Mooring line attachment to deck cleats?

[DestinySoyQuick]

Deck cleats on boat - how do you attach your dock lines to the cleats on the boat? Couple of photos for reference. I have seen boats tied up to docks both of these ways and then some. I’ve seen it get looped through its eye and contained between the gap. What is best? So many options?

[JPA Cate]

When one cleat has to handle two lines, if they'll fit, then the forward line goes through the slot, and around the aft horn, and the aft line goes through the slot and around the forward horn. If there isn't enough room, then you can get creative with Dyneema soft shackles.

On our boat, our midships line will go to the aftmost part on the dock, and is used for "brakes", so it is first on, and last off, unless we need to do something fancy to leave, like hauling the stern in so the bow blows out enough to avoid the shallows, for instance.

Ann
In that case, the stern line would be last off.

[deblen]

This is just personal preference.
I prefer to fasten the lines to my boat cleat as in your lower pic & as Cate describes,take the line ashore,loop it around dock cleat/post/whatever,& bring the tail back aboard,cleat hitching it to same cleat.
This way,I can depart,without going ashore & I don't need dock help & it helps avoid my lines being trapped under other lines.

I single hand mostly.
Cheers/Len

[Kettlewell]

Lots of different docking situations require different methods. The bottom photo would be how I would typically attach a dockline with an eye to a cleat, but often I prefer to have the other end of the dockline aboard so I can easily adjust the length of the lines without having to leave the boat. It also makes it a bit more difficult for someone on the dock to redo your lines, often messing up how you want the boat to be tied up. I have had that happen to me multiple times--sometimes someone undoes your line and forgets to reattach it!