A Simple Trick to Help You Moor Your Boat | ⛵ Sailing Britaly ⛵

Here we show you how we use a $3 pool noodle to make mooring our boat really easy! This simple trick makes docking our boat a piece of cake... 🔔 SUBSCRIBE ➜ bit.ly/SBKZbin⛵
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How to dock a boat? This is the kind of question that is virtually impossible to answer, as there are a million variables and no two berths will be the same. Even if you ARE coming to dock in the same berth, different weather conditions may call for a completely different approach to mooring on different days... This simple trick is just one more small piece of knowledge that can commit to memory and even if it's not relevent to you right now, may help you easily and safely moor your boat at some point in the future.
⛵ Sailing Britaly ⛵ brings you the sailing shenanigans of Chris (British) and Rossella (Italian), as we sail our 30ft sloop. We make sailing vlogs of our cruising adventures and share any tips and tricks we can along the way. After all, sailors are one big family!
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Fair winds! 👍
Chris and Rossella
Music used in this episode:
'Summer Holiday' Vyray
'Silver Lakes' Wes Hutchinson
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[@SailingBritaly]

Hi guys, thanks for watching! We have a gift for you: 📖 Get a FREE PDF with over 3,500 knots here ➜ bit.ly/knotsPDF Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊

[@mrmimo123]

The risk of taking this relatively thin line into your propeller or thruster is high. It's a matter of time it will get into. On the other hand, if your docking space is clear of floating lines the easiest technique is to throw the stern lines and give your boat some forward throttle. Then you have plenty of time to secure the bow. Mediterranean sailing schools even teach you that before you take off, you need to stay on forward throttle and stern lines, drop the bow lines, WAIT FOR THEM TO SINK, and only then you may go forward.

[@thenarrator1984]

Agreed... I'd say this works but have to go neutral as you pass it

[@ErnestV]

Nice trick, but it requires you to mount the floats before - so you need to go in without them at least once. And when roaming around the Egean you will not possibly come back to that very slip soon, or if you did it is quite likely another boat has already occupied the space... I'll briefly describe what I usually do in these occasions - and I have an about 60% success rate, and if something doesn't work out as planned abort prematurely and start over: Aim at the slot from farther out, and reverse in with "high speed" so the boat keeps going and remains more or less steerable until the last 2 meters, then brutally stop it with WOT forward. Of course before this manouever I have -) meticoulously prepared both stern lines -) made sure that either a crew member is ready to step over at given command, or made sure that I have a helping hand at the pontoon After stopping at the last 2 meters the crew guy steps over with (or I throw) the windward line and makes a quick fastener somewhere, approx. less than a boat width to windward. Then put the gear in forward and balance the boat with the rudder to lee, which will keep the boat straight for the next few minutes. When this is over there's every time of the world to: -) fetch the mooring line, walk to the bow and fasten it onto the cleat -) then idle the engine and loosen the stern line a meter or so - the mooring will pull the boat out a bit -) retighten the mooring and pull the boat back to the pontoon, using either the engine or winching it in, which will give you a nice and safe tension on the mooring, w/o needing to pull it in all by yourself -) finally attach the leeward stern line and beautify the windward stern line Now step off the boat, walk over to the cafe and get yourself a beer.

[@oceancrossingutopia]

Nice trick, Guys. I'm mostly single-handing, so I have 2 scenarios. 1) There is a boat in one or both slips next to mine. In this case, I simply put plenty fenders in place and tie up to the boat next to me. Then fix my bow lines and finally sterns lines. 2) There is no boats next to me. I tie one side to the pontoon, fix a single stern line, grab windward bow line and pull my boat out. My boat is small enough that I can do this in most cases. Thanks again for the trick. I makes for a quick and easy solution when 2 or more aboard.

[@rossslater5709]

Excellent, we have this set up here in Orihuela, and coming into our berth can be stressful, I'm so grateful for this sensible straight forward advice. I always look forward to your videos. Thanks Again.

[@SailingBritaly]

Cheers Ross :-)

[@FreedomForce100]

Such a smart idea! Congratulations et all the best for the new baby!

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you very much - we can't wait to go sailing with baby Emma! Fair winds! 😊 Chris & Rossella 👍

[@rossslater5709]

As usual great piece of advice cheap and practical, looking forward to more blogs soon.

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you Ross! More videos coming soon (according to baby Emma's schedule!) Fair winds! Chris & Rossella 👍

[@saveriogrossi5973]

Good idea but...often the owner of the marina would not admit the use of a float object, fearing the possibilitythat the line would somehow get in to propeller. Another way to solve the problem of med mooring in the absence of other boats very near to the one you're mooring is to prepare a line of the port or starboard side (depending on the wind direction) and to rapidly secure THAT line. After the the helm must turned to the opposite direction in respect to the wind and full throttle applied so that the bow will move to the right direction gining the time to fix the bow line. It seems difficult but it works!!

