Med Mooring!?!Help

[Clipper4730]

Hi y'all

The Admiral and I are setting out on our first med, Adriatic cruise. We chartered a 2009 Lagoon 44 for a week out of Split last week of May.

While I know what it is and how to do it I am curious about the specifics. At the town quay for example is the line that is attached to the anchor/block run all the way to the wall, and then you just back in uncleat the line and walk it to the front and tie it off or is it something else altogether. Some friends chartered there last summer and said as they pulled into the harbors the restaurants owners would be slapping the water with said lines to get you to park by their place. I guess I'm being a bit wordy just trying to get a idea of what we could expect.

One other thing we are planning on going north to Skradin then back south to Palkeni Islands and Hvar, too ambitious for a week? Any suggestions on must sees would be helpful.

Thanks in advance

Will

[Ram]

I do it all tht time single handed=heres how=-
line up boat drop anchor about 100 feet off dock, back up to you touch wall or almost . throw lines around head/cleat tie them off on your boat the pull anchor tight- done

[Burls]

For spots with moorings tailed back to the quay, the line stays connected to the dock and once you’ve picked it up with the boat hook you have to walk it down the side of the boat to the bow, and then tie it off down to the mooring. IMO, having stern fenders in place is a good idea for Med mooring.

[noelex 77]

I spend most of my time at anchor, so I am no expert, but med moring is reasonably easy in any boat that backs OK.
There are 2 systems some keys have lines tied to shore that lead to a moring chain out in the bay, or you use your own anchor.
With a line tied to shore you grab the line from the key at the stern ( if you go stern in) and cleat it off at the bow. The line will be covered in marine growth which can be sharp, so gloves and a short loop of line to hold the rope while it slide along untill you get to the bow are helpful. You can use a boat hook, but the line can slip out.
Dropping an anchor is almost as easy, but with 2 people a remote anchor winch control is very useful.
Make sure you have a couple of stern lines and fenders ready to go. If you are going between boats, make a bit of noise first, the owners will typically come out and help fend you off and take your stern lines

[kellyp08]

Well I finally have my old Hinckley 50 yawl in the Med (Mallorca). Getting here was not a real problem. The problem is stern-to mooring. My Hinckley 50 does not back for s**t. A 3 bladed Max-prop with a 120 HP Ford Lehman; 2:1 reduction and left hand rotation going forward (right handed going astern) was fine up in Maine where the reverse gears function was basically to stop the boat in picking up a mooring or docking. But reliably going astern is a game of Russian roulette - especially in a cross wind. Going bow in brings up the problem of getting off the boat because the distance from the bow pulpit to the water is 8.5 feet or 7 feet to the dock. I was wondering if lowering the centerboard when going astern would provide some measure of control. I was wondering if anyone on this forum had any ideas besides spring lines on neighboring boats (invariably strangers with Beneteaus, Bavarias, etc with bow thrusters) who are not sympathetic and delight in seeing me make a fool of myself.

[Sailmonkey]

When we med moor I need to have an the hook down, or have someone snubbing the mooring line. Other wise there is no way to keep the bow pointed in any reasonable direction, that and without the bow being controlled.....well the stern won't do what the rudder tells it in reverse.

[roverhi]

I drop the hook where it will end up when moored and row the dinghy ashore with the stern line. Release more chain as the stern is pulled into place at the quai. Sailboats, especially full keeled boats like mine, just have a mind of their own when it comes to going backwards. I don't even try and maneuver in reverse, just deal with where it ends up when I go forward.

[Kettlewell]

I am not a Med mooring expert, but when I do it I still like bow first in order to be able to see better what I am doing and to maintain good steering. A lot of the quays are elevated off the water too, so having a high bow is not always a problem. Sometimes it is an advantage getting off that way. Also, I prefer to have my stern facing the harbor to get some breeze possibly, and in order to not have every passerby sharing in our life down below.

[goboatingnow]

where there are lazy lines ( i.e. the so-called slime line) and these are much more common now even in greece, I just rig fenders and back in between the boats ( i.e. use the other boats as a guide, go slow or even "walk the boat" in. put the stern lines on but a little longer then normal, if you need it run the engine slow ahead to prevent stern contact, then bring the slime line forward, outside everything, ( gloves or a boat hook , etc) then pull up the anchor line as tight as you can. Tie if off. Then back down with the engine to tighten and make up the stern lines to a suitable distance.

I can't recommend bow in, most yachts are really difficult to get off over the bow and often the med quays are low as they as designed for stern access.

