how to tie up properly

[Tom Richmond]

I've been tempted to put eybolts on the gunwales to act as a sort of fairlead or cleat so that the boat can be moored with a centre rope without rolling. Would be useful on the pontoon where we moor, as the pontoon is shorter than the boat. The only thing I can see is that it might be a trip hazard?

 

When I bought Dirtwater Fox she had an M12 bolt welded onto the gunwal about two foot forward of the start of the trad stern cabin on one side. This bolt had a hefty shackle over it, which from the amount of paint caked on top had been there for some time. It was in a perfect position to be used as a forward spring line, allowing the crew to easily step on and off the aft deck without a line running across their path, (the only other option being bollards about a foot either side of the tiller.)

 

However, it was also located exactly where the crew member hanging out aft chatting to the helmsman naturally stands, and it did not take many stubbed toes before I cracked out the angle grinder and removed it.

 

I usually moor with a 90 deg line from the stern and lines running forward and aft from the T stud at the bow, at as shallow an angle as is practicable in any given situation. If my aft running line wants to take a path over the front deck, threatening to tip any of my garden into the cut, I route it forwards on the offside underneath the bow fender, from where it can run aft without risk of any horticultural damage. I almost always moor with crossed pins, I have three with rings on, and three slightly more hefty pins which I believe were originally used by gravediggers to support the planks they erect to contain the piles of dirt from the graves.

 

I almost always step off the stern of the boat with centre rope in hand and loop it around a bollard on lock landings. This is almost always sufficient while turning a lock, unless on a river, in which case a line facing the direction of the flow is always a good idea! If mooring up longer (to go to the pub for example) I will use lines forward and aft, but I will often not remove that first centre line, however I will ensure that it is looser than the other lines, as I value my kitchen crockery.

 

Lastly, I recently replaced my centre lines (one each side) with a piece of very high stretch climbing rope, which I had lying around. It is great for stopping the boat at a lock landing, as it stretches and gives in a quite satisfying manner, putting less strain on boat and bollards, and causing less violent motion inside...

[Wanderer Vagabond]

I'm sorry but I wouldn't call mooring with a centre line mooring properly. The anchorage point for a centreline , ie the middle of the roof, is too high up and will induce rolling. We have witnessed too many boats now that have been moored on lock landings by just a centre rope and then the owner has wondered why it is tipping.

 

Mooring with spring lines is a more sensible idea and as for mooring with chains in a river well to my mind that is down right dangerous. At least with a rope you can cut it if the need arises.

 

We do the vast majority of our boating on rivers and have yet to have a problem with people messing with the ropes. We tie up using all four ropes and ensure that they are tied back into the boat.

 

Setting the spring lines properly also means that you can accommodate fluctuations in water level and moor in a fashion that reduces surging from passing boats.

 

 

Agree 100%

 

Centre lines are just a convenient way of holding the boat in locks, but until all steel boats became the norm you didn't see them.

Just out of curiosity I am currently moored in the marina at Llangollen where they have installed short floating pontoons. For those who are totally against centre line mooring, can you advise me how you would moor on one of these? I have a 60' boat and I would guess that the pontoons are about 35' long. By mooring the stern rope and the centre line I can get the lines pulling in opposite directions thereby holding the boat in position however if I try to moor using the bow and stern lines (no centre line) both lines will be pulling in the same direction and will drive my stern into the quay (repeatedly!). If mooring with a centre line isn't 'proper' mooring then what am I supposed to do? Anchor??

[Naughty Cal]

 

 

Just out of curiosity I am currently moored in the marina at Llangollen where they have installed short floating pontoons. For those who are totally against centre line mooring, can you advise me how you would moor on one of these? I have a 60' boat and I would guess that the pontoons are about 35' long. By mooring the stern rope and the centre line I can get the lines pulling in opposite directions thereby holding the boat in position however if I try to moor using the bow and stern lines (no centre line) both lines will be pulling in the same direction and will drive my stern into the quay (repeatedly!). If mooring with a centre line isn't 'proper' mooring then what am I supposed to do? Anchor??

Bow line to the cleat on the opposite side of the pontoon, so if two boats share the pontoon their bow lines cross over.

 

Nothing wrong with dropping an anchor/mud weight over the bow to keep it in a straight line either. Thats what we do if we end up stern moored somewhere.