[@ProjectManaia]

Nice trick you guys! Thank you for sharing!

[@SailingBritaly]

Cheers guys! Fair winds, Chris & Rossella 👍

[@craigkrobinson]

Great idea, thanks for that.

[@dss9775]

As always I love your training lessons. Thank you. ***And thank you so much for honoring and loving your wife so much that you respect her and do not "use" her to get more views. She was created for your eyes only and vice versa. Fair Winds 🌎⛵️

[@islandaerial3414]

Good one. Don't see that way of docking up here in Canada, as we have big tide swings. Will archive if I ever get closer to the equator, for sure!

[@SailingBritaly]

Yes things are very different in my home town in the UK - we have a 30 ft tidal range and a huge sandy beach which disappears completely at high tide. Boating is a very different kettle of fish there compared to how it is in the Med. The local marinas have locks or the alternative is to take the mud on a river. I guess should make a video when I'm back there... Fair winds! Chris (& Rossella) 👍

[@Matthew24.4]

I like it, thank you!

[@SailingBritaly]

Our pleasure! Fair winds! Chris & Rossella 👍

[@TonyAnschutz]

nice tip. thanks!

[@SailingBritaly]

Thanks Tony! Fair winds, Chris & Rossella 👍

[@realulli]

I've seen a setup like that at the Dreamyachtcharter dock in Le Marin on Martinique. They don't allow charterers to dock or launch by themselves, they always send some guy on board who does the maneuver until the propellers are clear of the floats... I guess they learned that the floats can and do tangle in the prop if you don't know what you're doing...

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi there, I can't comment on that setup in Martinique as I have no first hand knowledge of it - it may be that the way the floats are set up in that location make it more likely for them to foul propellers (there are a million combinations of how the underwater lines can be set up). However the fact that they use buoys there appears to confirm the validity of our technique, as the company obviously believe this float system to be valid otherwise they wouldn't have fitted the floats in the first place... What I would add is that I have seen people foul their props with the lazy lines other berths on our pontoon (no-one else has floats fitted yet) so the standard 'Med Mooring with Lazy Lines' set up is not perfect to begin with. Knowing our marina and the environmental factors at play there, our 'Float Line' system is definitely the easiest way for us to moor our boat without assistance from 3rd parties. Fair winds, Chris (& Rossella) 👍

[@richarddavies-scourfield8413]

How did you pick up the mooring line to attach your floats?

[@mmanut]

Great idea, Very Clever Guys ‼️👍👍. Vinny 🇺🇸

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you Vinny, it worked perfectly for us, even when Rossella was 8 months pregnant. That's why we thought we'd share it with others. Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma 👍

[@jackrabbit5047]

Wow! Backing into a space like that must take a lot of skill, especially with prop walk, wind, etc..

[@SailingBritaly]

It's not too bad when the wind blows from either side or the stern, as you can plan the manouvre to achieve what you want. The pain is when the wind comes right on the bow (as it often does on this pontoon as the sea breeze gets channeled and accellerated in between two mountains dead ahead.) In this case you can't plan the manouvre because it's 50/50 which way the bow will go once you stop the boat and lose way. We have seen multiple boats damaged in the resulting turmoil. However, with this buoy, mooring with a headwind became a piece of cake for us. Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊

[@randyowens2717]

Great idea!

[@SailingBritaly]

It worked well for us Randy. Cheers! Chris 👍

[@lungarotta]

It seems a good advice. I already knew this trick and I had bought a small floating plastic ring, the type they use for floating lines which border the landing stripe for motorboats in beaches, but I could never use it because in the marina where I have my boat they forbid to have this float. I usually am single handed so I have developed my own technique for mooring with strong wind pushing you directly towards the pontoon. Of course you need the assistance of someone on the pontoon. 1) After many years of experience I have a precious advice to give to all sailors: when the wind is superior to 25 kt, and it's blowing towards the pontoon or with a small angle, NEVER moor stern to pontoon, unless you have a bow-thruster. The moment you are reversing is very delicate and if a gust arrives when you are manoeuvring it will make you crash against other boats. I've witnessed lots of crashes because the skippers insisted in mooring stern to pontoon. 2) Instead prepare two mooring lines at the bow and moor bow to pontoon. In this way you can manoeuvre the boat much more easily and it will take less time too (and time is the key factor here). Stop the boat about 2- 2,5 m from the pontoon with a strong push of the reverse gear, then set it neutral. 3) Run to the bow and throw one line to the man in the pontoon and immediately rush back at the helm to set again the gear on reverse when the man has fastened the line on the cleat. This will keep the boat steady against the wind, so you can relax and take the long mooring line attached to the mooring post (trappa in Italian) and fasten it at your stern. 2 metres is a safe distance even with strong wind which will give you time to ran back to the helm before the wind pushes the boat to the pontoon. 4) Finally you go back to the bow and throw the second line to the man and everything is settled. I've experimented this with 40 kts of wind and everything went smooth. But if there is no one to help you then your float is much better.

