Mooring and Anchoring a Sailboat - Complete Guide

Prerequisites

This lesson builds directly on the knots and ropework lesson. Before starting you should:

• Be able to tie, quickly and without looking, a bowline, clove hitch, round turn and two half hitches, and a cleat hitch, and know which to use where.
• Be able to coil three-strand and braided rope and stow it so it runs free.
• Know the parts of the boat (bow, stern, port, starboard, guardwires, stanchions, pulpit, pushpit, toe rail) and the safety rules for handling loaded lines.
• Have the general Competent Crew entry requirements: no prior sailing experience, age 16 or over for the standard certificate, medical declaration completed.

At Competent Crew level you are not expected to helm the boat into a berth or choose the anchorage. You are expected to be the active, reliable crew who prepares the boat, handles the lines and anchor, communicates clearly with the helm and does it all safely.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson you should be able to:

• Name the deck fittings used for mooring (cleat, bollard, fairlead) and the standard mooring lines (bow line, stern line, springs, breast lines).
• Prepare fenders and warps correctly before coming alongside, at the right height and led the right way.
• Step ashore and back aboard safely, and secure lines to cleats, bollards and rings.
• Explain why a boat is approached into the stronger of wind or tidal stream, and assist the helm in picking up a mooring buoy.
• Describe common anchor types, calculate the scope of anchor rode needed, and assist in letting go, setting, checking and weighing an anchor.
• Prepare the boat for departure by singling up and slipping lines in a controlled way.
• Explain the effect of wind and tidal stream on berthing and leaving, and describe how springs are used to move the boat on and off a berth.
• Recognise a dragging anchor and know the right crew response, and state the anchoring signals required by the COLREGs.

RYA Competent Crew syllabus items covered: Seamanship (mooring and anchoring) - prepare warps and fenders for coming alongside; step ashore and secure the yacht; handle lines under the direction of the skipper; assist in picking up a mooring buoy; assist when anchoring, including understanding scope and the signals shown; and prepare the boat for leaving a berth. It supports the Knots and Ropework lesson (cleat hitch, bowline, round turn and two half hitches) and the Personal Safety lesson (safe handling of loaded lines).

What the instructor expects: the RYA course is practical and is assessed continuously, not by written exam. Expect to be told "You are on the bow line" and left to prepare without further prompting. The instructor looks for: lines and fenders ready in good time and led outside everything; calm communication ("Two metres... one metre... stopped"); correct and safe stepping ashore; the right knot first time; and, above all, hands and feet kept out of danger.

Deck Fittings

Every mooring line passes through or around fittings. Knowing them by name means you can respond instantly to the skipper's calls.

Cleat

A cleat is a two-horned fitting bolted through the deck (or the pontoon), used to make a line fast with a cleat hitch. Aboard a yacht there are usually cleats at the bow, the stern and often amidships for springs. The diagram below shows the parts.

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Remember the cleat hitch from the previous lesson: lead to the far horn first, one full turn round the base, one or two figure-of-eight crossings, one locking hitch. On a line that may need to be slipped in a hurry, the skipper may ask you to leave off the locking hitch.

Bollard

A bollard is a short, thick post on a quay or pontoon, often with a cap to stop lines lifting off. Some yachts have small bollards or "Samson posts" on the foredeck too.

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Lines are put on a bollard either with a bowline loop dropped over it (fast, easy to lift off when leaving) or with a round turn and two half hitches (can be eased under load). On a pair of bollards, a warp is laid in figure-of-eights between them.

Fairlead

A fairlead is a fitting at the deck edge, usually a closed or open ring or a roller, that guides a line from the cleat over the side without it chafing on the toe rail or hull. A line led directly over the toe rail will wear through within hours in a swell.

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Even through a fairlead, a warp that is surging can chafe. In a long stay or bad weather, protect it with chafe guards (plastic hose or leather sleeves) where it passes through.

Mooring Lines

A yacht alongside is held by lines working in different directions. Learn their names: the skipper will call for them that way.

The diagram below shows the standard four-line layout alongside a pontoon.

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A useful way to remember springs: a spring is named for the end of the boat it starts from, and it always leads diagonally towards the other end. Springs are what stop a boat surging up and down the berth in wash or a change of tidal stream. Bow and stern lines should lead well ahead and well astern, at roughly 45 degrees, to give a good angle for holding the ends in.