Edited September 22, 2014 by Naughty Cal

[Robbo]

Bow line to the cleat on the opposite side of the pontoon, so if two boats share the pontoon their bow lines cross over.

 

Nothing wrong with dropping an anchor/mud weight over the bow to keep it in a straight line either. Thats what we do if we end up stern moored somewhere.

As the pontoon is 25ft shorter I don't think the bow line to the other side of the pontoon would make any difference (they don't tend to very wide!).

 

The only downside to mooring with a centre line on a floating pontoon in a marina is if the marina is busy or in a windy spot where the waves can rock the boat pulling on the centre line.

[john6767]

When we were in Llangollen I use stern and centre lines to moor to the pontoon, and have done the same in other places with short pontoons, Droitwich I think is the same. I don't see there is much alternative with a normal narrowboat is there? It is not going to cause any issue, its not like there are boats moving past you like when moored on-line. Thinking about it I think I may have also run the bow line back to the pontoon, but it is at such a shallow angle, even if you went to the opposing side of the pontoon, that it's not really doing anything.

[Wanderer Vagabond]

Bow line to the cleat on the opposite side of the pontoon, so if two boats share the pontoon their bow lines cross over.

 

Nothing wrong with dropping an anchor/mud weight over the bow to keep it in a straight line either. Thats what we do if we end up stern moored somewhere.

When I queried whether I should anchor I was thinking more in terms of the Mediterranean method of anchoring where you drop the anchor whilst reversing onto the mooring, some distance out (a good method other than in a strong side wind!). I would suggest that, "...dropping an anchor/mud weight over the bow....." actually serves little purpose other than decoration. If the anchor is pretty much below the bows it isn't really anchoring at all, and when we wake up the following morning with a stiff headwind pushing the boat back onto the concrete quayside, damaging the rudder and whatever else, the anchor over bow will do nothing to stop this. On the other hand if we drop the anchor when approaching the mooring so that it is actually anchoring there is a pretty good chance of someone else coming in later and wrapping my anchor warp around their prop.

 

As another poster pointed out, these finger pontoons are substantially shorter than my boat so attaching the bow line to them by any means, whether crossed over the pontoon or not, will still drag my boat back onto the quayside since all lines will be angled towards the stern.

[Scholar Gypsy]

When I queried whether I should anchor I was thinking more in terms of the Mediterranean method of anchoring where you drop the anchor whilst reversing onto the mooring, some distance out (a good method other than in a strong side wind!). I would suggest that, "...dropping an anchor/mud weight over the bow....." actually serves little purpose other than decoration. If the anchor is pretty much below the bows it isn't really anchoring at all, and when we wake up the following morning with a stiff headwind pushing the boat back onto the concrete quayside, damaging the rudder and whatever else, the anchor over bow will do nothing to stop this. On the other hand if we drop the anchor when approaching the mooring so that it is actually anchoring there is a pretty good chance of someone else coming in later and wrapping my anchor warp around their prop.

 

As another poster pointed out, these finger pontoons are substantially shorter than my boat so attaching the bow line to them by any means, whether crossed over the pontoon or not, will still drag my boat back onto the quayside since all lines will be angled towards the stern.

 

Just to add that

• if there is another boat on the other side of the pontoon then I find it is a very good idea (for both boats) to run a line (not too tight) connecting the bows (or whichever end is stuck out in the middle of nowhere). That can reduce the swinging quite a bit. You can do this in a way that is easy for the other boat to unhook the line and chuck it back on your boat when they leave.
• if using an anchor or mudweight a float should reduce the risk of wrapping things around the prop - if other boats can work out why it is there..
• I would use a stern spring, running forward from the back of the boat, to hold the stern a safe distance from the bank. This also enables you, provided you are confident the level won't change too much, to tighten the line from the bows and so hold the boat into the pontoon (more effective than a centre line in my experience).
• I also run a thin line through the hole in the top of the rudder, tied off to a fender eye, to hold the rudder hard over and thus out of harm's way.