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi there, great advice and as the bow tends to naturally swing downwind the 'bow towards the pontoon' technique helps immensely when the wind is blowing towards the pontoon. Then there is the simplest method of all - the one we used before we fitted the buoy... Anchor in the bay and wait until the sun sets! We have seen lots of boats struggle against strong winds because they return to the pontoon about 30 minutes before sunset (I think human nature encourages people to do this: 'Let's get back before it gets dark'...). People have a very stressful time mooring their boats and sometimes boats get damaged. Then, 30 minutes later, the wind disappears completely! We have anchored 100 metres from our mooring many times and then gone in when the wind dropped. This is the easiest way of all. :-) Buon Vento! Chris & Rossella 👍

[@williambunting803]

Hi, I did actually mean birth, but then after I realised that had happened some time ago. Oh well, and a great result I see. I really like this solution using the floats and will be implementing when the situation arises. I am marina bound for at least another year, damn it, and the problem here is the embarrassment when I stuff up an approach, I am still wearing the crunch mark from my first outing (first in 40 years) powering in reverse into a pier. At the moment I am thinking of single hander docking strategies to make docking safe and automatic. At the moment the thinking is one line that is both a springer and bow line so powering aft pulls the boat in against the fenders and will stay secure as long as is needed to set up the rest of the lines. Still working on this but would love to see everything that you have learnt. Another project I have is to solve the problem of rolling anchorages, sufficient so that you never have to abandon an anchorage again. Happy to share if you are interested and want to test it in due course.

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi William, we found this technique took all of the stress out of mooring our boat and it worked brilliantly for the challenges associated with our berth in this particular marina. I learnt a fair bit during my solo sail from the UK to Belgium, which we will be sharing in upcoming videos soon. Feel free to contact us with your idea / product whenever you are ready, we are always interested in sharing things we believe are valuable with others. Cheers, Chris 👍

[@MrJunkfood1111]

what kind of boat that next to you? the classic one, the white and brown, do you know?

[@AltheaMark]

Great idea guys

[@SailingBritaly]

Cheers Mark

[@bobaquaplane1679]

I'm on a swinging mooring, I have a fender as a pickup buoy. Works for me and if I'm feeling brave I can sail on to it.

[@SailingBritaly]

A fender would work great here too. Fair winds, Chris & Rossella 👍

[@donGiulio]

Thanks for sharing, generally this is not done out of concern of tangling your prop on the floating line. How do you make sure you don't get into deep troubles by tangling the prop?

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Giulio, this isn't a problem with a saildrive or sterndrive boat (it is for boats with an an outboard on the stern). I have covered why this isn't a problem many times in the comments below this video so please have a read through the comments and let me know if you have any further questions. Cheers, Chris 👍

[@alessandrobraglia9238]

Grande!!!! Questa è una ottima idea!!!!

[@SailingBritaly]

Grazie Alessandro! Per noi ha funzionato benissimo! Buon vento, Rossella, Chris ed Emma 😊

[@alessandrobraglia9238]

@@SailingBritaly grazie a voi per i bellissimi video! Ho notato che questa idea di mettere un galleggiante sul corpo morto la adottano i piccoli pescherecci, quelli con una sola persona a bordo, sicuramente molto utile. Buon vento a tutti e 3!

[@SailingBritaly]

Anche a te! 😊

[@banjomarla4091]

Stern lines first, steam gently ahead to keep stern off dock. Pick up cormort from quai running forward, take up slack, tie it off. Adjust stern.

[@harrygorter6053]

Correct ! that is the way I do too.

[@billderinbaja3883]

Lazy Line? Concrete Block? Obviously you guys aren't in Greece. We loved our daily sails and late afternoon moorings in the tiny harbors all around the Greek Isles. However... it was strictly traditional Med moor... drop anchor, back in & 2-point tie, tension anchor line... with 3, or 4, or 5 layers of boats arriving and ringing the basin by the end of the evening. Getting out in the morning was a whole series of nightmares with a giant spaghetti tangle of anchors and anchor lines all over the little harbor. Bring on the Ouzo and Raki for breakfast! Fun!

[@davidspelmans9438]

good tip now that i'm in the Med too!

[@SailingBritaly]

Congrats mate, where are you? 👍

[@davidspelmans9438]

@@SailingBritaly Cabo Roich, 40km south of Alicante

[@Taboollc]

Hey yall .... Have you shared any of your videos on sosailize social yet ? Havent seen any of yr videos on there !