Preparing Lines Before Arrival

1. Ask the skipper which side you will berth on (port side to or starboard side to) and which lines are wanted.
2. Make each line fast to its cleat with a cleat hitch.
3. Lead it through its fairlead and back outside everything: outside the guardwires, stanchions, pulpit and shrouds. A line led inside the guardwires will have to be untangled at the moment you step ashore with it.
4. Bring the free end back on deck at the point where you will step off (usually by the shrouds, at the widest part of the boat), coiled, with the end that goes ashore on top.
5. Make sure the end has nothing tied to it that will snag; if the skipper wants a loop to drop over a cleat or bollard, tie a bowline of suitable size.

Fenders

Fenders sit between the hull and whatever it lies against. They only work if they are in the right place at the right height.

Height and Position

The fender must hang where the hull will actually touch. Against a low floating pontoon, that is low down, just above the waterline: the widest part of the fender should be level with the pontoon edge. Against a high quay wall, fenders sit higher. When rafting against another yacht, they go at the point of maximum beam, where the two hulls meet.

The diagram below compares a fender tied too high (the hull hits the dock unprotected) with one at the correct height.

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The reliable way to get it right is to kneel on deck, look over the side at the pontoon or boat you will lie against, and find the contact point. Typically three fenders on the berthing side: one at the widest point and one each forward and aft of it, plus a roving fender held by a crew member for awkward moments.

Tying Fenders

• Tie to the base of a stanchion or to the toe rail rather than the top guardwire. Fenders hung from the guardwire pull it inwards and the fender rises as the wire flexes.
• Use a clove hitch finished with a half hitch, so the height can be adjusted quickly.
• Put fenders out only when told, and in good time, at slow speed, after which you go back to your line. Bring them in as soon as you leave the berth: fenders hanging over the side at sea look sloppy and can be lost.
• In a tidal harbour lying against a wall, fender heights must be re-checked as the tide rises and falls. A fender board (a plank hung outside two fenders) is used against piles.

Never Fend Off with Your Body

If the boat is about to hit something, use a roving fender, not your hands or feet. A 6-tonne yacht moving at 1 knot carries enough momentum to crush a limb between hull and pontoon. Do not put any part of your body between the boat and the dock.

Stepping Ashore and Taking Lines

On the approach, the line handler stands by the shrouds, outside the guardwires only if the skipper has asked and a gate is open, or more usually inside, ready to step over when the boat is alongside.

1. Wait until the boat is stopped or nearly stopped and the gap is a comfortable step. The helm will tell you "step ashore" or you will judge it with the skipper's agreement.
2. Hold the shroud or a handhold, face the right way, and step down onto the pontoon with the line in your free hand. Step, never jump. A jump that falls short puts you between hull and pontoon.
3. Walk (do not run) to the cleat or bollard, take a turn round it immediately to control the boat, and then make fast.
4. If the boat is moving forward, take the stern line or a spring round a cleat first to stop it. A turn round a cleat lets one person hold a boat that they could never hold by hand.
5. Do not cleat a line tight while the boat is still moving fast; surge (ease) it round the cleat to slow the boat gradually.

If no one can step ashore, the line may be thrown, or a member of the marina staff may take it. Make it easy for them to catch: hand it or throw it in a loose coil, and hold on to the inboard end.

Throwing a Heaving Line

When the gap is too big to step and too far to throw a heavy warp, a heaving line is thrown first and the warp is then pulled across on it. The heaving line is light, often polypropylene, with a soft weighted end (a monkey's fist knot or a small bag). The diagram below shows the technique.

1. Make the inboard end fast, or stand on it, so you cannot lose the whole line.
2. Coil the line carefully and split the coil: the larger part, with the weighted end, in your throwing hand, the rest loose in the other hand so it can pay out.
3. Swing the throwing arm back in a low pendulum, then release forward and upward at about 45 degrees.
4. Aim slightly above and beyond the target so the line falls across the person or bollard, not short of it. Shout a warning ("heads!") before throwing.
5. Open the other hand as the line flies so the remaining coil pays out freely.

