Spring lines

[Rum_Pirate]

Which is the correct way to use spring lines.

The left picture or the right picture?

 

[tom_sail]

I go for left, only becasue i dont have midship cleats.

I find the left easier to slip lines if short handed. Person on bow can deal with both lines and someone or helm with aft lines.

 

[BlueSkyNick]

Which is the correct way to use spring lines.

The left picture or the right picture?

I can't see the pictures for some reason, but reckon that 90% of the boats in marinas are using springs incorrectly. ie both to the midship cleat on the boat. This stops the boat going back and fore but does nothing to help keep the bow and stern in to the pontoon.

 

[E39mad]

Not sure but your 2nd boat picture looks like my local landmark:

http://happy-valley.org.uk/whtnan.htm

 

[boguing]

Either works perfectly. The point of springs is to stop fore and aft movement, bow and stern lines are only to stop yaw.

The difference is partly dependant on what the lines are made of. If you might suffer from fore and aft surge, then the longer length (on the left) will be more comfortable.

 

[Simondjuk]

Only the left are proper springs. The right are marina springs.

 

[mcframe]

Which is the correct way to use spring lines.

The left picture or the right picture?

IMNSHO, on the left - round turn & bowline on the upright of the pontoon cleat, thence to my outboard bow cleat forward (cheese on the foredeck, please Mr 6-yo mate ;-) and primary winch aft.

"One rope, one job." as the blessed TomC might say - more by accident than design, I'm colour-coded - red for bow/stern, navy for springs and light blue for rafting shorelines. (special circumstances may require the 3-ply VeryVeryLongLine, or the thick white anchorplait TowTheQueenMary line.)

Edit: Yes, I've got midships cleats, but rarely use them - apart from single-line initial mooring and offering them to raftees.

 

[stav]

Have used both, I guess technically the pic on the left is more correct. The one on the left would be used where you are against a wall with a tidal range and the longer the spring the less adjusting you would need to do. Therefore the one on the right works when there is no relative change in tidal height, ie against a pontoon.

 

[Tintin]

Which is the correct way to use spring lines.

Why?

 

[ctva]

Which is the correct way to use spring lines.

The left picture or the right picture?

Which ever is the best for any given situation, length of boat, tide, bollard positions etc.. Anyone that says only one way is correct has probably gained all their seamanship skills from a book rather than from real life experience. Life is about shades of grey rather than black and white..... mostly.

 

[Richard10002]

Whichever, you need tight springs and saggy breasts

 

[chewi]

Whichever, you need tight springs and saggy breasts

Not too keen on saggy breasts.

 

[snowleopard]

Whichever, you need tight springs and saggy breasts

I learned that lesson the hard way when tied up to a pontoon in a gale. The bucking of the boat drove one of the fairleads through the deck. Now I tie my breast ropes to the hull furthest from the pontoon to prevent them coming tight with a jerk. It makes for quieter nights. I guess on a mono all you can do is leave a lot of slack in them.

 

[Topcat47]

I don't have tight springs either. Mostly my boat will have pressure on one spring and one breast line ( e,g, stern spring and bow line), when rafted I prefer the shore breast line to tighten before the one to the next boat. If there's some slack in the lines and the wind is off the pontoon, all the lines ought to tighten around the same time, leaving a gap between the fenders and the pontoon. The boat won't go anywhere without you.

 

[Sgeir]

Less likely to "snatch" with the left, imho. If the wind and/or tide is coming from the starboard, then the springs shown in the left hand picture would certainly make it much easier to get off the pontoon or harbour wall.

 

[johnalison]

I believe the original question was a tease, intended to sort out those who care about what they do and the rest. Springing from the mid-cleat may be a convenient short-term option on a waiting-pontoon or in a lock, but it creates a pivot point that the boat will swing back and forth round, causing the bow & stern lines to snatch continually, resulting in disturbed nights as has been said. You are welcome to do what you like on your own, but if you want to raft to my boat I will insist that your springs are long and crossed.

The right spring to use when berthing or leaving a berth is a different matter, and depends on the shape of the hull and the cleats available. This, though, is what the centre-cleats are for.

 

[ianat182]

As I mentioned on a previous post re centre cleats, my boat doesn't have them fitted. When I visit Cowes marinas there are usually three cleats on the pontoons and I moor fore and aft as normal, then take a single long warp from the bow position cleat aboard to the centre cleat of the pontoon, secure the warp and take the remainder of the warp to the aft cleat on my boat. This works OK even on an overnight stay. Springing off I would use the bow to stern spring setup if required.


ianat182

 

[johnalison]

With enough pontoon cleats, there is also what I call the "motor-boat moor", where relatively short lines are taken forward and aft from both ends of the boat. It is not particularly pretty but seems to work well enough in quiet harbours.

 

[srah1953]

Related question - I regularly see boats with snubbers on the breast ropes but not on the springs. Why is this?

 

[johnalison]

Generally, springs are longer and the snatching is less.