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Lina, we haven't but in all honesty we don't have time to do that - we are really struggling to find the time to edit our videos (baby Emma!) so we have to prioritise and concentrate on making new videos. Fair winds! Chris & Rossella 👍

[@AndyUK-Corrival]

Great tip, just wish My Rival was good in reverse but that's another story.

[@SailingBritaly]

Thank you! :-)

[@bobaquaplane1679]

But a Rival goes well forwards, don't complain.

[@AndyUK-Corrival]

You are right it does Bob. In fact I have found it not as bad as everyone told me in reverse. Once moving if engine put in idle then no prop walk so it does steer better. so short bursts to keep her moving works well.

[@joeblow1942]

Gosh, can’t imagine trying to tie up med style solo in my 38’ trimaran!

[@SailingBritaly]

I would use my favourite technique: anchor out in the bay until sunset when the wind drops (almost always in this part of the world) then come into the slip when it’s calm. Whatever boat you have this helps make things easier. Cheers, Chris 👍

[@Lovesaildating]

NIce idea.

[@SailingBritaly]

👍

[@Two-aboard-tuuli]

Very good idea. We had some fights with this mooring setup in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria :-)

[@SailingBritaly]

This really helps so hopefully other people can use this idea too! Fair winds, Chris & Rossella 👍

[@chrislawrence298]

Seems like a sure fire way of getting the rope around prop

[@SailingBritaly]

There are no ropes anywhere near the prop. Look at the diagram at 2:30 Even if you mess up the approach and head straight for the buoy, the buoy pushes away from your boat and moves out of the way, taking the lazy line (which is 3 metres below the surface) with it, so you still have no ropes anywhere near your prop. Cheers, Chris

[@iainlyall6475]

Britaly(chris), you have the patience of a saint. i haven't read so many comments before, saying you are doing it wrong from people who obviously didn't view this video. you say exactly why this method works for you and you even throw in a diagram. and yet people still argue against you. go figure. btw, you are the 1st sailing channel i have subscribed to after over a year of watching many different sailing channels. i had to b/c of all the stupid replies. :-) good work and thank you.

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Iain, thank you very much, we really appreciate people who take the time to tell us things like this - that we are the first sailing channel you have subscribed to. Hearing this kind of thing from our viewers is a great motivator for us.🙂 Welcome aboard and we hope you enjoy our future videos. Fair winds! Chris (& Rossella) 👍

[@seanmulligan1339]

Im gonna watch this a couple of times generally yachts hate backing in 🍀most swedish boats you can step straight off the prow to shore ttfn

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Sean, yes those Scandinavians do that wonderful 'stern anchor out then bow tied to the shore' mooring when cruising. I'd love to give that a go one day but it must take some courage (and a bit of a mask & snorkel survey before hand...) to try it for the first time. Cheers! Chris & Rossella 👍

[@firstlast1047]

Sorry, I have no clue (No pun intended) what you do, how you do it. Even I, when explaining, giving directions leave out the nuances because I am familiar with the process

[@bgbendiksen]

There's nothing to it really. Or not much. First, if you don't know the place, you go in and check water depth is ok all the way to shore, and plan your bowlines and eventual spring/s. (for this, I made a little line with a lead weight on it and a knot at 2 meters. If the knot goes under, it's ok. :) After all, my echo sounder is not in the bow of the boat, and it can be hard to judge water depth by eye) Look for rocks. Then you back out, set your anchor and nose gently in until you can step (NOT jump. EVER) on land, (a bow ladder and/or a bowsprit can be a big help) tighten up and make fast the anchor, go ashore with lines, hammer, wedges etc and you are in business. Definitely helps to be two when doing this, but with practice and planning it is doable solo as well. Especially if you know the place. Many places in Norway and Sweden, there are rings set into the rocks to tie up to. Some are hundreds of years old. :) First times it may be easier to practice on a quay or similar, so you don't have the problems with water depth, finding footholds on slippery rocks, finding suitable cracks to hammer in your wedges etc to complicate things. When you are two, communication is king. Agree on hand signals and spoken commands from the person at the bow (who can see what is going on) to the helmsperson (who will feel they are for sure on dry land by the time they are 3 meters from shore). Follow those signals/commands. Take it easy, do things slowly. Start practicing in excellent conditions. Good luck! (After a successful landing, an "Ankerdram" is more or less mandatory) Before turning in for the night, pull your boat a bit away from the shore. The wind might turn. (you never do this when it blows from the sea towards your landing point. Find somewhere else. A side wind can be handled if the anchor hold is good, by setting a long spring from the stern or middle, at a good angle towards the wind) There, that is about all I know about anchoring bow in. We do it. Done it or watched it being done for half a century. :) Now that stern in mooring looks like a nightmare. I do it sometimes, but we have finger docks.