[Naughty Cal]

When I queried whether I should anchor I was thinking more in terms of the Mediterranean method of anchoring where you drop the anchor whilst reversing onto the mooring, some distance out (a good method other than in a strong side wind!). I would suggest that, "...dropping an anchor/mud weight over the bow....." actually serves little purpose other than decoration. If the anchor is pretty much below the bows it isn't really anchoring at all, and when we wake up the following morning with a stiff headwind pushing the boat back onto the concrete quayside, damaging the rudder and whatever else, the anchor over bow will do nothing to stop this. On the other hand if we drop the anchor when approaching the mooring so that it is actually anchoring there is a pretty good chance of someone else coming in later and wrapping my anchor warp around their prop.

 

As another poster pointed out, these finger pontoons are substantially shorter than my boat so attaching the bow line to them by any means, whether crossed over the pontoon or not, will still drag my boat back onto the quayside since all lines will be angled towards the stern.

Reversing med style is fine provided other boats are aware that you have your anchor/mudweight some distance out ahead of you.

 

If not you run the risk of another boat fouling your ground tackle and losing it.

 

Dropping the anchor/mudweight off the bow does work very well at reducing the swung in the bow. As I said before we have used the method when stern mooring on the Norfolk Broads.

 

Perhaps try it before writing the idea off.

 

Tying the bows of adjacent boats together is another good suggestion.

 

Can I just ask why it matters if your boats stern fender is touching the quayside?

[Wanderer Vagabond]

 

 

Just to add that

• if there is another boat on the other side of the pontoon then I find it is a very good idea (for both boats) to run a line (not too tight) connecting the bows (or whichever end is stuck out in the middle of nowhere). That can reduce the swinging quite a bit. You can do this in a way that is easy for the other boat to unhook the line and chuck it back on your boat when they leave.
• if using an anchor or mudweight a float should reduce the risk of wrapping things around the prop - if other boats can work out why it is there..
• I would use a stern spring, running forward from the back of the boat, to hold the stern a safe distance from the bank. This also enables you, provided you are confident the level won't change too much, to tighten the line from the bows and so hold the boat into the pontoon (more effective than a centre line in my experience).
• I also run a thin line through the hole in the top of the rudder, tied off to a fender eye, to hold the rudder hard over and thus out of harm's way.

 

The swinging I can live with although, if the opportunity arises, I will indeed run a line across to the bow of any adjacent boat. The anchoring/mudweight idea I'm not sure that I can be bothered with since it will probably be more trouble than it is worth. Yes, a small buoy attached to the anchor is what we used in sailing, but in the canal marina it will just be something else for someone to wrap around their prop.

The particularly good idea however is the stern line run forward which is certainly worthwhile, although it will mean both mooring ropes coming from the same stanchion, with a fairly tight bow line it will hold the boat to the pontoon so I would accept that as an improvement on the centre line.

 

Reversing med style is fine provided other boats are aware that you have your anchor/mudweight some distance out ahead of you.

 

If not you run the risk of another boat fouling your ground tackle and losing it.

 

Dropping the anchor/mudweight off the bow does work very well at reducing the swung in the bow. As I said before we have used the method when stern mooring on the Norfolk Broads.

 

Perhaps try it before writing the idea off.

 

Tying the bows of adjacent boats together is another good suggestion.

 

Can I just ask why it matters if your boats stern fender is touching the quayside?

Having been on the Broads in a yoghurt pot I have used mudweights, which is why I think they are so crap. If you are moored up in a totally windless piece of water with no current then they are probably brilliant, but then in those circumstances you hardly need any mooring anyway since the boat will hardly drift. When things become more lively however, an increase in wind for instance, then a mudweight is just an ornament that doesn't really serve any purpose. My experience was on Barton Broad when the wind picked up to a 'howling' Force 3 and the boat just dragged the mudweight like it wasn't there. If the Broads yoghurt pots aren't held in a piffling wind like that there is no chance at all of them holding an 18 tonne narrow boat. Unless it has 'bitten' an anchor sitting on the bottom below the bows is just a mudweight (see above).

 

The reason that it matters if the stern fender touches the quayside is because it only needs to ride up and the next point of contact, under Sod's law, will be the rudder which, unlike the fender, doesn't squash it just bends.

[Naughty Cal]

The swinging I can live with although, if the opportunity arises, I will indeed run a line across to the bow of any adjacent boat. The anchoring/mudweight idea I'm not sure that I can be bothered with since it will probably be more trouble than it is worth. Yes, a small buoy attached to the anchor is what we used in sailing, but in the canal marina it will just be something else for someone to wrap around their prop.

