What is the best way...

[Largslout]

to arrive single handed at ones pontoon? My yacht is 32ft and the finger about 4ft shorter ie stood at helm end of pontoon finger is abeam shoulder. Advice most welcome before I make a complete fool of myself!!

 

[shmoo]

I am only just starting to do this myself but early indications are that this works:

Have lots of fenders out, including right near bow on finger side. A nose bag helps confidence.

Have bow and centre line rigged and brought to centre of boat.

Once bow is "inside" the end of finger cut engine and move to center of boat, step off and get the center warp down onto the finger-end cleat and make it off quickly and short. If you only do this a well fended boat will not come to much harm.

Pick up bow rope off guard rail, move to root of finger and make that off

The boat is now dead, but half out of the bay.

Warp it in.

 

[MoodySabre]

I just arrive slowly with fenders both sides, incl one fairly near the bow. My berth is quite tight with the other boat in so a nudge is inevitable unless the wind is blowing me on to the finger. Boat hook at the ready to hook the ring or whatever at the end of the pontoon and, if I'm lucky, to pick up the spring rope and whack it on the mid-cleat.

Bit like a hot air balloon trip - lots of fun and freedom followed by 10 secs of holding your breath and potential for chaos /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[sailingrbg]

I have tried various options but the best I have come up with recently since I fitted toe rail centre cleats is to have a line fed through the centre of the cleat with a large loop on it, when motoring into the pontoon use the boat hook to catch the first mooring cleat on the pontoon then using your sheet winch wind in the warp till it is tight and motor slowly ahead with the wheel / tiller in a position to take you away from the finger this will then "ferry gluide" your boat along side the pontoon. note before I had the centre cleat I used the jib sheet car correctly positioned to do the same as the centre cleat. just remember to make sure that the warp is under the guard rails or you can stress them.

Some times it can bring your boat to a halt with a fair bit still go to the end of the pontoon but once you are alongside you can then get off and position your warps and walk her in the final few metres.
(If you are based at Largs it should still work but they are not as generous with the lenght of pontoons or the ability to get a straight turn in one go


Hope this helps

 

[shmoo]

Forget to mention. Practice it "single handed" with other folks on the boat. Its a pretty buttock clenching experience for them but if you do end up looking like you are going to get spread across the ends of three leeward boats, they can step in a fend off.

 

[Bald_Dad]

An arrangement I have used is to have a single, long line, made off bow and stern, with the surplus coiled on the handrail amidships. Then when you step off with the coil, you're holding a line to both ends off the boat. It's effective but I have been mocked for being unseamanlike. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Malcolm

 

[cindersailor]

Cleat off bow and stern mooring lines and have them ready and reachable from the pontoon. Attach 3rd mooring line to midships cleat (you do have one don't you?) and take it back to the cockpit outside everything. As you arrive at pontoon as slowly as conditions of wind and current will allow, take most of the way off boat using reverse as the finger end reaches midships and then slip into neutral. Jump off onto finger pontoon taking the midships line with you. Take a turn around the outside pontoon cleat and use the line to take the remaining way off the boat which should hardly be moving at this stage anyway. When you do this the bow will swing in to the pontoon so there needs to be a suitably placed fender well forward. You can then reach across to take the bow mooring line followed by the stern one. Works for me on my 27 footer. Can be tricky with awkward wind/current conditions, but practice makes perfect. The main thing is to get her attached amidships and then you can take your time.

 

[Poignard]

Have a midship line with a soft eye in one end [or a Grabit boathook if you can't reach the cleat on the pontoon from the cockpit]. This will be dropped over the cleat that will be level with the cockpit. Lead it through a midship fairlead or, if you do't have one, through a snatch block, and then back to the sheet winch.

When you are in position stop the boat, drop the eye over the cleat, quickly take up the slack and belay the line. Then slowly motor ahead and lash the tiller towards the pontoon [or turn the wheel away from the pontoon]. The boat will lie there safely whilst you get the other lines ashore

I.e. do what Sailingrgb has just posted!!

 

[Aeolus]

I do exactly the same as 'Bald_Dad'. A single line means that you can control whichever end of the boat is wandering off without losing control of the other end.

 

[Capn Pugwash]

[ QUOTE ]
An arrangement I have used is to have a single, long line, made off bow and stern, with the surplus coiled on the handrail amidships. Then when you step off with the coil, you're holding a line to both ends off the boat. It's effective but I have been mocked for being unseamanlike. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Malcolm

[/ QUOTE ]

What a bloody good idea! I am going to try that this weekend...can't wait to tell SWMBO that her troubles are over!
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Let you know how it pans out next week!