[@tiborkiss9186]

Last summer at a mooring like you showed here - at knots headwind and no boats around us - our chartered 42 feet boat was also pushed sideways, so we ended up taking the neighboring mooring line - I do not understand why the marinas not use this simple method...

[@SailingBritaly]

HI Tibor, I'm glad this helped. Every second counts when you have a strong headwind to contend with. Very best regards, Chris 👍

[@davidburpitt1114]

Hi can I use a small round fender poss a 10 inch

[@SailingBritaly]

That should work well David, it depends on the weight of the lines you're lifting but a 10 inch fender should have lots of buoyancy. If you like you can add a semi-rigid loop of rope to it by placing cable ties over the line and then covering the bundle up with duct tape. We do this with our underwater robots so you have a nice easy-to-grab loop which keeps its shape over time whether wet or dry. This can be your pick-up loop, which makes grabbing hold even easier. Cheers, Chris

[@hellsop]

Possible improvement: In addition to the loop, add one more section of pool noodle line beyond the loop, so the mess looks like this: -----||||--o-| Then, instead of having to maneuver the boathook into the loop that might not be very convenient, you just catch ANY part of the line between the single and multiple floats with the hook, and the single float will provide enough "grab" on the hook to lift the light line out of the water.

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Peter, that's a good idea but if you have seen the amount of flak I have received in the comments below regarding getting things caught in the propeller, I'm sure many people would disagree with having another section of line floating around on the surface!... Another way of making the loop easier to pick up is to stiffen it up with duct tape / hose pipe or a combination of the two, then you can have a nice big open loop sticking out at the surface. In my offshore work we do a similar thing subsea with ropes that will be handled by ROV's - it makes the line stiff and easy to handle. Fair winds! Chris (& Rossella) 👍

[@pegappp4821]

Ciao, dove siete ormeggiati in questo video?

[@SailingBritaly]

Ciao, Le Grazie, SP, Liguria... Un posto meraviglioso! Chris 👍

[@gemamartinez6898]

i have been mooring in a spot just like that and I wonder why you wouldn’t just get close enough to tie the windward stern line and then keep it in forward while you, no stress, get you lazy line. Another good one is attaching a midship line to your neighbour until you get your lines attached.

[@SailingBritaly]

This is fine in calm weather but I'd love to see someone do that with 30 knots coming straight from the bow. There are no cleats on the pontoon (so it is not possible to lasso a cleat) there are instead large rings which hang down against the edge of the pontoon. This means that by the time you have got one stern line in place, your bow has already been blown off, and as we witnessed many times on that pontoon, hard into an adjacent boat. (We saw toerails ripped off as a result of this.) The wind straight from the bow was very common due to the local topography, and this made things much more difficult as you could never determine which side would be the windward side - the wind chose to blow the bow to either port or starboard depending on very small variations of wind direction of a few degrees either side of the bow. (This means you don't know which will be the windward side until the bow starts to blow off, by which time - in 30 knot winds - it is too late to do anything about it.) Our system made things infinitely simpler in these conditions, but it may be one of those 'you would have to see it to believe it' type situations with the prevailing winds in that bay and on that pontoon. We could have filmed several different accidents under the precise conditions described above, but it would of course have been extremely bad manners to film someone struggling to moor their boat in a 30 knot headwind, waiting to record the next accident... Fair winds, Chris

[@mickeywakefield]

@@SailingBritaly I’ve always asked myself why, in Europe, it’s common to have closed rings on the dock instead of a cleat or something similar that one can more easily hang a loop over. At my club, people use carabiners to more quickly tie up. Do you know of a good reason for not having cleats, etc?

[@garysouza2277]

Why not just use a fender and MFP floating line? Both are made for the marine environment, unlike pool floats that break up into pieces.

[@SailingBritaly]

You could use a fender no problem at all. We have seen zero deterioration on the pool noodles after a couple of years use but if you find a fender floating about then this would be a great use for it. The technique is the same but of course there is more than one way to skin a cat... Fair winds, Chris & Rossella

[@duncanwood1]

You should not lose the bow to the wind if you secure your windward stern line first. Once this is tied to the quay just motor ahead gently and the wind against the motor will hold you steady whilst you pick up the lazy line.

[@SailingBritaly]

Doesn't work with a 30+ knot headwind. This Pontoon has rings, not cleats, so you can't just lasso a cleat, you have to faff about to pass a line through, by which time your bow has blown off and damaged your neighbours boat. I saw it happen numerous times while we were there, with some serious damage done. Cheers, Chris

[@jeffhodge7333]

Love the LSU cap. You sound bright and articulate, which does not match the people who typically wear LSU caps. In the USA, the Deep South is still considered ignorant and unenlightened. Give me a mailing address, and I'll send you sailing caps from Stanford or Cal Berkeley, two good universities.

