How to: moor a yacht securely - Yachting Monthly

[@TraneFrancks]

As a newbie to sailing, I gotta say that this was excellent information. I was taught to use OXOs on the dock cleats, but I like the idea of the bowline, especially through the centre and then around the legs. That seems very solid and secure. 🥰

[@ToSeeTheSea]

One advantage of having both ends on the boat and a bight of rope free to run on the shore cleat is, the line can be undone and retained onboard. Handy if you are single handed or your crew/passengers are not working the lines.

[@Rubicon3CoUkadventure-sailing]

It is great for a short time, but chafe is increased. You can also run out of cleat space on board as you're doubling the requirement.

[@deislanddave]

I agree with ToSeeTheSea. Start with a spliced eye on the boat cleat. Two turns around the cleat or piling ashore to minimize chafe. Cleat aboard. This approach makes you more self sufficient and reduces the risk of s crew member having to climb onto the boat at the last minute. I also agree with @Rubicon 3 about chafe and duration. For a home slip/mooring, I use permanent lines with a spliced eye on the boat side. When you pull into the slip, retrieve the lines with a boat hook and drop the eyes over the cleat, knowing you are in the right spot. Once secure, walk around the boat feeding each eye through the legs of the cleat as shown in the video and double over. This snugs the boat up a bit.

[@tanguerochas]

Bowline at the cleat is a good way to leave your line behind when you part if there is a load. I worry about being able to untie at the cleat.

[@MrMusuk]

Another one downside of using a spliced loop is that you can't release the mooring line if two boats use the same cleat. Personally, I prefer the bowline for a long stay on cleats. But the round turn and two half hitches easier to release from pontoon side. On the Baltic sea that is also popular using big carabiners with mooring line compensators for mooring to cleats and rings.

[@Rubicon3CoUkadventure-sailing]

Totally agree Alexey

[@doylee555]

Freedom! Tie fast your boats!

[@markmaugle4599]

I actually prefer to have the free end on the dock. This way the line lengths can be adjusted from the dock. Could you say something about the diameter of the nylon lines for the size/weight of the boat?

[@Rubicon3CoUkadventure-sailing]

It's ok to have an OXO on the dock (albeit it's not neat and hogs the cleat, but so long as you have an OXO on the yacht too. Warp diameter depends on boat size but for a 10-12m yacht you want about 14mm

[@snakeplisken4278]

So you broke your own rule on the spring lines. They cannot be released from the boat under load. Can you explain how they should be done, please?

[@Rubicon3CoUkadventure-sailing]

Not sure where we broke the rules? It's always possible! What was the timing on the video?

[@mattquinn583]

No snubbers?

[@Rubicon3CoUkadventure-sailing]

Snubbers can be great in a big surge, but properly sized nylon lines, kept tight, should handle all but the most severe conditions

[@andrewthomson1113]

I prefer bowlines or spliced loops on the boat cleats, and OXO on the pontoon cleats - that's how you would generally be tying up if short handed. It's also more practical to depart that way if shorthanded, otherwise you need 2 crew to release one line as loop around the pontoon cleats will be under load. That probably happens more of the time than having someone to take lines on arrival / release lines lines on departure from a pontoon. You could also do a video on attaching fenders to the boat - you can see at kzbin.info/www/bejne/bH7daqB3rLupnac that the fender is attached to the top guard wire, is under load and stretching the guard wire. Not what the guard wires are there for! It should be tied off at the base of a stanchion - much stronger.

[@Rubicon3CoUkadventure-sailing]

Andrew you are quite right about the fenders. Bad practice. We actually borrowed the yacht for this video so we didn't want to change anything. But trust us, never put the bowline or any other knot or spliced loop on the yacht. You HAVE to be able to release the line under load. Oxo, especially with a double XX, is absolutely secure

[@MarkJones]

That showing a bowline loosely draped over the cleat should have been edited out. You fixed it later in the video, but you never should have shown that in the first place. You also didn't show tying to poles which is very common in the Caribbean.

[@Rubicon3CoUkadventure-sailing]

Sorry Mark - can you give me a timeline on the video so I can respond properly? I had just broken my arm (as you can see) so it was a tricky old exercise!!

[@MarkJones]

@@Rubicon3CoUkadventure-sailing How about at the 2 second mark? The right amount of movement could slip that right off the cleat and then you have a problem. I use this on my spring line to make it easy to hook when I return, but then I thread it thru the center and over the horns after I'm tied up

[@Rubicon3CoUkadventure-sailing]

​@@MarkJones Yes that is a fair point. I think that bit of the video was just us preparing the yacht to be fair! (bearing in mind we just borrowed it, as our expedition yachts are much bigger). It is good to make it more secure if you're leaving the boat and you can either, as you suggest, slip it through the legs of the cleat first or, what we do, is just put two loops around the cleat.

[@3vimages471]

You assume the view isn`t a novice .... OXO? Bowlines? Types of knot? ... not much help for a beginner.

[@SebastianBjurbom]

Just odd and wrong in so many ways