Never weight a heaving line with metal: a shackle hitting someone's head can kill.

Approach Into the Stronger Element

The fundamental rule of boat handling for mooring, anchoring or picking up a buoy is: approach heading into whichever is stronger, wind or tidal stream.

Why? A boat stops by heading into the force that is acting on it. If you approach with the wind or tide behind you, it keeps pushing you forward as you try to slow down, and the boat has little steerage way at low speed. Heading into it, the wind or stream acts as a brake and you keep steering control even when barely moving through the water.

You can judge which is stronger by looking at:

• Other moored boats. Boats on swinging moorings lie head to the stronger element. Yachts (with deep keels) tend to lie to the tide; motorboats and light craft often lie to the wind.
• Water movement past buoys, piles and pontoon legs: a visible wake means strong stream.
• Flags, ripples and smoke for the wind direction.

As crew you are not choosing the approach, but if you can see the mooring buoy "streaming" or boats lying a particular way, tell the skipper.

Picking Up a Mooring Buoy

Swinging moorings are common in UK harbours and rivers. The buoy is attached to a ground chain on the seabed and usually has a pick-up buoy or pennant (a short line with a loop or a smaller float) for you to hook.

The diagram below shows the correct approach, into the strongest element, and the wrong one, downwind or downtide.

Procedure

1. Brief. Agree with the helm which side the buoy will be on, how you will signal, and how you will attach. Agree hand signals: pointing to the buoy's direction, holding up fingers for distance in boat lengths, and a clear "stop" (raised fist or flat palm).
2. Prepare. Get the boathook out and extended; prepare a mooring line made fast to the bow cleat, led through the bow fairlead and back outside the pulpit.
3. Signal. As the bow closes the buoy it disappears from the helm's view. From now on, keep pointing at the buoy with your arm and give distances: "Three boat lengths, two, one, slow." The helm is relying on you.
4. Hook. When the buoy is within reach just off the bow, with the boat stopped, hook the pick-up pennant. Do not lean over the guardwires; kneel or lie down at the bow and use the boathook's reach. If you miss, let it go and let the helm go round again: never hang on to a boathook attached to a buoy while the boat drives away.
5. Secure. Lift the pennant aboard and drop its eye over the bow cleat, or pass your mooring line through the buoy's ring and back to the cleat as a slip line. Shout "Made fast" and give the signal.
6. Check. Make sure the line leads through the fairlead and will not chafe, and that the boat is lying back on it before the engine is put in neutral.

Never pass the line only through the ring and tie it short with a knot you cannot release; a slip line (both ends made fast on board) can be released from the deck when leaving.

Why the Downwind Approach Fails

With wind or tide behind, the boat cannot slow down and keeps carrying past the buoy. The foredeck crew grabs the pennant, the boat keeps going, and either the crew is pulled over the side, the boathook is lost, or the boat runs over the buoy and the mooring chain fouls the propeller.

Anchoring

Anchoring lets you stop where there is no berth or mooring: for lunch, overnight in a quiet bay, or in an emergency such as engine failure near a lee shore.

Anchor Types

The anchor is connected to the boat by the rode: all chain, or chain followed by rope (warp). Chain is heavy, so it lies along the seabed and keeps the pull on the anchor nearly horizontal; it also resists chafe on rocks. On a mixed rode, a length of chain (at least 5 to 10 m) next to the anchor gives weight and abrasion resistance.

The windlass is the winch on the foredeck that hauls in and lets out chain. It has a gypsy sized for the chain, a clutch or brake to hold the chain, and is driven electrically or by a handle. A chain stopper or devil's claw takes the load off the windlass once anchored. The chain is marked every 10 m (paint, coloured plastic tags or cable ties) so you can count how much is out.

Holding Ground and Swinging Room

The skipper chooses the spot, but you should understand what they look for:

• Bottom: mud or sand holds well; shingle and weed poorly; rock either does not hold or traps the anchor. Charts show this with abbreviations: S (sand), M (mud), Sh (shells), Wd (weed), R (rock).
• Shelter from the wind and swell, including any expected wind shift.
• Depth: enough at low water to float the boat, but not so deep that you cannot let out enough scope.
• Swinging room: the boat swings in a circle around the anchor as wind and tide change. The radius is roughly the length of rode out plus the boat's length. Other boats with similar rodes swing similarly; a boat on all chain swings differently from one on rope.
• Hazards: moorings, cables, pipelines, wrecks and fairways. Charts mark areas where anchoring is prohibited.

