Best way to tie up boat

[TIPS]

Hi,
Usually the boat is kept on anchor, however it is to be kept in a berth for the next few weeks. Is there a particular way that I shoulld tie the boat up, to stop it moving and banging things.

Also whats the deal with harbour Duties? Is it compulsary for boats to have them if using the harbour (Poole harbour)?

Cheers
Mark

[simmons0]

Leave a few fenders out on the side that will be touching the jetty and make sure the stern rope is tight enough to stop the front of the boat hitting the jetty, other than that theres not much you can do.

[timboli]

On my sailing boat,I use springs,that is rope from rear attachment of boat to forward cleat on pontoon and from forward attachment on boat to rear cleat on pontoon,this stops the boat from moving backward and forward,these can afford to be quite tight as they will be longer then bow and stern lines,so should stretch more(most ropes except high tech kevlar etc),when the springs are set,move the boat back and forth to check limits of travel,beware of chafe especially on tubes,over several weeks and if we get big winds,also be aware of potential flooding if we get a lot of rain if you dont have an automatic bilge pump or a tonneau cover.This all assumes berth is on a pontoon which moves up and down with tide,if on a quay wall,consideration will have to be made for tide,this usually involves fenders tied down as well as up,bow and stern lines tied forther forward and aft with nylon warps which will stretch and watching the boat at intervals to check that the ropes are long enough to prevent the boat getting left"hanging" as the tide falls,if the berth is drying,leave outboard well tilted and check sea bottom for sharp objects that could puncture the hull(pontoon anchors that are not properly dug in) etc.

[Paul Glatzel]

Mark

Agree with what is stated really, what i find tends to work on a RIB well:

- Position the boat so that the A frame or transom is roughly at 90 degrees to a cleat on the pontoon, tie a line from the A frame to the cleat.
- Run a line from the D-Ring (under the bow) to the pontoon the position of the cleat will tend to determine whether that is at 90 degrees or a more acute angle.

(If you are mooring in someone elses (big) berth often the cleats are so far apart that the above is not too easy to achieve and the length of the bow line means the nose flops about a bit to far off the pontoon - in which case position the boat between the cleats)

The above will do the trick in most cases for short periods, if you are leaving the boat for a any length of time then rig the springs that timboli refers to.

- run a line from the D ring to the rear cleat on the pontoon
- run a line from the A frame to the forward cleat

This holds the boat in position, always allow it to move around a bit though. Always use fenders too.

Hope that makes sense

Paul

[Cookee]

The thing that most people get wrong is to tie everything up too tight - the photo shows arib tied up with the "springs" in red.

Don't know about Poole but I would imagine if you launch there you would have to pay harbour dues.

Good luck and have fun

[swginn]

This may not apply to you depending on the berth and how busy the marina/ pontoon is. Don't forget to put 2 or 3 fenders on the opposite side of the rib as well. You never know when some idiot will come along with a dirty ol' fishing boat and leave marks all over your rubbing strake. A lot of people presume that they don't need to use fenders because of the tubes, W ers!!

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by swginn

You never know when some idiot will come along with a dirty ol' fishing boat and leave marks all over your rubbing strake.

I must have misunderstood. I use rubbing strake to allow rubbing. Silly me.

[swginn]

Well I suppose thats true, but it depends on how particular you are. The long green paint marks just pissed me off!!

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by swginn

The long green paint marks just pissed me off!!

Adds a splash of colour.

[Mark Halliday]

Originally Posted by swginn

Well I suppose thats true, but it depends on how particular you are. The long green paint marks just pissed me off!!

Ah, but you should see the long black stripes my strakes leave on him.

[Manos]

Can you spot the mistakes in the photo posted by Cookke above??

[Mark Halliday]

Originally Posted by Manos

Can you spot the mistakes in the photo posted by Cookke above??

No mistake- it's transparent rope. Or is it that the boat is NOT a Falcon?

[Manos]

Mark has nothing to do with the ropes or the make

[simmons0]

No life jackets?

[Manos]

Nope Simmons0 Is quite obvious if you look a little bit carefully

[steedthrust]

Is it,

I want to leave the boat on the pontoon not have some Charlie holding the spring all night. I mean he looks like he wants to get the duty frees back.

Serious point mode:-

Mind the berth looks a bit small to me. The tubes will be rubbing the underneath of the berth argh!

Agree on securing the boat loose, another tip try and get berth that the prevailing wind blows the boat off the pontoon.


Steve B

[Manos]

Bingo!! + fenders not properly in place

[Dirk Diggler]

Manos, you really are an arse at times.

That is a photo of the boat at the Southampton Boat Show, and when it was taken the boat had only just arrived at the show, and if you look carefully the guy is in the process of berthing it.

As for the berth being to small, you don't actually get a choice at a show, you pays your money and accept what your given!

[Garygee]

Hi folks

Have kept my RIB aflote for 12 months now and have tried many methods.

Now i leave the rope quite loose so that if the wind is in the right direction it floats away from the pontoon, and when against the mooring does not rub in the same spot all the time.

I dont like springs as to work they nees to be quite tight and this means they will rub along the top of the tubes. I use one sterm line which goes over the lower part of the A frame and hence clear of the tubes and two bow lines from the D ring and out to two cleats in a wide Y.

I also tie the fenders to the pontoon and not the RIB as they tend to go uder the pontoon leaving the tops of the tubes rubbing.

The main protection I use are three home made BIG fender sheets.
These are 6 foot by 3 foot and made from a heavy PVC almost like a tender is made from. Inside these are fitted two foam sleeping mats and attached with straps to the lifeline D's. Will have a look if I have any pics showing them fitted tonight but belive they are wonderful as the tubes never come in contact with the fenders let alone the pontoon.

Regards Gary

[Manos]

Hey Gary seems that you've done this before mate
Just joking Agree 100%