Solo mooring

[Woodwych]

Am wondering how others approach solo mooring?

Assuming you’ve got to the bank and are about to step off holding the centre line, do you carry a pin/ mallet with you? Throw them onto towpath? Or do you get the boat pulled in and stationary first, then hop back on for them?

And what knot do you use with a mooring pin and centre line temporarily?

grateful for any tips!

[Mad Harold]

2 minutes ago, Woodwych said:

Am wondering how others approach solo mooring?

Assuming you’ve got to the bank and are about to step off holding the centre line, do you carry a pin/ mallet with you? Throw them onto towpath? Or do you get the boat pulled in and stationary first, then hop back on for them?

And what knot do you use with a mooring pin and centre line temporarily?

grateful for any tips!

Step off with the centre line,mallet and pin in hand,drop mallet and pin on the towpath,haul the boat in,stand on the centre line while driving the pin in.The best pins have a loop on top,so pass the line through it and tie back to the boat,any knot will do for a temporary stop to make a cuppa,have a pee etc.

I wouldn't go back on the boat to get the mallet and pin,as even in a gentle breeze,the boat will be away,this is will definately happen if anyone is watching. 😰

[BEngo]

Leave your pins, ammer etc. handy then step off with bit of string.  Sort boat out.  Tie string to handy CRT sign/ towpath tree/tree in hedge.  Wait while 50 boats appear from nowhere and pass, adjusting string as needed.q

Get ammer, pins etc.  Moor front /back as convenient. Retrieve string from CRT sign.

Or moor up where there is piling, when you can drop a centre hook behind the waling and sort the ends out in you own time.

[Slim]

Unless you're mooring against Armco. If so, have a nappy pin on  10 mm line attached to your centre eye. Pull the boat in on the centreline, stabilise, then drop the nappy pin in. Relax and sort things out.

[Dharl]

prefer to moor against the armco if possible so step off with a nappy pin to hand, run the centre line through this and use it like a pulley to help bring your boat alongside.    I then quickly loop this back up to my centre ring or fairlead whilst I sort out the bow and stern lines then remove the centre line.   (if staying for a day or two remove and use it to rig spring lines for and aft so that I am moored securely.) 

 

If I need to use a mallet and pin I take those with me as I step ashore, once I have driven the pin into the ground then I drop a clove hitch on to the pin whilst sorting out the bow and stern lines.      

[matty40s]

44 minutes ago, Slim said:

Unless you're mooring against Armco. If so, have a nappy pin on  10 mm line attached to your centre eye. 

That's a very short line, wouldnt even reach the handrails...

[Tracy D'arth]

 

2 hours ago, Slim said:

Unless you're mooring against Armco. If so, have a nappy pin on  10 mm line attached to your centre eye. Pull the boat in on the centreline, stabilise, then drop the nappy pin in. Relax and sort things out.

I only have 2 eyes.

Cyclops had one.

 

[magpie patrick]

On two different narrow boats that I have owned (62 feet and 45 feet) I have used basically the same technique, get the back in and get off with the centre line, use the centre line to pull the boat in. 

Whether I carry the hammer and pins off or lob them off before I get off depends on the quality of the bank and how far away it is - if I'm stepping ono an pobviosuly firm bank next to the boat I carry them with me, if it's anything at all dodgy or if I've got to jump, they get lobbed. 

6 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

 

I only have 2 eyes.

Cyclops had one.

 

 

2 hours ago, matty40s said:

That's a very short line, wouldnt even reach the handrails...

The humourists are out in force!

Shiva has three eyes, but I wouldn't go putting ropes through them, even diddy ones   

[PaulD]

4 hours ago, BEngo said:

Leave your pins, ammer etc. handy then step off with bit of string.  Sort boat out.  Tie string to handy CRT sign/ towpath tree/tree in hedge.  Wait while 50 boats appear from nowhere and pass, adjusting string as needed.q

Get ammer, pins etc.  Moor front /back as convenient. Retrieve string from CRT sign.

Or moor up where there is piling, when you can drop a centre hook behind the waling and sort the ends out in you own time.

You forgot that you will need to remove the cyclists hanging off the centre line.