Calculating Scope

Scope is the length of rode let out compared with the vertical distance from the bow roller to the seabed. Too little scope and the rode pulls the anchor shank upwards, breaking the anchor out; enough scope and the pull is nearly horizontal, digging the anchor in.

The working formula:

Rode length = (depth of water + height of bow roller above water) x scope ratio

The depth used should be the maximum depth expected during your stay, which means the depth at high water. Your skipper will work this out from the tide tables; on Competent Crew you should understand why it matters. The diagram below shows the geometry and a worked example.

Example 1 (chain): charted depth now 5 m, bow roller 1 m above water. Vertical distance 6 m. All chain at 4 : 1 needs 6 x 4 = 24 m.

Example 2 (chain and rope): same depth and freeboard, but the boat has 10 m of chain then nylon warp. At 6 : 1 you need 6 x 6 = 36 m of rode.

Example 3 (rising tide): depth now 3.0 m, tide expected to rise another 2.5 m before you leave. Bow height 1.2 m. Maximum vertical distance = 3.0 + 2.5 + 1.2 = 6.7 m. On all chain, 6.7 x 4 = 26.8 m: let out about 30 m (three chain marks).

Letting Go (Dropping) the Anchor

1. Prepare before you arrive. Remove the anchor's securing pin or lashing, check the windlass is powered and the clutch is working, and have gloves on. Agree hand signals with the helm.
2. The helm approaches the chosen spot slowly, into the stronger element, and stops the boat.
3. When the boat has stopped (or is just starting to drift back), the skipper calls "Let go." Lower the anchor under control with the windlass or by easing the clutch. Do not throw the anchor or let it free-fall in a heap; the chain can pile on top of the anchor and foul it.
4. As the boat drifts back, pay out chain steadily, keeping it moving at the speed the boat is going astern, so that it lies out along the seabed rather than in a pile. Count the marks and call them out: "10 metres, 20 metres, 30 metres."
5. When the required scope is out, hold the chain (clutch on) and signal. The boat's drift will snub the chain and start digging the anchor in.

Anchoring Signals and the Rules

Under the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs), Rule 30:

• By day: a vessel at anchor shows one black ball in the fore part, where it can best be seen. A vessel under 7 m is not required to show this when anchored outside or not near a narrow channel, fairway or anchorage.
• At night: one all-round white light where it can best be seen (vessels over 50 m need a second light aft, lower). A yacht under 7 m is not obliged to show a light unless she is in or near a fairway or anchorage, but it is wise to show one.
• Larger yachts may use deck lighting as an additional signal.

You will probably help hoist the ball or switch on the light. Both are tasks for the foredeck crew after setting.

Dragging, and What to Do

An anchor drags when it has not set properly, when the wind or tide increases, when the wind shifts and pulls the anchor out backwards, or when the bottom is poor or weed-covered. Signs:

• Transits move, or the GPS anchor alarm sounds, or the boat's position changes relative to other boats.
• The chain feels hard and vibrates under the foot, or runs tight and slack irregularly.
• The boat lies broadside to the wind or stream, with no strain on the rode.
• At night, the anchor light moves against lights ashore.

Crew response: wake the skipper at once, call "Anchor dragging", and prepare to help. The skipper will usually start the engine, let out more chain to reset the anchor (up to scope 7 : 1 or more), or weigh and re-anchor. Do not delay: a dragging yacht can reach a lee shore, or another boat, within minutes. Put on lifejacket and harness before going on a wet foredeck in the dark.

Setting and Checking

1. With the chain held, the helm puts the engine gently astern (low revs first, then increasing). Put your hand or foot lightly on the chain forward of the windlass: if it is juddering or vibrating, the anchor is dragging across the bottom; if it is steady and tight, it is holding.
2. Once set, take the load off the windlass with the chain stopper or a snubber (a nylon line tied to the chain with a rolling hitch or chain hook and led to a bow cleat). The snubber's stretch absorbs snatching.
3. Check you are not dragging. Take two transits: line up a near object with a far one (a post in front of a house, the edge of a headland with a tower behind it) on a bearing roughly at right angles to the boat. If the pair stay lined up over several minutes, you are holding. A hand-bearing compass bearing on a fixed object, or a GPS anchor alarm, does the same job.
4. By day, hoist a black ball in the foretriangle. By night, show an all-round white light where it can best be seen.
5. Re-check transits regularly, especially at the turn of the tide and if the wind increases.

