Tie up your boat - MBY video

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EricJ

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I was quite surprised to see in the MBY video and article this month that the preferred tying off technique was “0880” instead of the “dreadful” locking turn. I use the locking turn all the time and I would think that the “0880” technique gives more room for slip.
What does the forum think of that?
 
EricJ said:
I was quite surprised to see in the MBY video and article this month that the preferred tying off technique was “0880” instead of the “dreadful” locking turn. I use the locking turn all the time and I would think that the “0880” technique gives more room for slip.
What does the forum think of that?
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Locking turns are for dinghys IMHO and have vanishly few uses on larger boats.

My very strong feeling is that 0880 is much better.

0880 doesn’t slip and can always be undone. I’ve never failed a YM candidate for using locking turns on cleats but I sometimes ask why they do it and if I see a candidate using cleats properly I am delighted to be able to mention something else positive about this aspect of their seamanship.
 
Perhaps you would enlighten those who do not have big white beards what 0880 is. I have heard of 118 but they just have big moustaches
 
Well to be quite frank I have an assortment of rope types securing me. Some such as the thinner polyester / nylon / and halyard braided lines lend themselves to a locking turn and the thicker octoplait doesn't. Yes it would be nice if I had nice colour coded blue mooring specific lines but to be honest whenever I have gone to purchase some they have always struck me as being more decorative than practical just by their sheer thickness. As our pontoons share cleats between boats, fore and aft, having overtly thick lines adds no security but rather detracts from the ability of the second user to get purchase space on a cleat. So for me either method is fine. The big bug bear is when I see 8888888 'ad infinitum to clean up the loose ends. Looks like a birds nest.
 
BruceK said:
Well to be quite frank I have an assortment of rope types securing me. Some such as the thinner polyester / nylon / and halyard braided lines lend themselves to a locking turn and the thicker octoplait doesn't. Yes it would be nice if I had nice colour coded blue mooring specific lines but to be honest whenever I have gone to purchase some they have always struck me as being more decorative than practical just by their sheer thickness. As our pontoons share cleats between boats, fore and aft, having overtly thick lines adds no security but rather detracts from the ability of the second user to get purchase space on a cleat. So for me either method is fine. The big bug bear is when I see 8888888 'ad infinitum to clean up the loose ends. Looks like a birds nest.
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I’d agree to that. A bird’s nest is not easy to untie. Good to hear these insights though.
 
Stern line on first. Good, at this point the boat is safe, skipper can control the boat on engines and keep it tight into the pontoon if necessary. We aim to have the stern line going aft to a cleat, as per the video.

In our case the bow line has been led along the side deck to the stern so crew can grab it and walk to the bow. Tie off the bow line whilst skipper ensures the stern line is kept tight. Allow a bit of slack in the bow line so as not to prevent the stern of the boat from being snug with the pontoon.

At this point I disagree with the video in which the aft spring is secured. Doing this slackens off the stern line, tightens the bow line, the bow comes into the pontoon and the stern goes out. Instead we take the remainder of the bow line back to the mid cleat on the boat and secure the forward spring. This tightens the stern line pulling the back of the boat into the pontoon.

On a Princess boat there is a handy lower aft cleat which allows the stern line to pass round it and make a loop back onto the pontoon cleat thus keeping the aft of the boat close to the pontoon.

Then just a case of carrying the stern line from the aft pontoon cleat to the mid cleat on the boat and securing the aft spring.

So I would humbly suggest: Aft line. Forward line. Forward spring. Aft spring.

Good communication and understanding with your crew is the key. In particular when securing the bow line make sure the stern line is tight otherwise you will have too much slack in the bow line and end up having to re-do everything.

Henry :)
 
I'd say much depends on the environment. I berth against a current up to 4 knts and the prevailing wind pushes me off the pontoon. Also have no bow thruster. As a result I ferry glide in against the current and tie the bow with a bit of slack in first. Once the bow is secure I do the forward springer (Mid cleat to pontoon bow) Once that's on I can go astern turning into the pontoon with one engine, relax and do the rest at leisure.
Were I to go stern cleat first I'd loose all authority of the boat and end up perpendicular to the pontoon with the engines under it.
 
When I did my coastal ticket, out of sheer habit I started doing an OXO and finishing with a locking turn then corrected myself and explained to the examiner that I knew I shouldn't put that on.
His response was "why not?"
His opinion was that it can't do any harm and he likes to know that the boat will still be there when he gets back!

I virtually always put a locking turn on, I'm very interested to learn why I shouldn't and what are the negative consequences of doing it?
 
IIRC, the horror about locking hitches dates oe of natural fibre rope. If your cleated lines were rained on, they would shrink on the cleat and Ben an absolute bear to untie.
 
Keen_Ed said:
IIRC, the horror about locking hitches dates oe of natural fibre rope. If your cleated lines were rained on, they would shrink on the cleat and Ben an absolute bear to untie.
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That would make sense, thank you :) So the advice is outdated now? (for most of us I assume)
 
When flotilla last summer, our flotilla skipper hated the locking hitch, and it was a forfeit if he found one on a boat. I always use them on Rafiki, but she has synthetic warps. It leaves the warp tidy as Jon Mendez adds at the end of his vid. :)
 
rafiki_ said:
When flotilla last summer, our flotilla skipper hated the locking hitch, and it was a forfeit if he found one on a boat. I always use them on Rafiki, but she has synthetic warps. It leaves the warp tidy as Jon Mendez adds at the end of his vid. :)
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Ahh that type. Probably couldn't tell you why only that he'd been so told and so it must be.
 
One striking feature of the video is the economy of effort in securing the vessel. I fuss and adjust lines unnecessarily (although, it has to be said that no boat of mine has ever floated away unintended). I guess it's a bit like playing guitar where the real maestros look like they aren't moving their hands very much on the frets.
 
john_morris_uk said:
0880 doesn’t slip and can always be undone. .
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This may be true on the majority of cleats, but you have obviously not encountered the very shiny and elegant looking cleats that Storebro fitted in the late 70s. Almost any type of fastening will slip on these under load especially if it is variable. I have found the only thing which will not slip is a loop!! So where possible loops on our cleats and 0880 on the pontoon.
 
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