Bow or Stern first

[BruceS]

mmm In our marina we have 'sheet piling' and 'mooring poles' ...
We have two poles in front and two behind.
In a houseboat I find it easier to tie the front & then use reverse to tie one side rear & then alter rudder to tie up the second rear.
Our front ones are only 4ft apart with walkway between.
OK, not exactly remote mooring poles I guess?
Bowen, Qld used to (might still be?) have a group of mooring poles for the pro fishermen. Some years ago one caught fire & most were burnt to the waterline!

[CheoyLee39]

Yes, thank you for that! That is essentially my method, I am bemused why my pile mooring neighbor insists that you pick up the bow line first, and looks at me like I am insane that I do the stern line first. I see so many people run into trouble when attempting to pick up the bow line first....seems crazy to me!!!

Originally Posted by zstine

The OP is asking about pile mooring. Guys, there is NO DOCK and NO SPRING LINE, when pile mooring.
I would drive up to the stern pile, grab the stern line and put one loop on the cleat. Drive forward to bow pile and cleat the stern line so your bow is a foot shy of the bow pile. walk up and get the bow line cleat on with some slack. Pull the stern line in to center the boat between piles. With a fast current (strong blow), it is easiest to grab the up current (up wind) line first and let the boat drift down on the other pile using your first line to keep the boat from hitting the other pile.

See attached pic of pile mooring in Wickford, RI

[CheoyLee39]

I think some people may not be familiar with pile moorings 'BruceS', hence the confusion. There is no marina, no dock, no spring line, no step off, they are simply two poles set apart and you tie up between them. I am on a pile mooring in Cairns whilst renovating my yacht and go on and off semi regular, hence the query as I see several different methods that people use. And it can be treacherous.

Originally Posted by BruceS

mmm In our marina we have 'sheet piling' and 'mooring poles' ...
We have two poles in front and two behind.
In a houseboat I find it easier to tie the front & then use reverse to tie one side rear & then alter rudder to tie up the second rear.
Our front ones are only 4ft apart with walkway between.
OK, not exactly remote mooring poles I guess?
Bowen, Qld used to (might still be?) have a group of mooring poles for the pro fishermen. Some years ago one caught fire & most were burnt to the waterline!

[JPA Cate]

CheoyLee39,

I would tie up bow first to the stronger current. Sometimes you may not want your rudder to have the stern loads from 6 kn or better.

Generally, your method works fine. It is different if you go to transient piles, so to speak, where there are only the piles to tie to, and -- as used to be in Mackay-- a ring that slid up a rod on the pile, to facilitate upping and downing to the rise and fall of the tide.

What I'm trying to get at is that staying flexible as to modality may have some benefits. If the wind or current are crossways, you may find yourself modifying your tactics and let the big boat lie either from bow or stern, which ever is safer, and deploy the other line from the dinghy.

Everybody is "right".

Ann

[Pete7]

Our poles are closer together but same technique required. The rope between the poles is at the water level during HW Springs. A book hook normally manages to catch the rope if it all goes pear shaped. Poles further apart can also benefit from a rope supported by fenders so long as no one trys to sail in between them whilst you are away.

For those heading to the Baltic, they have a 4 pole box system in some locations although they are becoming less popular as folk want walk ashore pontoons. The box poles can be quite entertaining.

Pete

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[CheoyLee39]

This is the type of pile mooring I am referring to.

[phydeaux]

When solo, I'll moor stern first on the tide/current/windward side. When there's crew, bow first, but as close to simultaneous as is practical, without conversation or volume.....

[EmeraldCoastSailor]

Stern first works best most times.

[catsketcher]

I am an advocate of stern first IF your boat is good at going backwards. I do not use piles but if I am coming into a wharf (to windward) then stern first is much slower, safer and secure than going in forwards.

We were doing the usual forward entry process and it would always be slightly stressful to get someone on another boat or a jetty. Our bows (cat) blow away from the wind pretty quickly so I had to approach quickly and then stop quickly. Parallax error and distance also meant that I had to lots of variables that made the whole process rushed. Sometimes it meant my wife was jumping off the bows when she wasn't all that happy to do so. On my own it required a lot of effort and running.

Deb told me that she had seen people coming into jetties or to other boats stern first so we tried it. I pull the boards up so the bows will blow away even quicker (I don't come into jetties that are downwind - I use the dinghy) and then head to the jetty (or other boat) and then do a hard turn next to the jetty so that I am pretty much stern on.

The great thing about approaching stern first is that I have stern steps and nice deep rudders at the stern. The boat likes to blow bow downwind so I can use minimal throttle and back up to the jetty. I have no parallax error and can see always see the gap between the jetty and stern. Because the bows are already blown off the boat just creeps back as I use throttle. Remember that the wheel must be turned the opposite way than when going forward.

I can truly get to 5cm of where I want to be and on my own I just step off with a rope and I never have to run or jump. I think it looks pretty impressive to do solo. To get alongside the jetty I use some forward throttle after the stern line is attached and the boat pushes itself parallel.

I think the stern approach would be really good for any object that you want approach with high precision if you are not going to be held by the bow after the approach (picking up a mooring). I don't use piles but I would use this approach first before going bow in. It is incredibly safe, precise and damage free. I think approaching the windward pile stern first would be the safest and least stress method for a boat that reverses well. (Also a nice wide transom free of dinghy davits windvanes etc would help)

Long keel boats might not steer well in reverse. Boats with spade rudders usually do. Have a go, it is a great trick to have in the toolkit.

cheers

Phil

[CheoyLee39]

Thank You for all your input, much appreciated, from than I can happily gather that tying up stern first when solo is the better option. This is my usual technique, and obviously my neighbor insists bow first is preferable will be hearing about it!!!!! LOL....

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

I've never seen a "How to Dock" that advocates such a method, but it works.

This is the real key. It doesn't matter what works for other people, or what the "experts" recommend. If it works for you then it works for you, and that is all that matters.

[valhalla360]

Depends on your propulsion system and wind/current conditions.


With 2 people bow first with someone on the boat makes a lot of sense but as indicated, for a singlehander that's problematic but there is an option. Run a long line from the bow (outside the lifelines) and tie off to the stern with extra on the bitter end. Then back in stern first to the bow pole. From there you can release the line from the stern and walk it to the bow while secured to the pole. From there, you can maneuver around to get the stern line tied off.

[Pete7]

Another idea on a theme:

How to master fore and aft trot moorings - Practical Boat Owner