Weighing (Raising) the Anchor

The diagram below shows the weighing sequence.

1. Remove the snubber and stopper. Check the anchor locker is clear for the chain to fall into.
2. Signal the helm to motor gently ahead in the direction the chain is leading. Point along the chain with your arm so the helm knows where it goes. The engine does the hauling; the windlass just takes in the slack. Never use the windlass to pull the boat up to the anchor, as it overloads the motor and gypsy.
3. As the chain comes in, count the marks out loud so the helm knows how much is still out. Make sure it falls cleanly into the locker; feed or flake it from side to side if needed so it does not pile up and jam.
4. When the chain is vertical, call "Up and down!". The helm stops the boat.
5. Haul in to break out the anchor. If it is stuck, the helm may motor gently ahead over it to break it out; keep the windlass clutch engaged so the chain cannot run out.
6. Call "Anchor aweigh!" as soon as the anchor leaves the bottom: the boat is now free and under way. The helm needs to know this.
7. As the anchor reaches the surface, check it is clear (no weed, cable or someone else's chain), wash off mud with a bucket or deck hose, and bring it gently into the bow roller without banging the hull.
8. Secure it with the pin or lashing and engage the clutch or brake. Lower the black ball and switch off the anchor light.

Hand Signals on the Foredeck

Noise on a foredeck and wind make voice difficult. Agree hand signals before every anchoring:

Wind, Tide and Boat Handling Alongside

You do not choose the berth, but you will understand the instructions you are given better if you know why the skipper does what he or she does.

Wind and tide alongside

• Wind blowing onto the berth: the easy case. The boat is pushed on, so the skipper approaches at a shallow angle and lets the wind do the last part. Fenders matter most. Leaving, the bow lines are let go and a stern spring and a fender are used to push the bow out (see below).
• Wind blowing off the berth: the boat is pushed away, so the crew must get a line ashore quickly. Take a bow line or forward spring first, to hold the boat against the berth while the rest is organised.
• Wind along the berth: approach into the wind, making the stop with the engine and a spring. Usually the first line ashore is the spring that stops the boat moving with the wind.
• Tide: a stream along the berth acts the same way as wind along it. Approaching into the stream gives control. A stream pushing the boat onto or off the berth is more complex: a wall in a river acts as a pivot.
• When the wind and tide disagree: the skipper approaches against whichever has the greater effect, as already discussed. A heavy, deep-keeled yacht is influenced more by the stream, a light, high-sided boat by the wind.

Propeller walk

A fixed propeller pushes the stern sideways as well as driving the boat ahead or astern. Most propellers are right handed: going astern, the stern walks to port. The effect is strongest when the boat is just starting to move astern, so the skipper may brief "port side to is easier because the prop walk will help". You do not have to remember the details, but you must understand that the stern may swing sideways quickly when the engine goes astern and keep your limbs clear.

Springing on and springing off

A spring can be used to turn the boat against a berth:

• Springing off (leaving with the bow held in by the wind or by another boat ahead): the skipper asks you to rig a forward spring, a line from a bow or midships cleat leading aft to a pontoon cleat roughly abreast of the cockpit (rigged as a slip line so it can be released from on board). The helm puts the engine in slow ahead with the wheel turned towards the pontoon. The boat cannot move forward because the spring is holding, so the stern swings away from the pontoon. Put a fender at the stern corner. Once the stern is well out, the skipper changes to astern, you let go the spring, and the boat backs clear.
• Springing on (to get close to a berth when the wind is off it): the same forward spring is put on, but the engine goes ahead with the helm over away from the pontoon, drawing the stern in towards it.

Never tie a spring with a knot that cannot be let go under load: use a cleat hitch or a slip line, so you can ease and release it whatever the tension.