Where there is the need to anchor, again I never try and snub going in , just ensure you have enough chain to actually reach the dock ( good for embarrassment that one, been there have the tee-shirt). I try up as before then use the winch to dig me in ( or motor out and reverse back in on long stern lines.

snubbing going in can create too many issues.

dave

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by roverhi

I drop the hook where it will end up when moored and row the dinghy ashore with the stern line. Release more chain as the stern is pulled into place at the quai. Sailboats, especially full keeled boats like mine, just have a mind of their own when it comes to going backwards. I don't even try and maneuver in reverse, just deal with where it ends up when I go forward.

Yep.

Add in some currents, which you probably won't know about until they have you by the balls, and you can end up as a bowling ball flying around in a mooring area. A full keel boat doing any type of maneuvering in close quarters is hilarious. Add a sideways current and there's really little you can make sense of.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by roverhi

I drop the hook where it will end up when moored and row the dinghy ashore with the stern line. Release more chain as the stern is pulled into place at the quai. Sailboats, especially full keeled boats like mine, just have a mind of their own when it comes to going backwards. I don't even try and maneuver in reverse, just deal with where it ends up when I go forward.

Jeepers I can't imagine that working in the typical crowded med marinas etc. how do you handle lazy lines, here you have to back in .

Dave

[mike388]

Having spent a lot of time bareboat chartering berthing in marinas and on to quays in the med with varied successes. I am trying to work out how it would be completed single handed going stern to.
Some of the problems I have encountered even with a crew (This may be of help to those who haven't done it before).
With restricted room I have found that it is sometimes easier to go into reverse even before going into the marina. This avoids having to gun the engine from a stand still to get enough way on in a restricted area in order to be able to steer which can also lead to kick back on the wheel (ouch on the hands).
As with most things preparation is everything. Fenders out both sides and big one on stern. Preparation of stern lines. Remember to attach stern lines under the stanchion wires to the cleats and pass back over the top. (more embarrassment). As my 11 year old son said in loud voice having arrived at a busy harbor school boy error !
Dingy. Walk dingy to the bow and tie to cleat not at bow if you are going to have to do anchor drop make sure it is not going to be in the way! Dropping your anchor into the dingy as you reverse majestically back into your slot never looks good . (Acute embarrassment )
Having picked your slot you have to get straight in order not to cross anchors and chains this is OK if there is no wind blowing you off side ways but in the case where there is a fair amount of wind going slowly is not the best option. I found that where there are lazy lines it is much easier to to get into the desired slot as to a certain extent you can drift in the right direction. Most of the wind comes in the late afternoon in Med so if not confident I suggest not going in too late especially if it is a busy spot.
With lazy lines normally someone on dock will hold it up so crew member can grab it from about midships and walk to the bow to tie to a cleat when you are about the right distance off quay. This is the same as your anchor as the other end is attached to block of concrete on the sea bed in front of your boat. So remember to tell your crew which way they are pulling ! I found it easier to have a good sized slot to get into with a boat at least on one side otherwise as you slow down you tend to get blown off the quay.
So to the experts out there, I can see that you could manage with anchor drop if you had a remote control to your winch but how do you manage lazy lines single handed ?

[gjordan]

Rowing in a stern line works! My first Med mooring was actually in Tahiti and I didnt have a motor, so backing in was not an option. Drop the hook where you think it should be and row a 200 foot spare anchor line ashore and pull yourself in while you let out more chain. It worked, but was not always graceful. In Antigua the big boats all moor Med style for the charter boat show. It leads to lots of swearing in many languages when the boats start to leave, since everybody is layed over the next guy. The slime line with a preset mooring would prevent the tangle of anchor lines. It sounds like a great idea. Remember when you are tying stern lines off to a bollard to make your loop big and pass it up thru all of the other lines already on the bollard , or you will be locking them in and make fellow sailors very pissed off when they go to leave._____Grant.

[mike388]

Hi Grant
Many thanks I can see that would work if you had enough room and not the bun fight that occurs for mooring places in a lot of the popular stops.
Mike

[goboatingnow]

After many years at this, I think that you should forget going in on an anchor. I only do that if I have plenty of space, or there isnt another boat alongside. Too many time Ive seen people totally constrained by the anchor, especially if they need to abort.

In most cases you are squeezing in between two existing boats, often you have to open up the gap your self. I just back in and left her rest on the ajoining boat. Then take the lazy line forward etc. If I need to anchor , I can row out the anchor at my leisure.

Occasionally I need the anchor, if its blowing boots, its useful as its keeps the bow from wandering too much. But I use it as a last resort.

Ive done it boths ways and now I use less anchor then before.

Dave