The particularly good idea however is the stern line run forward which is certainly worthwhile, although it will mean both mooring ropes coming from the same stanchion, with a fairly tight bow line it will hold the boat to the pontoon so I would accept that as an improvement on the centre line.

 

Having been on the Broads in a yoghurt pot I have used mudweights, which is why I think they are so crap. If you are moored up in a totally windless piece of water with no current then they are probably brilliant, but then in those circumstances you hardly need any mooring anyway since the boat will hardly drift. When things become more lively however, an increase in wind for instance, then a mudweight is just an ornament that doesn't really serve any purpose. My experience was on Barton Broad when the wind picked up to a 'howling' Force 3 and the boat just dragged the mudweight like it wasn't there. If the Broads yoghurt pots aren't held in a piffling wind like that there is no chance at all of them holding an 18 tonne narrow boat. Unless it has 'bitten' an anchor sitting on the bottom below the bows is just a mudweight (see above).

 

The reason that it matters if the stern fender touches the quayside is because it only needs to ride up and the next point of contact, under Sod's law, will be the rudder which, unlike the fender, doesn't squash it just bends.

As with anything its how you utilise it.

 

Anchors can drag. Doesnt mean they are useless, it usually means it wasnt set right in the first instance!

 

Why not just secure your stern fender so it can not ride up. Problem solved

[FadeToScarlet]

Why not just secure your stern fender so it can not ride up. Problem solved

Because you'd have to re secure it normally before going boating again- they're designed to ride up, if hung properly, if they get caught on gates or cills so as to not hang the boat up.

 

If the quayside is low, the fenders can also be too high and just go over the top of it, too, so you might need to hang another underneath it.

[Naughty Cal]

Because you'd have to re secure it normally before going boating again- they're designed to ride up, if hung properly, if they get caught on gates or cills so as to not hang the boat up.

 

If the quayside is low, the fenders can also be too high and just go over the top of it, too, so you might need to hang another underneath it.

Fender the quayside instead then!

 

Its a non problem really.

[muddywaters]

Because it is a handling rope not a mooring rope!

And that is all I've ever used it for, get off with centre line pull boat in, tie up back and front.

Centre line back on roof

[dave moore]

Hear, hear! I'm not a fan of the modern tendency to use the centre line for mooring, unless there's little alternative, such as when tying to a shorter than the boat pontoon.

 

Dave

[ditchcrawler]

Hear, hear! I'm not a fan of the modern tendency to use the centre line for mooring, unless there's little alternative, such as when tying to a shorter than the boat pontoon.

 

Dave

I use to have to do that when I was on the Middle level and with changing water levels when it flooded in the winter was always a worry, If it was slack enough for level changes then I hit the next boat. As for stern on, I fender, tie it tight back with a strap on the rudder to

[Wanderer Vagabond]

As with anything its how you utilise it.

 

Anchors can drag. Doesnt mean they are useless, it usually means it wasnt set right in the first instance!

 

Why not just secure your stern fender so it can not ride up. Problem solved

That was pretty much my point, an anchor tossed over the bows isn't really going to do anything constructive. To anchor properly you need to get it to 'bite' usually by reversing the boat. There are quite a lot of reasons for anchors to drag, often because it wasn't big enough in the first place. Other causes are a change in wind direction for which the anchor may have been perfectly set at the time of mooring but the change in conditions reduces its effectiveness, or cause it to pull up altogether.

 

Fender the quayside instead then!

 

Its a non problem really.

I always carry enough fenders to do the quayside (not!). The side fenders are small rubber tube fenders to reduce the noise when moored against hard surfaces but too small to be of any service at the stern. Unshackling the button fender really doesn't bear thinking about.

 

It does of course become a total non problem once you've mastered the skill of steering the narrow-boat with a bent rudder!

[Bazza954]

this is how it should be done !!! use the nearest dry stone wall

[Wanderer Vagabond]

this is how it should be done !!! use the nearest dry stone wall

You may mock but he'll be glad of those lines when the tide come in!!

[NickF]

this is how it should be done !!! use the nearest dry stone wall

Excellent .... that will sort out those pesky cyclists! May be we should all follow his excellent example!