Tidal berths

Against a wall in tidal water, the boat will rise and fall by several metres. Lines must be long enough, and led so the boat can move: long bow and stern lines and springs. Lines are made fast on the boat side with a cleat hitch and a spare tail, so that they can be adjusted from the deck without leaving the boat as the tide changes. Fenders must be on a fender board against piles or a rough wall. On a drying berth, the skipper may allow the boat to take the ground against the wall. Do not leave the boat unattended without checking lines, and leave the heavy lines alone unless you are told to adjust them.

Securing the Boat Alongside

Making Fast and Adjusting

Once the boat is alongside and lines are on, adjust them so the boat lies parallel to the pontoon with fenders working, and cannot move fore and aft. The springs should be fairly taut; bow and stern lines can be a little slacker.

The diagram below shows the procedure for securing a mooring line to a bollard ashore.

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Finish by checking each line:

• Is it led through a fairlead, with no chafe on the toe rail?
• Is the tail coiled and stowed on deck, not trailing in the water?
• On a floating pontoon, the boat rises and falls with the pontoon, so lines need little adjustment. Against a fixed quay wall in tidal water, lines must be long enough for the full range of tide, or someone must adjust them. Long springs and long bow and stern lines allow the boat to rise and fall without lifting.
• In strong winds, double up lines and add chafe protection.

Rafting Up

Rafting is a courtesy that works only if everyone follows the same rules.

In busy harbours you may moor alongside another yacht ("rafting"). Fenders go at maximum beam where the hulls meet. Take your own bow and stern lines ashore as well as lines to the inside boat, so you are not hanging from their cleats. Cross the other boat's foredeck, not their cockpit, when going ashore, and do so quietly. Ask permission to come alongside, and put out fenders before the approach. Arrange lines so that the boats are held by their own springs and breast lines and the load goes ashore, not on the inner boat's cleats. Check lines in the evening and after a wind change. If you are on the inside boat and want to leave early, warn the others the night before. Remember that the outer boat must not use the inner boat's rig or deck as a handrail and keep noise down.

Leaving a Berth

The aim is to leave the berth in the opposite order from arrival: spring off or back away, with fenders ready. The detailed plan is the skipper's, but the foredeck crew should know it in advance.

Which lines come first?

If the wind or tide holds the boat on the berth, the skipper only needs to move the bow or stern. If the wind pushes the boat off, the last line to be let go should be the one that holds the boat against the wind (often a bow or breast line), so that the stern line and spring can be released and the helm can motor off in a controlled way.

Singling Up

Before leaving, the skipper will ask you to "single up": reduce the lines to the minimum needed to hold the boat, usually just the lines that will be used to leave. Each remaining line is rigged as a slip line: from a cleat on board, round the shore cleat or bollard, and back to the boat, so it can be released and pulled aboard without anyone stepping ashore.

1. Brief: which lines go first, which line the boat will motor against (often a spring), who handles what.
2. Rig slip lines; check they will run freely round the shore fitting and are not twisted around each other.
3. On command, release one end of the slip line and pull it back aboard quickly and steadily so it does not fall in the water near the propeller. Call "Line aboard" or "Bow line clear."
4. Fend off with a roving fender as needed, then bring fenders and lines aboard and coil and stow them once clear of the berth.

Worked Example

Coming Alongside a Marina Pontoon

The skipper briefs: "Port side to, pontoon on our port side. Wind is 10 knots from ahead, blowing slightly off the pontoon. Tide is slack. I want three fenders port side, a bow line, stern line and a midships spring ready. You are on the bow line and will step ashore at the shrouds; Sam takes the stern line."

1. With the boat in clear water at slow speed, you put three fenders on the port side, tied with clove hitches and a half hitch to the stanchion bases. You kneel and look: the pontoon is about 40 cm above the water, so the fenders are adjusted so their middles are at that height.
2. You make the bow line fast on the bow cleat, lead it through the port bow fairlead, outside the pulpit and guardwires, and bring it back coiled to the shrouds. Sam does the same aft.
3. As the boat closes the pontoon you stand by the shrouds, holding on, calling distances: "Two metres... one metre."
4. The boat stops alongside with a gap of half a metre. You step down onto the pontoon, holding the shroud until your weight is on the pontoon, then walk to the cleat ahead of the bow.
5. Because the wind is pushing the bow off, you immediately take a turn round the cleat, then finish with a cleat hitch, leaving the line at about 45 degrees ahead. Sam has done the same aft.
6. The skipper asks for springs. You rig the forward spring from the midships cleat aft to a pontoon cleat abreast of the stern, and the aft spring forward. The boat now cannot move.
7. You check fenders, chafe and tails, and report "Lines made fast, fenders checked."

