Tying up to a pontoon

[JimC]

Observing the comings and goings of boats at my marina I've often noticed how much slicker are those using permanent dock lines left on the pontoons. Each warp ready to hand and the right length with no adjustment needed. Nothing to coil and stow when departing. It's something I've never used but am now considering it. Also, I always cow hitch my lines to the yacht's cleats but many people seem content just to put the loop over the cleat and they don't seem to come off, probably because tension & gravity are combining to keep them on: the pontoons being lower than the boats. Any views?

 

[prv]

Any views?

Errm, "yes" and "yes"?

When preparing the warps that crew will step ashore with, I like the spliced loops to be cow-hitched on the boat's cleats just to remove any risk of them being flicked off if things get exciting during the process. But when tying up properly after arrival, I just place the loop over the cleat (usually the shore cleat, with the tail of the line coiled neatly on board) and expect it to stay put.

I used to sail on square riggers which moor up with shore linesmen, like cargo ships. The process is pretty standardised between countries, we sent a loop ashore (pulled across by the heaving line) and they would loop it over a bollard, we'd then take in on the capstan or windlass to the required tension. However, in Poole I was surprised to see the linesman essentially cow-hitching our line around the bollard, and started to call out to him not to. The officer in charge of the mooring party stopped me, and said this was standard procedure for Poole, because the quay is directly in front of the pubs and they needed to make it harder for drunks to cast the ships off! :disgust:

Pete

 

[roblpm]

Well we do this for racing. Great when you have lots of people. But when going out alone with a kid or by myself need to rig up extra slips first.

 

[johnalison]

My home marina has hoops instead of cleats, which makes watching visitors entertaining (let's say those too far away to go and assist) but having dock lines with hoops is almost essential. Actually, my stern line and centre line have hoops, whereas my bow lines don't, which allows for adjustment, which in turn makes the other lines tightish. I sometimes cow hitch if there is enough slack but don't worry about it if they are tight. I am more concerned about having metal eyes at the shore end to prevent chafe.

 

[Tranona]

Another vote for permanent lines. Used them for the last 20 years ever since having a permanent marina berth and mostly singlehanded with cumbersome boats. It means you can get attached to the finger without jumping off. In the past I have also hung the lines on a pole at the end of the finger , particularly a spring to the mid cleat.

If you make the lines the exact length you need to hold the boat in all directions you only need loops over the cleats on the boat.

 

[JimC]

... It means you can get attached to the finger without jumping off...

How do you pick up the line from the pontoon without getting off the boat?
Appreciate what you say about loops not able to come off cleats if lines exactly right length - must need a bit of force to pull loops over horns of cleat then?

 

[rotrax]

Another vote for permanent lines. Used them for the last 20 years ever since having a permanent marina berth and mostly singlehanded with cumbersome boats. It means you can get attached to the finger without jumping off. In the past I have also hung the lines on a pole at the end of the finger , particularly a spring to the mid cleat.

If you make the lines the exact length you need to hold the boat in all directions you only need loops over the cleats on the boat.

That is exactly the system we use for our Hartley 30 steel yacht in Wellington. The berth has a pile at the port side stern. I drilled the pile, hammered in a 10 inch coachbolt covered in a 6 inch length of old rubber gas pipe at exactly the right place to hang the loop of an acurately sized line ready to pick up on the way in by hand-or with a boathook- to slip over the centre cleat.

First Mate keeps it gently in ahead, steers out a little and Ella pulls nicely into the berth.

The other lines are ready on the dockside and we are secure in moments.

It works for us.............................

 

[rogerthebodger]

I have a large spring latching look with a line of specific length attached to the hook and my centre cleat.

We motor up the finger and attach the hook to the dock cleat at the seaward end of the finger then motor in until the line is tight so acting as a spring.

We can then step off the boat a attach all the fixed length lines that have eye splices ay each end. The lines are cow hitched to the boats cleats and have pvc hose on the eye splice at the dock end so we just drop the loop over the cleat.

My line lengths are such that I can moor bow in or stern in using different combinations of the permanent mooring lines.

When we leave the boat for any time I add a couple of extra springs that are just cleated off in the normal XOX manor with a locking turn to mak secure.

 

[Tranona]

How do you pick up the line from the pontoon without getting off the boat?
Appreciate what you say about loops not able to come off cleats if lines exactly right length - must need a bit of force to pull loops over horns of cleat then?

Just with a boat hook. Always try to drop them on the finger in such a way that they are easy to pick up. The pole was useful with my last boat which went in bows first as the stern tended to swing out, so lifting a line and dropping it on the mid cleat was useful. New boat goes in stern to and has a bow thruster so much easier to hold it in position alongside the finger while I pick up lines. Still experimenting and I may go back to the pole. Not difficult to put the ready made eyes over the cleats.

 

[JimC]

Thanks all - going to permanent lines.

 

[Robin]

How do you pick up the line from the pontoon without getting off the boat?
Appreciate what you say about loops not able to come off cleats if lines exactly right length - must need a bit of force to pull loops over horns of cleat then?

