Is a passerelle useful outside the Med?

[Gnilias]

I'm setting up my boat for a half circumnavigation. It will be my full time home for four or five years so I want it to be comfortable and life on board to be easy.

Up to now, when Med mooring (i.e mooring stern to) in the Med, I've used an old plank. When up against rough concrete docks it chafes, then it falls off the transom and chafes against the fibreglass on occasions. The splintered ends then chafe against the teak deck next time. When sailing, I store it tied against the lifelines but it restricts the ability to get past and at time gets in the way of using cleats when approaching the next berth. I've tried putting carpet on the end of the plank to stop the splinters but that hasn't worked. And because the plank is not fixed to the boat with an attachment point, it's not easy to rig up a "topping lift" to keep it off the dock except when in use.

So I'm considering getting a passerelle. I know it will come in useful in the Med. My question to the forum is, where else in the world is it a (common or uncommon) practice to moor stern-to, where the passerelle would be of us? if it is only useful in the Med, perhaps I will make do...

Thanks

[fxykty]

Yes, a passerelle is useful anywhere in the world where you dock stern to, bow to, or even side on to a dock or jetty, floating or fixed, where you don’t want your boat to be snug against it but rather 2m off. Med mooring is not as common outside the Mediterranean (never been there BTW) but it is a thing nearly anywhere you go.

[RonaldL]

We sailed the full circumnav.
Anchored 80%.
The other 20% in harbours or marina's.
When fingerpontoon or quay at the side or when docked bow-to, no passerelle needed.
In one occasion we moored stern-to and than we use a plank, but only because than our dinghy in davits is in the way. We lower the dinghy to just above the waterline and put the plank just above the dinghy bridging the gap between the stern and the jetty.

So not really necessary. But you never know....
I would just keep the plank.

[Pizzazz]

I have a gangway on my current powerboat in the Black Sea / Turkey / Greece. I think it is very useful. It can be used as a crane to lift the dinghy, the kids love to jump in the water, it provides a stand-off way to get in the boat. I am glad I have one. If I had to install a new one on a boat at Eur 10,500... forget about it.

[SailingHarmonie]

A passerelle has come in handy in a number of non-Med locations. Hawaii, Martinique both come to mind. In Hawaii it was important, in Martinique more of a convenience.

It depends on your boat where you need it and where not. If you have a transom with a significant reverse slope, then stepping off the stern onto a floating dock is usually pretty easy. On the other hand, if you are back against a fixed wall, it might be a leap. With a normal transom, the situation is reversed.

[sck5]

I spent 6 years cruising the eastern caribe and rarely saw a pasarelle.

[Jubilee39]

I circumnavigated slowly from the Caribbean, usual coconut milk run except I went North from Vanauatu , Palua, Phillipines, SE Asia. Red Sea through the Med and back to the Caribbean. I finally bought a Passerale in Greece but still anchored out most of the time so it only got used on the lovely town docks. I gave it away in the Canaries.. I don't regret buying it but really could have done without it.

[Kettlewell]

Depends on where you are going. I can tell you that along the East Coast of North America to the Caribbean between Labrador and Colombia in South America I only ever tied up Med moor style once in 45 years of cruising, at the LaBelle free dock in the Okeechobee Waterway. That style of docking is almost unknown in these parts. Plus, we are anchorers anyway, and unless absolutely necessary I avoid places where I have to tie to a dock.