Leaving a Berth with a Spring

The yacht is lying port side to a pontoon, with the wind gently blowing along the berth from astern. The skipper briefs: "We will spring off with the bow. I will use a forward spring on the midships cleat. Single up to bow line, forward spring and stern line. You take the bow, Sam takes the stern."

1. You release the stern line and aft spring. Sam makes sure no loose line is trailing in the water.
2. The skipper puts the forward spring (a slip line round a pontoon cleat) under load with the engine slow ahead, helm towards the pontoon. A roving fender goes at the stern quarter.
3. The stern slowly swings out. When it is 40 degrees off the pontoon the skipper calls "Let go the bow line and spring".
4. You release one end of the slip lines and haul them back quickly and clear of the propeller. You call "Lines aboard".
5. The skipper puts the engine astern, then ahead as the boat clears. You bring the fenders and lines aboard and stow them before the boat reaches open water.

Anchoring for Lunch

Depth at the chosen spot is 4 m; high water is in 2 hours and the tide will rise 1 m more. The bow roller is 1 m above water. The boat has all-chain rode.

• Maximum vertical distance: 4 + 1 + 1 = 6 m.
• Scope at 4 : 1: 6 x 4 = 24 m. The chain is marked every 10 m, so you let out 30 m (three marks) for a margin.
• You lower the anchor under control as the boat stops, pay out chain as the boat drifts back, call "Ten... twenty... thirty," then hold the chain.
• The helm goes gently astern; your hand on the chain feels no juddering. You fit the snubber, hoist the black ball, and take transits on a church tower against a hilltop. Ten minutes later they are still in line: the anchor is holding.

Safety Notes for Mooring and Anchoring

• Never put a hand, foot or any part of the body between the boat and the dock. A boat of a few tonnes moving at walking pace has the power to crush a limb.
• Keep lines out of the water when the engine is running: a rope round the propeller will stop the engine, and may need a diver to clear.
• Stand clear of a loaded line: a line under load can snap back. Stand outside the bight and never step over it.
• Never wrap a line around your hand or body. Use a turn round a cleat or bollard.
• Wear a lifejacket if told to, and sailing boots or deck shoes with a good grip, not flip-flops. Use gloves for chain.
• Keep to the safe side of the guardwires and hold on with one hand when moving on a foredeck.
• At the windlass, keep fingers and clothing clear of the gypsy and make sure nobody switches the windlass on without checking with the foredeck. Never stand directly in line with the chain as it runs.
• Anchor in heavy weather with a lookout and a plan for dragging. Be ready to be woken.

Exam and Assessment Tips

• Be ready before you are asked: lines flaked and led outside, fenders at the right height, boat hook to hand.
• Give clear, short calls: distances, the state of the buoy or the anchor, and "made fast".
• If you are not sure, ask the skipper rather than guess. Instructors prefer a question to a mistake.
• Remember the order for anchoring: prepare, stop, let go, pay out, check, signal.
• Remember the order for weighing: signal, motor up, up and down, break out, aweigh, clear and stow.
• Practise the cleat hitch and the round turn and two half hitches until you can do them quickly without looking.

Common Mistakes

• Fenders too high. The hull touches the pontoon below them. Kneel, look and set the fender's middle at the contact point.
• Lines led inside the guardwires or pulpit. The line jams as you step ashore. Lead everything outside.
• Jumping ashore. Step when the boat is stopped and close. If it is too far, wait.
• Fending off with hands or feet. Use a roving fender; keep limbs out of the gap.
• Approaching a buoy or anchorage downwind or downtide. The boat cannot stop. Approach into the stronger element.
• Leaning over the guardwires with the boathook. Kneel or lie down; let go if you are being pulled.
• Guessing scope. Calculate it using the maximum expected depth, then add a margin.
• Dropping the anchor in a heap. Chain can foul the anchor. Pay it out as the boat drifts back.
• Not checking for dragging. Take transits and recheck regularly.
• Hauling the boat up to the anchor with the windlass. Use the engine; the windlass only takes in slack.
• Leaving a line trailing over the stern with the engine running. Haul it aboard at once.
• Cleating a line before the boat has stopped moving. Take a turn and ease it round the cleat first.
• Hands near the gypsy or chain. Wear gloves; keep hands and feet clear of running chain. Never stand in a loop of chain or rope.