We have our lines held up on a flexible fibreglass pole ( it looks like a tall rod rest) bolted to the finger with a hook at the top. I prefer marked lines to fixed loops because it allows me to still hold the line and get it on the cleat somehow even if being blown off too far to drop a fixed loop on. Our home berth is set up so our port side aft spring line is first to pick up off our pole hook, followed next by the port stern line which has a light line attached to it to reach the pole.. Our two bow lines require someone to step ashore vis our dock steps to pick them up and we aso have a starboard aft line to a centre piling between us and next door that I have put a small float on so it cansimply be dropped on exit and picked up by boathook once back in. This line helps keep us held off the finger in strong onshore winds. this is in our home marina in Florida, back in our UK days we had fixed lines but no pole to hold them up to grabbable height, so we had a marked length spring line that SWMBO would put on the outermost finger cleat, set so we would not reach the main pontoon ahead and could put the engine in gear ahead at tickover which would hold us in position easily and allow us to pick up the fixed dock lines and put them in place, cleated no loops on board. When roaming now we have a similar spring made up with a loop to drop over the outermost finger cleat and marked at a length that suits most visitor marina places to keep us from going too far in and can use the tickover in gear technique to hold us whilst our proper shore lines are put on and adjusted. We are spoiled somewhat in the USA because when we radio ahead for a visitor ( transient) berth they will usually give us the berth number/location and send helpers to meet u there to take our lines albeit of course for a decent tip say$5/helper which I grudge but when in Rome... Marina hopping here is expensive and we try to keep it to a minimum, anchoring by choice whenever possible.

 

[Daydream believer]

My lines are spliced to one leg of each cleat so that the cleat is fairly free for visitors to use. I have to splice the lines on as otherwise they get stolen. What does annoy me is that because I am away sailing most of the sailing season the marina sticks any old boat in my berth & they invariably have no lines so use mine. Mine do not chaffe on my boat but on the visitors they often do, so I have had to replace them 3 times in 4 years.

 

[Serin]

I have a large spring latching look with a line of specific length attached to the hook and my centre cleat.

We motor up the finger and attach the hook to the dock cleat at the seaward end of the finger then motor in until the line is tight so acting as a spring.

We can then step off the boat a attach all the fixed length lines that have eye splices ay each end. The lines are cow hitched to the boats cleats and have pvc hose on the eye splice at the dock end so we just drop the loop over the cleat.

My line lengths are such that I can moor bow in or stern in using different combinations of the permanent mooring lines.

When we leave the boat for any time I add a couple of extra springs that are just cleated off in the normal XOX manor with a locking turn to mak secure.

That's my preferred method too - especially helpful when you have loops rather than cleats, as we do. The line on the hook (a "talon") is removable so that I can replace it with a line of appropriate length when using the technique in other places. The one for the regular berth has a "rubber snubber" on it in case I misjudge the speed of approach or a wind from astern.

This is a technique I would recommend to anyone and especially single handers or skippers with less agile crews. It's surprisingly effective and allows the boat to lie quietly alongside while I put on the other lines. The trick is to keep motoring slow ahead, with the wheel or tiller set to turn the boat away from the pontoon.

 

[[3889]]

As a user of Passeport Escales I have to say I'm not a fan of personal paraphernalia cluttering pontoons. Fair enough if you don't partake insuch schemes but I'm often directed to berths with choked cleats, padlocked bikes, steps bolted on etc. Not an ideal environment for arrival at an unfamiliar berth after a long passage in the dark.

 

[Poignard]

As a user of Passeport Escales I have to say I'm not a fan of personal paraphernalia cluttering pontoons. Fair enough if you don't partake insuch schemes but I'm often directed to berths with choked cleats, padlocked bikes, steps bolted on etc. Not an ideal environment for arrival at an unfamiliar berth after a long passage in the dark.

+1

 

[Laundryman]

Being nearly always single handed I have a good bow fender and good stern fenders. I drive the boat into the berth, fwd or reverse doesn't matter and drive up to touch the pontoon. I then leave it in drive and give it a few more revs. The boat can't go anywhere and I just step off and make good. Only then do I go back aboard, go to neutral and switch off. When I leave I use the same routine. Remove the spring, engage drive and give a few revs. Let the boat touch the pontoon, ,step off ,tidy the lines then leave.. No drama.

 

[DaveS]

I use fixed mooring lines, but I take most of them with me, leaving most of the pontoon cleats clear when I'm away. Coming in single handed, using a boathook, I drop a loop, held open by a bit of hose, over the first pontoon cleat. The other end of this line has a fixed loop on the midships cleat, positioned such that the bow is stopped short of the walkway. Gentle motoring ahead against this spring keeps the boat in place while I attach the other lines.

 

[LadyInBed]

I use fixed mooring lines, but I take most of them with me, leaving most of the pontoon cleats clear when I'm away.

Maybe they aren't fixed?

 

[johnalison]

My lines are spliced to one leg of each cleat so that the cleat is fairly free for visitors to use. I have to splice the lines on as otherwise they get stolen. What does annoy me is that because I am away sailing most of the sailing season the marina sticks any old boat in my berth & they invariably have no lines so use mine. Mine do not chaffe on my boat but on the visitors they often do, so I have had to replace them 3 times in 4 years.

My lines are shackled to the pontoon, so it is relatively easy to remove them when we are away. For short term absence, I have been known to coil them and fasten with cable ties (leaving the hoops free).

 

[Robin]

My lines are spliced to one leg of each cleat so that the cleat is fairly free for visitors to use. I have to splice the lines on as otherwise they get stolen. What does annoy me is that because I am away sailing most of the sailing season the marina sticks any old boat in my berth & they invariably have no lines so use mine. Mine do not chaffe on my boat but on the visitors they often do, so I have had to replace them 3 times in 4 years.

ours in the UK had hard eyes and were shackled to one leg of the dock cleats, here I have spliced eyes and cow hitched them to the dock cleats. another thing that peed me off with visitors using our berth was the ones that used the lines then just dropped them in the water on their departure whereas we had left them tidy, returning to find slimy wet lines could guarantee a few bad words! When we were ashore for our 2-4 week annual antifoul etc the YC would often allow another member to use our berth and I had to insist that they used their own lines having found one motor boat had our expensive lines chafing like mad.It was a club so easily and amicably sorted and the culprit actually pointed out that it was one of the club 'staff' that had tied him up as he had arrived singlehanded. But 'stranger modifications' are for sure to be watched out for.