Stern to berthing

[foxgoose]

Would appreciate some advice from seasoned med folk on berthing.

After limited (2 seasons ) experience on my Botnia Targa 27 in the UK I've reasonably got the hang of singlehanded alongside berthing.

Steer in 30 deg to the pontoon, cut speed to 1 1/2 knots, bang the helm hard over as the bows overhang and a touch of reverse on the leg to take the way off and pull the stern in with a final nudge in on the despised bow thruster and lean over to catch a cleat - works for me anyway.

Now we're thinking of a boat to go with our holiday home in Malta and I've been observing stern to berthing techniques in the local marina which seem many, various and frequently stressful.

I would like a bigger boat out there 'cos it's a long way from major landmasses and the seas are often quite daunting - even in summer. Also med type sport boats don't seem quite as rugged as my little flying shed.

Questions:

1. Whats the preferred method for single handing into a stern to berth. Creep in gently wiggle-ing around with bow thruster - or buy soome big balloon fenders and give it a bit of welly? What do you do if it's gusty and you've got no crew with you? A blow by blow idiot's guide would be appreciated.

2. What's the biggest boat a relatively poorly co-ordinated newby like me could hope to handle thus. I'm hoping to find something a bit trawlerish so I can get around the decks smartish without falling off

3. I've been offered an ancient but pretty steel hulled dutch fifty footer at a very attractive price which comes with a berth in the perfect location (beating a three year waiting list). Problem is, even if a take a chance on buying a money pit, I have a strong premonition that single handing fifty foot and twenty tons of metal with my limited experience is likely to result in a Winslow / De Caprio type situation with neighbouring boats playing bit parts as icebergs.

Any advice, opinions, warnings, prejudices or pisstakes (if amusing) welcomed.

Ta

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[andy_wilson]

Never tried it single handed, but if I had to I would use the same technique I used for my friends 15m Trader style yacht.

Reverse into berth with large balloons to defend the stern platform (and neighbouring yachts) and collect stern lines from berthing assistant who jumped on his bike when he saw us enter the harbour. Attach stern springs, forget the breast lines for now.

Stick it in slow ahead and fish out the pick up line for the bow rope and attach pointed end firmly to harbour bottom.

Kill engines and attach breasts at rear, if you know what I mean.

2. Depends more on layout than size.

3. Weight is a definite advantage in skilled hands (gently manouvering). Windage is the opposite, requiring bolder manouvers and sharper handling of lines before the wind takes hold and causes acute emarassment.

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[whisper]

What a nice dilemma to have. My only advice is to make sure that the boat you buy has very good access from the helm to the bathing platform, so you can get there pronto. The marina "helpers" probably won't be there when you most need them.
I don't think single handing is good for your mental health anyway so suggest you always invite other forum members to join/assist you.
Not selling your 27 are you - by any chance - no - oh well, never mind/forums/images/icons/mad.gif

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[robind]

Watched a young German skipper in Bodrum motor straight for the Quay at approx 30 yards off he gave the order to drop anchor at the same time he spun the boat around with the anchor man slowly letting the line out he slapped it in reverse as it "came to bear" and slowly and in a controlled manner he kept going astern until he was as far up to the quay as he required. He stepped off and applied the stern mooring lines. Boy was I impresed!

The next day I was sttting at a cafe overlooking the same quay and in he came again, with full admiration I watched as he, in perfect conditions but different position. dropped his anchor down, did the full spin and as before went straight astern. regrettably his anchor didnt hold as well as before and he gave a little too much astern power going straight into the quay. not only did the stern of the boat hit the stone wall 9not bably) his Props picked up on a large rock under the water that all locals avoid. Moral of this story? any landing you walk away from is a good one, even the " more capable" have the odd incident or 10.
Regards
Rob

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.rejuvanu.com>RejuVanu</A>

 

[robind]

Watched a young German skipper in Bodrum motor straight for the Quay at approx 30 yards off he gave the order to drop anchor at the same time he spun the boat around with the anchor man slowly letting the line out he slapped it in reverse as it "came to bear" and slowly and in a controlled manner he kept going astern until he was as far up to the quay as he required. He stepped off and applied the stern mooring lines. Boy was I impresed!