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Jeff, my best friend moved to the USA to be principle at an international school in Baton Rouge and the LSU cap was a gift from him. He has recently moved to Charleston, SC, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for his new home to escape the weather which is inbound. We now have Sailing Britaly baseball caps available for us and our Patrons so I'll probably be sporting one of those in future videos. Cheers, Chris

[@mrclatter]

All well and good on your own mooring in your own marina, no use elsewhere. And as to "no chance of it getting around the prop..." Yer. Right.

[@SailingBritaly]

This video is only useful for the 95% of people who keep their boat on the same mooring all year round (admittedly it has to be a Med mooring to be relevant, but this was made clear at the beginning of the video). The rope does not get caught around the prop, even if you mess up your approach and back into the float. The float pushes away from your hull and takes the float line and lazy line with it. When you manouvre in to pick up the float, the shallowest section of the lazy line is still 3 metres below the surface, well away from your rudder, keel and prop - as per my diagram. I have worked offshore for many years with ROVs and divers, we operate with down lines made of rope running from the surface to the seabed. You can have line in the water and not threaten the vessel if you know what you are doing. Fair winds, Chris

[@rabukan5842]

@@SailingBritaly It is amazing how many times you have to repeat the same thing. I could see from your diagram, and the way you presented this technique in a clear manner, that the prop doesn't come in contact with the float in any way. But people see what they want, not what they should. All you can do is demonstrate how it works for you, then let people try it, or not, on their own. They'll either benefit from it, not benefit, or not even try. I will be giving it a try if I come into contact with this kind of mooring in the future. Here in Japan, it's all pretty standard...

[@mickobrien6360]

Just wondered, why not just attach stern lines then click into forward, then boat is secure and you can take as long as you like with bow lines. Thats what I was shown to do by boat charter guy. I attach my my own stern lines ready, drop a big ball shaped buoy of the back, go close enough to jump ashore secure lines and then click into forward gear. Boat stays put. Reverse the procedure when leaving. There was always three of us so never tried the above method single handed.

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Mick, I have seen this method of securing the stern lines first then motoring ahead to hold position, but based on what I have seen at this marina, when you have a 35 knot headwind coming straight from the bow, by the time you get even one of stern lines secured, your bow would already be digging into a neighbouring boat (if present) or, on an empty section of pontoon, you would have already been blown alongside at 90 degrees to the intended berthing position (I have seen both of these situations occur on our pontoon). I would love to see an expert boat handler use the 'stern line and power forward' technique successfully in such conditions but in the meantime we are very happy with our mooring method. Fair winds, Chris 👍

[@mickobrien6360]

I have never moored stern to in strong winds with anything less than 4 of us and lots of hands make light work etc. Great to see other methods and its obviously working for you in the windy conditions, so thanks for sharing. I am moored in Plymouth UK at the moment, so just motor in the conventional way. Thanks for sharing again and kind regards.

[@zoltanszoke2676]

I think the first artwork was wrong: the line ends on the concrete block, and the end of the line is on the seabed, and there' s an aiding line attached to the end of the mooring line. The mooring line goes back to the seabed, and it is attached midway to the boat.

[@jon830205]

That diagram is definitely wrong. There is no way you could make that work. The only reason I'm reading the comments was to see if anyone else caught that. Thank you.

[@adrianvalbuena8158]

It works good but it can be dangereous for propellers.

[@SailingBritaly]

For saildrive or direct drive boats the float line and mooring lines are nowhere near your propeller (as per the hand drawn diagram in the video). Even if you get the approach wrong and the buoy contacts your hull, the float pushes aside taking the float line and lazy line with it so nothing gets caught in your prop. If you have an outboard engine, that's a different story of course... Fair winds, Chris & Rossella 👍

[@TheRectory33]

Not sure about this. Float, line and prop is a recipe for not a good outcome. Like your thinking in keeping things as easy as possible. As suggested below reverse in get the windward line on to the dock cleat with about three to five feet of slack line and motor forward. This will keep you more or less straight in your berth. Then take your time to take the slime line and tie the bow off. I then motor in reverse and get everything nice and tight. Job done and time for an arrival Gin & Tonic. Little tip: You will need more speed when reversing in 10kts + wind from either beam to keep the bow from blowing off. Try not to use excessive bow thruster (if you have one), let the tied dock line and engine do the work.

