming in from the front rather than going out it can catch the bow & push the bow out & catch one out sometimes.
Occasionally someone may complain in a small deep lock about engines running if there is no breeze to clear the fumes so one has to have a certain amount of consideration towards others

I turn the engine off as soon as the stern line is made fast.

You have a point with the bow line, when i'm bow up against the lock gates and the water the other side is high i do rig a bow line (last), as the water coming in pulls the bow around a bit, although it wouldn't go too far with the midships line in place.

I also find the same principle with the bow line, but in reverse, works well when reversing into a finger berth. I drop the loop over the cleat at the end of the finger and keep the end in my hand, if the wind tries to blow me off the finger i just snub the line and the boat gets pulled back to the finger.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

You do not need springs in a lock if passing through.
Get a fairly thick stern line ( does not get kinks in it easily & coils better)with a loop to fit over the cleat & the free end under the guard rail & back into the cockpit.
You also need a bow line pre fitted to the cleat. One each side in case you have to change sides a bit quick on entry.
As you are at the helm you do not have to run forward to fix the spring but have a line ready next to you to catch a bollard or a riser chain or whatever to get the boat stopped on approach. Doing this from the cockpit means you are near the helm & throttle. Flip the free end onto a winch with a clove hitch- it is quick & easy to do. Leave the engine on tickover & forward gear. This will hold the bow in. Go forward & fix the bow. You now have the boat held & can quickly swop the stern line for a longer one enough for the rise & fall.( do not try a long line at first it just causes tangles) Then leaving the boat in tickover you only have to tend the bow line provided you have fastened the stern line to a high enough bollard.
Even if you miss you can reverse back & get the stern in to the wall & hook on.
Whatever you do , do not fix the bow first. Quite often in a lock with a spring the stern will just swing out & make it hard to get the line on & crunch the bow on the lock wall Especially if the spring is not in tight.
After 300+ lock passages ( 50% single handed) I have found a spring is no longer needed.

Leaving the engine in forward and on tickover is spot on, but a short midships spring on a bight, that can be tended from the cockpit is much more effective in preventing the bow (or stern ) swinging out in a temporary mooring situation, such as in a lock or when coming alongside a pontoon, allowing the bow and stern lines to be made up at leisure in the latter example. It's particularly applicable to marina berths, where the pontoon is usually shorter than the boat.

 

[Daydream believer]

Leaving the engine in forward and on tickover is spot on, but a short midships spring on a bight, that can be tended from the cockpit is much more effective in preventing the bow (or stern ) swinging out in a temporary mooring situation, such as in a lock or when coming alongside a pontoon, allowing the bow and stern lines to be made up at leisure in the latter example. It's particularly applicable to marina berths, where the pontoon is usually shorter than the boat.

When you say " on a bight" do you mean a large loop from the midships cleat round the bollard then to the stern cleat thus allowing the rope & boat to slide along the line. Or do you mean a line from the midships cleat to the bollard , back to the cleat then back to the cockpit where you can tighten it, thus reducing the length of the loop to the cleat?