True confessions

[Twister_Ken]

Two mooring cock-ups this weekend (two out of two, and a bonus point). Lessons learned, passed on just in case you might be tempted.

Having judged my approach to a T to raft alongside another boat, I stepped smartly aboard him with stern line in hand (Madame doing same at sharp end), and made fast. "That's funny, why is the raft going backwards and skewing?" Couldn't have been that I'd left my engine going astern, surely?

Coming onto home pontoon. Madame driving, I step smartly ashore (a step of about a metre, because the tide's pushing us off) with the midships spring in hand, whip it around a cleat, and see the boat carry on instead of stopping neatly, as the boat end of the spring falls in the water. Mmmm. Maybe I should have made the bowline over the midships cleat a bit smaller.




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[ParaHandy]

Madame secures dinghy painter whilst I clamber aboard ....
An hour later I see the top of the outboard .....
30 seconds later, the whole of the dinghy is in view doing 2 kn ....
I strip to my grundies and dive in ...
clutching dinghy and swimming back, friendly woman in boat asks if i need help ...
knicker elastic nbg so, no grundies ....
can't get her away so i can climb back on board .....


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[Cornishman]

Re: True confessions - a suggestion

Pass the bowline, complete, between the supports of the cleat and then loop it back over the horns

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[claymore]

Re: True confessions - a suggestion

Nice suggestion but its Ken you're talking to - his memory wont let him do this. I think he'd be better with permanently tied lines

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Claymore
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[Twister_Ken]

Re: True confessions - a suggestion

Nothing wrong with my wotzitcalled.

But, the midships cleat is a monopod, not a bipod. Therefore no way to tie between its legs.

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[claymore]

Re: True confessions - a suggestion

Does this somehow mean its male rather than female?

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Claymore
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[Andy_H]

Good job we were out for the day on Sunday then Ken!
When we got back, the tide was absolutely roaring out and it was fun and games all round. Managed to get in ok but it was very tricky, with the tide slewing the boat around the moment I turned to approach the pontoon.
Maybe if I'd had a nice long keel with more directional stability it wouldn't have been so bad!
Very entertaining though, watching everyone else have similar problems when we were safely tied up.
Andy

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[Twister_Ken]

Know what you mean about the roaring tide. When I got down just before HW on Saturday, I couldn't row out to the pontoon. In fact. I couldn't row off of the dinghy pontoon! 20 minutes later and the tide was virtually slack. Is it always like that?

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[Andy_H]

Don't know. This is our first season there, but I've not seen it as strong up to now. We had my ageing parents aboard so I had a good excuse to use the outboard - not sure I could have rowed against that tide!
No water on the dinghy pontoon though, so had to leave it tied up between a couple of other yachts.

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