[haggis]

I remember seeing an elderly lady on a fairly short boat stepping off the boat with a mooring pin tied to a fairly short bit of rope which was attached to a stern dolly. She dropped the pin down behind the Armco  and that held the boat in place while she lifted the middle rope off the rear corner of the roof and pulled the boat in and finished mooring. It looked efficient and it gave her all the time in the world to complete the mooring as the back end was firmly attached. I presume the bit of short rope was permanently fixed to the dolly with the pin in place and she only had to pick it up as she stepped off the boat. 

haggis

[matty40s]

58 minutes ago, PaulD said:

You forgot that you will need to remove the cyclists hanging off the centre line.

You can get a new centre line from Tradline Fenders in Braunston that automatically lifts when triggered by the dulcet sound of a cycle bell. AutoUpcycle.😄

[ditchcrawler]

20 minutes ago, matty40s said:

You can get a new centre line from Tradline Fenders in Braunston that automatically lifts when triggered by the dulcet sound of a cycle bell. AutoUpcycle.😄

But they don't have bells

[matty40s]

3 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

But they don't have bells

The ones who obey the rules and regulations do.😁

[Slim]

7 minutes ago, matty40s said:

The ones who obey the rules and regulations do.😁

Do any exist?

[Slim]

2 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Cyclops had one

Me too as it happens. 😎

[Detling]

6 hours ago, Mad Harold said:

I wouldn't go back on the boat to get the mallet and pin,as even in a gentle breeze,the boat will be away,this is will definately happen if anyone is watching. 😰

Or as happened to me you nip back on board grab hammer and pin with your back to the bank, turn round while stepping forward and realise there is 4 foor of water between the boat and the bank, unfortunately by now you have too much momentum to stop, so have to jump gracefully into the water feet first, marginally better than falling forwards and hitting head on bank.

[Scholar Gypsy]

On occasion (with a strong wind blowing the boat off) I step off at the stern with the stern rope, hammer and two pins (or chuck them) and a long (light) line that lies on the roof and is connected to the bow line. Then I tie the stern off, and using the light line get the bow line to the bank and then pull the bows in. I can think of several instances where it's much harder to pull the boat in using the centre line rather than the bow line. [I also use this system when going uphill in broad locks].

[IanD]

If you have a boat with remote-controlled (from a phone+app) throttle and bow and stern thrusters, solo mooring is a piece of cake... 😉

[MtB]

47 minutes ago, IanD said:

If you have a boat with remote-controlled (from a phone+app) throttle and bow and stern thrusters, solo mooring is a piece of cake... 😉

 

Only if you have the upgrade that also knocks in the mooring stakes and ties your lines to them.... 

[Mad Harold]

11 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

Only if you have the upgrade that also knocks in the mooring stakes and ties your lines to them.... 

Is there an upgrade that unzips your fly and directs your willie overboard for when you are caught short solo boating?😰

 

[MtB]

3 minutes ago, Mad Harold said:

Is there an upgrade that unzips your fly and directs your willie overboard for when you are caught short solo boating?😰

 

 

Amost. What you need is bucket.com. 🤣

[IanD]

11 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

Amost. What you need is bucket.com. 🤣

Especially if it's a number two you're caught short with.

 

Of course if you're a composter you'd need two buckets -- or at least, a bucket and a bottle... 😉

[phantom_iv]

46 minutes ago, Mad Harold said:

Is there an upgrade that unzips your fly and directs your willie overboard for when you are caught short solo boating?😰

 

 

Surely once your boat is remote controlled you can just steer from the comfort of your own bathroom, perhaps using some sort of periscope arrangement to look where you're going?

[IanD]

13 minutes ago, phantom_iv said:

 

Surely once your boat is remote controlled you can just steer from the comfort of your own bathroom, perhaps using some sort of periscope arrangement to look where you're going?

You don't need no steenking periscope, just a webcam in the bows. Then you can use the same phone to see and control the boat while you're sitting on the throne. And scan through Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and so on while you're at it, it doesn't take 100% attention to steer a boat.

 

A side benefit is you only look straight ahead so you don't see or get into arguments with fisherman or moored boaters complaining you're going too fast... 😉

 

In fact it occurs to me that you don't need to be on the boat at all, you could do all this over t'interweb while filling up somebody else's toilet, like a pub's...

 

Actually, why go to all the bother and expense of having a boat (and having to dispose of the effluent) at all? You could get exactly the same experience with a suitable video game from a throne in the location of your choice...

Edited August 11, 2021 by IanD

[dixi188]

IanD said:  it doesn't take 100% attention to steer a boat.

 

Well in my experience it only takes a moments inattention for the boat to be heading for the bank or trees.

I have peed over the stern when single handed but I stop the boat first and make sure no one is around.