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi Mike, I have to respectfully disagree with you about the float line going in the prop. When we approach the pontoon the float line under tension due to the weight of the lazy line acting upon it. As per the diagram in the video, the line goes straight down from the floats to the loop formed in the lazy line - which is well below our prop, rudder and keel. Even if we get the approach wrong and we 'crash into' the float, the float simply pushes out sideways against the hull, taking the float line and lazy line sideways with it - therefore at all times the line is kept away from the prop (which is of course on the centreline of the boat). I have worked offshore for many years with ROVs and divers, we operate with down lines made of rope running from the surface to the seabed. You can have line in the water and not threaten the vessel if you know what you are doing. As for getting a line on to the pontoon I fail to see how this can be done with a 30+ knot headwind, without the bow being blown off (into another boat) before even a single stern line is cleated off. [When I say cleated off I mean the line has to go from your boat, through a ring on the dock and then back to your boat where it can be secured - there are no cleats on this dock. This is nowhere near as easy as throwing a loop over a cleat on the pontoon.] I saw the same thing happen again yesterday: a boat crashed into a neighbouring boat's anchor whilst trying to moor in this kind of headwind. This must be at least 10 times I have seen this now on our pontoon... Since we have used our float line we have found mooring to be a piece of cake, even with an 8 months pregnant Rossella 'hauling' up the line. To each their own, but this works very well for us. Fair winds, Chris (& Rossella) 👍

[@Voodoo_Robot]

Nice but not very practical. Works only if you are renting the mooring place. The proper way to dock into this arrangment is to reverse close enough so you can tie one stern rope to a cleat on the jetty. It must be the windward stern rope. As soon as you do this, you can pretty much safely control the position of your bow by using little bit throttle and turning slightly into wind with the wheel. Next you tie the second stern rope. Still on easy throttle you tighten both ropes, then pick up the mooring line (put engine into neutral to prevent tangling the propeller) and tie the mooring on the bow. You can help tightening the ropes by throttling a bit back or forward and thats it. No need for gizmos.

[@SailingBritaly]

Andrej Arendáš We know the theoretical proper way to do this: The problem is getting a stern line on with a 30 knot wind coming directly from the bow. By the time you get a line on the stern, your bow has already been blown off (there are no cleats on the pontoon, only awkwardly positioned stainless steel rings, which have to have a line passed through them and brought back to the boat) In the time it takes to get a single stern line on you have either hit a neighbouring boat, or are already perpendicular to the pontoon (it only takes seconds for this to happen) In the 4 years we used that pontoon, we never saw anyone, successfully use the technique you refer to above with strong winds from the bow. What we did see were numerous accidents, and damage to boats, while people were trying to get one of the lazy lines to the bow. Once we had our float in place mooring was an absolute piece of cake, even when Rossella was 8 months pregnant. Of course, like I said at the beginning of the video, this only works if you keep your boat on a pontoon like that: i.e. it is not relevant if you are only using the berth as a one-off. Fair winds, Chris

[@fabiomarsella1327]

The propeller will love it but thank you anyway.

[@SailingBritaly]

This goes nowhere near our propeller. Even if we get our approach wrong and crash the boat into the float, the float line goes straight down from the floats (nowhere near the prop) and the lazy line is 3 metres below the surface of the water (nowhere near the prop). I have worked offshore for many years with ROVs and divers, we operate with down lines made of rope running from the surface to the seabed. You can have line in the water and not threaten the vessel if you know what you are doing. Fair winds, Chris & Rossella

[@garethcarey6284]

Portuguese mooring

[@gcopp81]

I do have to agree that this is dangerous for your rudder and prop.

[@SailingBritaly]

The line is under tension and goes straight down towards the seabed. I have worked offshore for many years with ROV's and divers, we operate with down lines made of rope running from the surface to the seabed. You can have line in the water and not threaten the vessel if you know what you are doing. Fair winds, Chris

[@gcopp81]

Yes now I think of it, that would make a bit more sense

[@HenrikScheel_]

Sorry byt your suggestion is a prop-trap. You will drift sideways over it or over the one next to you. But it is a problem that needs solving.

[@SailingBritaly]

It's not a prop trap Henrik. The prop is in the centre of the boat. If you mess up the approach you hit the float, which gets pushed aside by the hull, taking the line below the float with it, which in turn drags the line going to the concrete block across the seabed. You have to imagine what is happening to all the different component parts of this system looking down on top of the boat to see what I mean, but even if you mess this up the line does not go in your prop. Cheers, Chris

[@williambunting803]

Good one. Thanks!... and I hope the birth goes well.

[@SailingBritaly]

Cheers William, is that the birth or berth?! 😂😉

[@mytube001]

Or just be sensible and go in bow first. I would never dream of mooring stern first anywhere. Much nicer to have the cockpit facing away from the dock and open to the water.

[@darpin71]

The propeller will probably get the additional line and you will lost!

[@SailingBritaly]

pine2013 Our propeller is nowhere near the line, even if we mess up the approach and hit the buoy. The float line is under tension and runs straight down to the lazy line, which is down at 3 metres depth - well below our rudder, prop and keel. I have worked offshore for many years with ROVs and divers, we operate with down lines made of rope running from the surface to the seabed. You can have line in the water and not threaten the vessel if you know what you are doing. Fair winds, Chris (& Rossella)

[@Mustangchef]

drone?! you are gonna need that money for diapers!