Summary

• Cleats, bollards and fairleads are the fittings you secure to; fairleads stop chafe.
• Standard lines alongside: bow line, stern line, forward and aft springs. Springs stop fore-and-aft movement.
• Prepare lines outside everything, fenders at the contact height, and step ashore, never jump.
• Approach berths, buoys and anchorages into the stronger of wind and tidal stream; it acts as a brake and keeps steerage.
• On a buoy pick-up, the foredeck crew points and calls distances; use the boathook from a kneeling position and secure with a slip line or the pennant.
• Scope = (maximum depth + bow height) x ratio: 4 : 1 for chain, 6 : 1 for chain and rope, more in bad weather.
• Lower the anchor under control, pay out as the boat drifts back, set it astern, check with transits, show a black ball or anchor light.
• Weigh by motoring up to the anchor, calling "up and down" and "anchor aweigh", and stow it securely.

Check Your Understanding

1. What does a forward spring do, and where does it lead?

Answer: It stops the boat moving forward. It leads from the bow or midships cleat aft to a point on the pontoon abreast of the stern or midships.

1. Why should mooring lines be led outside the guardwires and pulpit before arriving?

Answer: So that when you step ashore with the line it runs freely over the side; if it is inside, it snags on stanchions or guardwires at the critical moment.

1. You are coming alongside a pontoon that is 30 cm above the water. Where should the fenders be?

Answer: With their widest part at the contact point, roughly level with the pontoon edge, about 30 cm above the waterline, tied to stanchion bases rather than the guardwire.

1. A buoy is ahead and the wind is blowing from behind the boat towards the buoy. What is wrong with this approach?

Answer: The wind keeps pushing the boat forward, so it cannot slow down or stop at the buoy. It will overrun the buoy and may foul the propeller. The approach should be made into the stronger of wind or tide.

1. Depth is 6 m at high water and the bow roller is 1.5 m above water. How much rode is needed on (a) all chain, (b) chain and rope?

Answer: Vertical distance 7.5 m. (a) 7.5 x 4 = 30 m. (b) 7.5 x 6 = 45 m.

1. Why does too little scope cause an anchor to drag?

Answer: The rode pulls upwards on the anchor shank, lifting the flukes out of the seabed instead of pulling horizontally to dig them in.

1. How can you tell whether the anchor is holding after setting it?

Answer: Feel the chain while the engine is astern (juddering means dragging), then watch two transits on shore over several minutes, or use a compass bearing or GPS anchor alarm.

1. What do "up and down" and "anchor aweigh" tell the helm?

Answer: "Up and down" means the chain is vertical over the anchor, so stop the boat. "Anchor aweigh" means the anchor has left the seabed and the boat is free and under way.

1. What day shape and night light does a yacht at anchor show?

Answer: A black ball by day, displayed where best seen forward; an all-round white light by night.

1. What is a slip line and why is it used when leaving?

Answer: A line led from a cleat on board, around the shore fitting and back aboard, so it can be released and recovered from the boat without anyone stepping ashore.

1. What does the helm gain by using a spring to turn the boat away from the pontoon when leaving?

Answer: With the engine ahead against a forward spring, the boat cannot move forward but the stern swings away from the pontoon. Once the stern is clear the spring is released and the boat can reverse out without scraping the pontoon or hitting the boat ahead.

1. What should you do immediately if you think the anchor is dragging at night, and what signs might you notice?

Answer: Wake the skipper at once and call "Anchor dragging", then put on a lifejacket and be ready to help re-anchor or weigh. Signs include moving transits or the anchor alarm, a chain that is vibrating or lying slack, the boat lying broadside to the wind or stream, and the anchor light moving against lights ashore.