 

[WayneS]

With my wife being less able for a while, I have had to come up with a solution too.

I am about to make up a short (1-1.5m) fibreglass rod with a hook on the top. This will be mounted vertically from the pontoon, next to a cleat that is adjacent to my midships cleat. I will leave a line permanently onto this pontoon cleat and have the loose end coiled loosely on the top of this rod.

So, when I come in, having fenders in the std positions, as well as one well forward and one well aft, I simply stop the boat and tie off this line as short as possible onto my midships cleat. The boat will then go nowhere while I make off the other lines.

I did this a few times over the w/e with my wife acting as the hook(not 'er) on the dock and it all went well.

Now all I have to do is find 1.5m of 10mm fibreglass rod.

Cheers

Wayne

 

[sailorman]

if its your own berth use a centre cleat, have a permanant line fixed to the finger with a loop spliced in the end. on approach attatch this first ( this saves the boat from hitting the walk way ) then the windward forward line, then the stern line.
if poss have a finger that when astern engaged the prop walks the stern towards the finger

 

[Emjaytoo]

[ QUOTE ]
I have tried various options but the best I have come up with recently since I fitted toe rail centre cleats is to have a line fed through the centre of the cleat with a large loop on it, when motoring into the pontoon use the boat hook to catch the first mooring cleat on the pontoon then using your sheet winch wind in the warp till it is tight and motor slowly ahead with the wheel / tiller in a position to take you away from the finger this will then "ferry gluide" your boat along side the pontoon. note before I had the centre cleat I used the jib sheet car correctly positioned to do the same as the centre cleat. just remember to make sure that the warp is under the guard rails or you can stress them.

Some times it can bring your boat to a halt with a fair bit still go to the end of the pontoon but once you are alongside you can then get off and position your warps and walk her in the final few metres.


[/ QUOTE ]

We use this method all the time, irrespective of how many crew are on board. Once that midship spring is on and you are motoring forward against it, the boat can not go anywhere except sit tight alongside the pontoon, no matter how hard the wind is trying to blow her off.

 

[MoodySabre]

Wayne - you used to be able to buy those things from Plastimo but no longer. This is the nearest - scroll to bottom of screen
http://www.monarchproducts.com/linemate.htm

 

[Poignard]

Any ideas for dealing [when singlehanded]with those Cherbourg fingers that don't have a cleat at the end, just a loop of steel tube which is of too large diameter for my Grabit boathook to go round!

 

[Spyro]

Getting out single handed can also be tricky depending on wind and prop walk.
Be aware of it.

 

[Cruiser2B]

You could try backing in; have a fore-spring ready tied off at proper length to aft cleat, coiled on deck ready to pay-out; use the boat hook to loop it on the finger end cleat - from the cockpit. When she goes taut, you'll be in position; keep it that way idling astern, while you calmly hop off to make up the head and stern ropes. Should be easier to cast-off single-handed too.

 

[Largslout]

Thanks to you all, many great methods and ideas.

 

[Dalliance]

I agree that a midship cleat to take a spring which is already prepared and wating with a closed loop to be picked-up as you come in is the best answer. However, if you boat tracks well in astern I'd suggest coming in to the berth backwards; you're closer to the end of the pontoon as you come in so you can easily pick up the spring, you can come in faster and in better control because the boat will stop more easily when you apply forward thrust and you can judge better when you're closing on the end of the berth. It works for me.

 

[georgeo]

I like all these ideas. My problem is I have to come in stern first to avoid impaling AWBs/passers by/sunbathers on pontoon with my ramming spike, otherwise known as a bowsprit! this plus the fact that the craft steers like a pig in astern makes coming in always a challenge. Have developed the 'Rosbif' patent mooring attachment, basically one of those grabby boat hook thingies with a warp and permanent loop at end. Drop loop over first cleat coming in, proximal end via midship cleat to genoa winch, then boat is at least attached. But have to let go of tiller at this point, reverse way albeit dead slow still enough to push rudder over and make things all the more difficult. Bow then proceeds always to blow off so neat feat of footwork required to grab previously made up bow line and hop onto pontoon to tie off. Never like the idea of hopping off boat without it being attached to something solid. Have visions of everything going pear shaped and craft being blown off unmanned down marina with subsequent embarrassment and photos in local press