Easy
Tip Up Tips
During your boating season, you may find it will be necessary to dock your boat at various locations during your daily excursions. Stops for food, drink and fuel will require docking your boat. To make that task easier, here are some dock mooring tips that will provide you secure tie up.
First be sure to use the correct mooring line for your boat. Use a specified mooring line with a spliced in cleat loop. Size the mooring line to fit the size of your boat. A 1/2" X 20' line would be excessive for an 18 ft. runabout, while a 3/8"X 15' mooring line would be inadequate for a 24' cruiser. Be sure to choose the correct line and have at least two or three on board. Your local boat dealer can help you in determining the proper mooring lines for your boating needs.
The Boat Cleat
Use the spliced loop end of the mooring line to attach to the boats cleat. First, insert the loop through the open base of the cleat.
Next, bring each side of the loop over the cleats shank. This will provide a secure tie up to the boat cleat.
The Dock Cleat
Making a quick secure tie off to the dock cleat doesn't have to involve any primitive cluster of knots. The following method is easy to tie and untie, and will provide a secure mooring.
Bring the line from the boat and under the dock cleat shank. Be sure to leave no more than a foot of slack when the boats fender is resting against the dock.
Next, make a few figure eight's around the cleat. Keep the wraps loose.
Now make make a bight (loop) from the standing end and place it under the last cleat wind.
Finally, place the bight over the opposite end of the cleat, and pull tight.
This method assures a secure tie off and is easy to undo when it's time to shove off.
The Mooring Post
As many of you know, you don't always get the convince of dock cleats. Many times you are faced with just a pier or dock post to tie off to. Here is a quick and easy way to handle that situation, and make you look like a seasoned captain at the same time.
 |
As mentioned previously, tie off to the boat cleat with the spliced end leaving about a foot of slack. Bring the line up to the post and make a bight in the end of the line. Using your left hand, hold it vertically against the post with both the standing and bitter ends of the line hanging down. Next, take at least three turns around the post pinching the bight in place. Stack each turn neatly and pull tight at each turn. You now have a small loop protruding from a stack of at least three turns and a dangling bitter end. All is held in place by the steady tension you're applying to the standing end with your right hand. Now gather the line and run it through the loop being pinched by the coil, and pull its entire length through, maintaining tension as you do this. Finally
grab the dangling bitter end with your left hand and with the standing
part held in tension by your right hand, pull down tight. At first this
may all sound confusing, but with a little practice, you will have it
mastered. |