[@SailingBritaly]

😂👍

[@popsikopper308]

Chris, Sorry, but you‘re doing it wrong. When you come into the slip, you first tie both back-lines to the pier. Once those lines are set, put the boat into forward and it stays where it should be, no matter how the wind blows. Your boat is safe now. Only then you fish out the mooring and with all the time in the world, you can get the mooring line to the bow. Even as a single hander. There’s no need for floats and other gimmicks . Also, those floats can become a major apin in the butt if they get entagled in your prop. Morring lines create enough trouble as they are, they don’t need some floats to make it worse. Better ditch that idea again and do the manoeuvre properly instead.

[@SailingBritaly]

Hi popsi kopper. I am well aware of the 'textbook' method of securing the stern lines first (actually, in theory, you only need to secure the windward stern line, then, in theory, you can motor ahead and keep control of your bow.). However, in this particular marina the wind funnels through the mountains and comes from dead ahead - making the decision of which side is windward nothing more than a guess. I do not consider myself an expert boat handler by any means, and I am always open to see demonstrations from people with more experience than me... I would love to see someone demonstrate your method with a 35 knot headwind. I do not see how anybody could stop the boat then get one or two stern lines secured to the dock (which has no cleats - which could have lines thrown over them from the boat - but rather has stainless steel rings which hang from the side of the pontoon and awkwardly point down towards the water) in the 4 second window before the wind takes the bow and starts to blow it off to one side or another, into an adjacent boat. If I do ever see someone do this successfully then I would be very happy to change my mind. Until then I'm afraid I will have to go from my personal experience, which is based on seeing anchors crashing into neighbouring boats, and boats ending up sideways onto the pontoon, in a shorter space of time it would take someone to to get a single stern line line to the pontoon and back onto a cleat. What I am sure of is that I would be able to moor our boat in this slip in a 35 knot headwind - without the assistance of anyone on the pontoon - thanks to our float line, without getting anything tangled in my prop. (The float line drops straight down from the float, as per my diagram, and there is no chance of me getting this caught on our prop. The first impression of many is that having any line in the water means it can be sucked into a prop but this is not true. As long as a line is under tension then it will not get sucked into a prop.) I have worked offshore for many years with ROVs and divers, we operate with down lines made of rope running from the surface to the seabed. You can have line in the water and not threaten the vessel if you know what you are doing. If someone else had less confidence about this then they could replace a portion of the float line with chain - with an appropriate increase in the buoyancy of the floats - to make the system totally foolproof. I know this isn't necessary for us. I don't appreciate you referring to our float line as a 'gimmick' as this comes across as rather disparaging and therefore disrespectful... I am always open to feedback from people but I am quite fussy about the language that people use so please bear this in mind in future so that we can maintain a good rapport. Fair winds, Chris

[@whiteboi3818]

Good on you.

[@maxiemassengale189]

If you throw 2 stern line loops, one starboard aft and one port aft, then put in forward you bow would have no where to go but straight. No matter which direction the winds comes from. Fair Winds.

[@lightspeed72]

Well said Chris, there is no right and wrong way to do anything. Just what is necessary in the moment given the circumstances. Hate it when people make absolute statements of right and wrong, rather than questions that are more open to exploring other possibilities. Just goes to show their standard of awareness (or lack thereof) and ability to communicate.

[@SailingBritaly]

Maxie Massengale: You need someone on the dock for this (There are no cleats on our dock, only rings.) With our method we don't need anyone on the dock. Cheers, Chris

[@yt75009]

yeah sure, works in your usual place ...

[@SailingBritaly]

Yep, then when you're cruising you are anchored so you don't need it... 👍

[@noelligh]

This is assuming you are going to moor in the same harbour every day ??? this does not make sense ???

[@SailingBritaly]

This is for your home port. i.e. where 95% of people keep their boats 95% of the time. If someone keeps their boat in a marina with this mooring set up (now or at some point in the future) then this is useful information. Cheers, Chris

[@melcenet]

Comunque perdonatemi, capisco l'inglese e guardo i vostri video con interesse ma permettetemi, "Sailing Britaly" e non inserite nemmeno i Sottotitoli in Italiano!

[@bobaquaplane1679]

It's not a trick, it's a technique. A good technique, but not magic.

[@SailingBritaly]

dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/trick Definition B2 Trick: "An effective or quick way of doing something." Cheers, Chris

[@Alsatiagent]

Now google nit picking. Or is that term hyphenated? Whoops. Now I've really exposed my flank!

[@RightPanel]

What's wrong with a simple empty plastic bottle? Even cheaper then $3.

[@MrDamon888]

Med mooring is a nightmare. Who invented this ridiculous method to dock boats?