The next day I was sttting at a cafe overlooking the same quay and in he came again, with full admiration I watched as he, in perfect conditions but different position. dropped his anchor down, did the full spin and as before went straight astern. regrettably his anchor didnt hold as well as before and he gave a little too much astern power going straight into the quay. not only did the stern of the boat hit the stone wall (not badly) his Props picked up on a large rock under the water that all locals avoid. Moral of this story? any landing you walk away from is a good one, even the " more capable" have the odd incident or 10.
Regards
Rob

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.rejuvanu.com>RejuVanu</A>

 

[tcm]

hi

Stern-to mooring need not be a nightmare, espcially larger boats since althoug they have more windage they have much more inertia. Singlehanding is perfectly feasible, especially if you are into your own home berth as i will explain.

There are two main different styles of berth - those witha lazy line leading from the quay out to a bigger rope or chain to hold the bow out into the fairway, and those with no gear in the water and you have to use an anchor.

Doing anything at speed is usually a bad idea.

You need fenders and plenty of them position at the widest part of the boat. The CG is nearer the rear, not the bow. Fenders can be dragged by neighbouring fenders as you go in so make sure they are attached near the stanchions where support is stronger, otherwise the guardrails can get bent.

Main things is the wind. Ideally you want this blowing straight off the pontoon, so that it never pushes you sideways or onto the quay. The wind is almost never like this.

Most important thing even the pros get wrong is the wind. This determines whether you sort-of line up with the bow a bit to the left or a bit the right as seen by someone on the quay. Whichever way the wind is coming from, make sure you reverse INTO the wind as you go into berth. This gives more control: - if you reverse with the wind then just as you think you have got it right the wind will take the bow and whack it into the downwind boat - and with a bowthruster you would be helping this happen really quickly. Hence, start the manoevre with the bow downwind so that you are reversing tiowards the wind.

You need to have lines set up, but the boat driving is everything. The crew can save the boat if you catclysmically cock it up, but that's a bonus. Really ,though, it's entirely down the the driving. If you have spare crew, gettem to use a roving fender and direct them to where they are needed. It's usually on the downwind side.

As you reverse, with twin engines and shafts, set the steering dead ahead and don't touch the wheel again. look towards the stern, and now think of the stern as actually being the bow - and the operation of the throttle becomes obvious. The starboard engine aft ("fwds" as seen going in reverse) will move the stern towards port , the port engine aft (fwds as seen going backwarrds) moves the stern to stbd, and vice versa.

There is initially a tendency to "drive" the boat in, but this should be avoided - you are only moving the boat a small distance - only a tiny bit more that its own length, so essentally everything can be done on tickover, dropping the engines in and out of gear unless it really is blowing hard 6 which it rarely doesin the protection of the marina.

Okay, bow downwind. Both engines astern, to get sternward movement of a knot, then drop the inside (of the curve) engine out of gear untill the boat comes into the slot and lined up. You want to catch the moment the boat is lined up. At that moment give both engine a short time in reverse and it goes straight back. But gently mind, not a "burst".

It will look a bit slow. Let your maxim be that if the crew are getting a bit bored - it's the right speed. Hopefully, the boat will now be going down the slot, frghteningly close on both sides. Resist the temptation to take it faster- if the boat is going in, relative to the neighbour there are only a few metres to go to the quay.

With a bit of experience, you will be able to get the rearward speed just slow enough so that the boat is almost static as it reaches the quay. If you go at speed, you need to graunch stop the speed, then in turn undo that forward movement and so on which is a right mess. You should be able to stop the boat at the righ point agauin just by dropping both engines ahead for a second. The slower the move into the berth the better - less speed to try and wash off at the end.

A "silent mooring" forbids any speech. This is necessary on big boats or in high winds cos you can't hear anything. Have someone at the stern hold fingers up to count down the distance ten metres, 5,4,3,2, and stop the boat. Ask them to ONLY give the distance NOT direct by saying things like "Back a bit!" - otherwise there 's lack of clarity does this mean go sternwards more, or are they seeing the stern of the boat as as the front, driving into the quay, hence does "Back!" really means "put the engines ahead!"

Single handed , you must make sure you have stopped the boat, ready to leave the helm and attend to lines. Check the boat is stopped by looking sideways at the neighbourting boat. One option is to hang off the neighbouring boat immediately, a quick turn with a short line cleat to cleat gives some breathing space.

If this isn't possible, or at any rate once you've stopped the boat, you need to decide which lines to get first- bow or stern. Obviously its the upwind line, and same applies choosing which sternline - the one furthest upwind is the one that stops the boat moving first.

