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Casting off in moving water


Kieron G

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Hi, the water on the river where i'm moored between other boats is moving pretty fast now. Is there a recognised safe way to cast off single handed ? The wooden planking on the pontoons is also very slippery most of the time now. I understand matching the forward speed of the boat with the moving water but not sure which line to let go last. Chance / consequences of making a mistake much higher now than earlier in year. Thanks for any advice.

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The last line to let go would be the upstream one ( I.e. where the is comming from)

 

I had am interesting conversation with a boater about a similar issue following two "incidents" at Reading.

 

He seemed to be taking it all in, until asking "But which end of my boat is the upstream end?"

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I thought the general consensus was to moor facing upstream.... so if you untie the upstream lines last then surely you are going to be in the stream with no control over the vessel ... or have I missed something?

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I thought the general consensus was to moor facing upstream.... so if you untie the upstream lines last then surely you are going to be in the stream with no control over the vessel ... or have I missed something?

I have been on a boat in France when the crew dropped the bow rope first, luckily the river was wide enough for the boat to swing round, but only just.

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It's a tricky one, because if you're facing into the stream, and you untie the fore end line last, you then have to get down up to 72' of boat before you can take it fully in control. Fortunately, I've a nice concrete bank along my mooring, so I can undo the fore end line and run back to the tiller along the ground before the fore end starts to swing in most kinds of flow.

 

You could come up with some system, like a very long line back from the T stud to a ring or bollard towards the stern end, tied on with a highwayman's hitch- http://www.animatedknots.com/highwaymans/ - and the free end back to the tiller. Put the boat in gear against this line, undo the normal fore end line, get back to the tiller and pull the free end.

 

But to be honest, it's a bit of a faff, and if I had to single hand on water that was flowing fast enough to not be able to untie the fore end and get back to the tiller quickly, I wouldn't go out on my own- because tying up again is going to be equally difficult!

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I had am interesting conversation with a boater about a similar issue following two "incidents" at Reading.

 

He seemed to be taking it all in, until asking "But which end of my boat is the upstream end?"

 

 

Are you taking the mickey? blink.png

No. And I don't think the other chap was either.

 

His boat had spun a 180 above County Lock and another by the Prison due to securing the downstream end first. The Kennet was running very fast and I think he was "brave" to make the run through the bridges. He did clout the bank making the turn into the backwater.

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Yes, tying up again would be worse. At least i can cast off from the boat, tying up means having to negotiate the v slippery pontoon with the mooring rope in my hand. Maybe safer to leave any trips out for the time being. Thanks again.

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It will always depend on the layout of the mooring and the availability and spacing of bollards, but it is a situation where a centre rope can be your friend.

 

If you tie up your cente rope, and then release your bow and stern ropes, the centre rope will hold the boat in place and stop the bow swinging round in the current. You can then untie the centre rope and you have only half the distance to walk to get back to the controls.

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On rivers and tidal moorings you will generally be tying up where there are cleats/bollards so you do everything from the boat. I doubt you would be able to hold a narrowboat with a centre line against a really fast flow you would need to have a long bow line hooked round a cleat or whatever and use that to control the direction of the bow which will want to swing round of course. Granted with a really long boat this could be tricky but I wouldn't risk trying to hang on to a narrowboat from the side if the river was really flowing.

 

The worst situation to be in is where you are between two other boats, facing upstream there's a fast current flowing, and there's a strong wind blowing from the starboard side. You can always pretend that you wanted to go downstream anyway...

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It will always depend on the layout of the mooring and the availability and spacing of bollards, but it is a situation where a centre rope can be your friend.

 

If you tie up your cente rope, and then release your bow and stern ropes, the centre rope will hold the boat in place and stop the bow swinging round in the current. You can then untie the centre rope and you have only half the distance to walk to get back to the controls.

 

That's what I'd do.

 

 

On rivers and tidal moorings you will generally be tying up where there are cleats/bollards so you do everything from the boat. I doubt you would be able to hold a narrowboat with a centre line against a really fast flow you would need to have a long bow line hooked round a cleat or whatever and use that to control the direction of the bow which will want to swing round of course. Granted with a really long boat this could be tricky but I wouldn't risk trying to hang on to a narrowboat from the side if the river was really flowing.

 

The worst situation to be in is where you are between two other boats, facing upstream there's a fast current flowing, and there's a strong wind blowing from the starboard side. You can always pretend that you wanted to go downstream anyway...

 

If you're single handing and the boat is not able to be controlled using the centre line, its probably not safe to go out.

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It can be great fun letting a fast current swing you around when you want to set off downstream, by untying the upstream line first, but do be careful not to lose your rudder by getting it trapped as you swing round.

 

I've found that mooring up on a fast flowing river when single handed is a lot easier when travelling with the flow. Contrary to the usual advice of turning into the flow, I find it far better just to use lots of reverse power to bring the boat to a stop where I can step off with the stern line which is of course then the upstream line.

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I have got life jackets for the Ouse and should start using one on the Derwent now & at only 24ft can get along the edge of the boat fairly quickly. The steering is a wheel, pulley & cable arrangement. It's fairly stiff and will stay where it's left but with Tee studs to tie to on the pontoons i don't know if i could throw the bight of the mooring rope around one to tie up from the bow of the boat and get it right first time. I can wait anyway, just wanted to check to see if the fallen tree had been moved from the river at Thorganby and charge the battery on a good run.

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Saw a 35 ft fibre glass let go the from line on the Broads with a strong tide running (controls at the front) unfortunately by the time he told his wife to let go the rear line the boat had drifted back and locked the rope tight and our went the nose. So there he was at 90 degrees to the bank held by the rear rope and I must admit I was surprised his rear cleat held.

 

It took 5 of us with an extended bow rope to eventually pull the bow back round, thank god it was a light fibreglass with a shaped hull. Thought we were going to have to cut the stern rope.

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If you have the power and control, sometimes, single handed, its better to mooring stern facing upstream. It's hard work getting a boat with 1hp/ton to stop let alone reverse at 3-4 mph but it is possible as I've done it. Some rivers just aren't wide enough to turn in.

 

Mike

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That is a good idea and i would do that if i had the computer skills. there is only really another foot of flat deck not shown on the caption picture with a wheel and controls to stand behind. Steel and 25hp inboard but vee hull more like a cruiser.

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Hi, the water on the river where i'm moored between other boats is moving pretty fast now. Is there a recognised safe way to cast off single handed ? The wooden planking on the pontoons is also very slippery most of the time now. I understand matching the forward speed of the boat with the moving water but not sure which line to let go last. Chance / consequences of making a mistake much higher now than earlier in year. Thanks for any advice.

I would say if you haven't got enough experience to know the answer to the question you're asking, then you shouldn't even be thinking about going out in a river with enough fresh coming down to make it difficult to clear a berth. If you've got to move the boat for some reason in these conditions, then take someone who has done it before with you.

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I would say if you haven't got enough experience to know the answer to the question you're asking, then you shouldn't even be thinking about going out in a river with enough fresh coming down to make it difficult to clear a berth. If you've got to move the boat for some reason in these conditions, then take someone who has done it before with you.

Yes I agree. Don't move unless you have to, and if you have to, take some experienced crew.

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