In day boating to and from your own berth, you can leave you own lines hooked over the fenders of the neighbouring boat. Lettem know you are doing this, and/or make sure the lines are just hooked over such that if the boat drove off, the lines are dropped. The same goes for the "lazy lines" - you can hookem over a fender instead of dropping the water and having to fish them out all over again. Make sure you leavethem well to the back of the berth - to avoid catching them with the props.

If using an anchor you must first be very sure that you need an anchor- i put an anchor down where there were lazy lines and it was a right mes (diver €100) to get it out. It is quite feasible to single hand with an anchor, dropping it 3 to 4 boat lengths out and coming back gently against it steadily letting it come all the way.

In wind, this must all be down a bit more briskly - the wind will catch hold more severely and more quickly. Wind or not, you aim should be to keep the movement into the berth reasonably smooth - a load of reversing loses "way on" or directional stabiilty. Again, going easy on the throttles mean you won't need loads of undoing the gentle rearward movement.

Bowthrusters are useful to help reach that point at which you are nicley lined up and ready to go in both astern - to stop the bow swinging about, and kee it stopped from moving about which if it did trnslates to the stern going to wrong way as well.

But often, reagrdless, the boat starts going off course and not nice and straight in. Remebring the throttling thing, pull the boat back from imminent crunch by ahead with the throttle on the other side, and (if you have one) bowthruster away - but remeber that the throttle movement is much more important - if you use the bowthruster alone to try and stay off a neighbour it wion't work - in fact it will push the bow around to drive into him all the more decisively.

In extremis, if you are a bit knackered and boat is gonna crunch before you get into the slot, do not try a heroic last gasp big-throttle escape - use the throttles only to lose speed relative to that neighbour, and ask crew to stuff in a fender at the impact point - this will usually be cheaper that the highe speed glancing blow between you and a downwind boat.

Pilots have no problem with one tip- if it's gone to rats, come out, calm down, start again. They call this "going around". Also, some berths are just too hard for some boats in some conditions, so try somehwere else, or another time.

Stern-to mooring is much harder on an empty pontoon, with no other boats around, than with a full pontoon and just one space for you - there's no wind in a slot, whereas there's lots of wind in empty space. If you have space and depth, and there are lazy lines, just come alongside, stop, put a longish sternline on and haul the bow out on the lazy line.

Sometimes, people start trying to help and the least useful can sometimes marina staff, especially if as you begin to come in, they begin to take up the slack in the lazy lines, hoping to pass you a taut line for quick attachement to the bow. But in fact they can sometimes be doing mor harm than good- cos they tension up the line right under your props. Be wary of this, and if necessary stoppem taking up that line.

As the lazy line fwd is sometimes sometimes cholera-ridden, have some crappy gardening gloves around to avoid cutting yourself on coral growth on the line.

Oh, finally, other will know if any of this works with sterndrives - I've mostly used shafts.

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[foxgoose]

Thanks to all and especially TCM for the "Complete Yachtmaster (Backwards)" which I have printed and will use as my bible. Can I ask a couple of supplementaries TCM?

1. Why is it preferable to leave the wheel centred and steer with throttles in reverse? On my present boat I have a Volvo basic mechanical engine control and it's not very precise ( regretted not buying the electronic gizmo). I'm a bit worried that a big old boat might be a bit hit and miss on throttle steering.

2. I thought the advantage of bow thrusters was that they could move the pointy end a bit without rotating the whole boat round it's COG. Perhaps this only applies going forward?

3. Do I infer that a 50ft heavy steel displacement boat might actually be easier to manoeuvre in these situations than, say, a 40 ft planing flybridge - providing you stick to tickover speeds and keep the inertia down. I've already learnt my lessons on using a burst of throttle to "power out of trouble". The first time a took a lump out of a concrete pontoon with the stern and the second time I slice through my teak rail with a big sailboat anchor!

4. Finally, presumably a couple of balloon fenders over the stern will soften the blow if you're singlehanded and unsure of your distance off.

Thanks again for taking the trouble on the complete "blow by blow".

Whisper

The Targa 27 may be up for sale this season depending on whether I go for a bigger UK boat and a smaller med boat or a big med boat and stick with the Targa.

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[whisper]

Let me know by P.M. if you do decide to sell, please.

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