On deck you work with loaded lines, a moving boat and a hard quay. A winch, a fender and a well-led line do the heavy work, as long as your hands and feet stay out of their way.
Which way do I put the turns on a sailing winch?
Clockwise, the only way the drum turns: one or two turns to pull in the slack by hand, three or four before you wind. The turns grip only while someone keeps the tail tight.
A winch lets you pull a sheet far harder than your arms can. The drum turns clockwise only, so the turns go on clockwise: one or two to pull in the slack by hand, three or four before you wind. The turns grip only while someone keeps the tail tight, so the tailer pulls steadily as the line comes off the drum. On a self-tailing winch the tail goes into the jaws on top after the turns, and you wind with both hands.
With a riding turn the sheet will neither come in nor ease. Stop winding, keep your hands away and call the skipper. The load comes off first: a spare line is tied to the sheet with a rolling hitch and wound in on another winch, and only then are the slack turns cleared.
Fingers never go near a loaded drum.
How high should I hang the fenders for a low floating pontoon?
Low, close to the water, where the pontoon's edge meets the hull. Set the fenders for the berth you are going to, not for the boat, and put them out before you enter harbour.
A fender protects only the spot it hangs over. Put the fenders out before you enter harbour, and set their height for the berth you are going to, not for the boat.
| Berth | Fenders |
|---|---|
| Low floating pontoon | Low, close to the water, where the pontoon's edge meets the hull |
| Stern-to between yachts | Both sides, at the widest part, level with the neighbours' fenders |
| At sea | None: taken in and stowed once you are clear of the harbour |
Keep one loose fender in your hand as the boat comes in: it goes wherever the hull is about to touch. Fenders left hanging at sea bang against the hull, and the waves tear them off.
Where do I step off the boat when coming alongside a pontoon?
By the shrouds: the boat is widest there, closest to the pontoon, and you have something to hold. Wait until she is close and nearly stopped, then step down; never jump.
Before the berth, your line is made fast on its cleat, led outside the guardrail and coiled in your hand. Stand by the shrouds: the boat is widest there, closest to the pontoon, and you have something to hold. Wait until she is close and nearly stopped, then step down. A jump from a moving deck can end in the water between the hull and the pontoon.
A yacht weighs several tonnes and does not stop for a hand or a foot. Never put any part of yourself between the boat and the quay, and never fend off with your legs. If the hull is about to touch where no fender hangs, drop the loose fender into the gap.
Into the gap goes a fender, never a hand or a foot.
Which mooring lines stop a boat alongside from moving forward?
The lines that lead aft: the stern line and the bow spring. A line can only pull, so when wind from astern pushes her forward these two take the strain; pushed back, the bow line and stern spring do.
Alongside, the bow line leads forward from the bow and the stern line aft from the stern. The two springs run diagonally along the boat: the bow spring leads aft from the bow cleat, the stern spring leads forward from the stern cleat. They stop her surging forward and back.
A line can only pull. To see which lines are working, ask which way the boat is trying to go. If wind from astern pushes her forward, the lines that lead aft take the strain: the stern line and the bow spring. Pushed back, it is the bow line and the stern spring.
A slip line lets you leave with nobody ashore. It runs from the boat round the bollard and back, with both ends made fast on board. To leave, let one end go and pull the line home.
Which stern line goes ashore first when Med mooring in a crosswind?
The windward stern line: it stops the stern blowing down onto the neighbour. Then the lazy line is picked up at the quay, walked forward to the bow cleat and hauled taut.
In the Mediterranean yachts lie stern-to: the stern a step from the quay, neighbours close on both sides, and the bow held off by the anchor or by a lazy line. A lazy line is a heavy rope fixed to the seabed ahead of the berth, with a thin pick-up line leading to the quay.
Why shorten the dinghy painter before the yacht goes astern?
On a long painter the yacht runs over the slack line when she goes astern, and it can wrap round the propeller. Before any manoeuvre in harbour, shorten it right up or bring the tender alongside.
The tender's bow line is the painter. Towed on a long painter, the tender follows quietly until the yacht goes astern: then she runs over the slack line, and it can wrap round the propeller. Before any manoeuvre in harbour, shorten the painter right up or bring the tender alongside.
Getting in, the painter stays made fast until everyone is aboard and sitting down: it is all that holds the tender to the yacht. Step into the middle one at a time, keep low, and untie last.
Questions from this topic, as the app asks them. Open one to see the answer.
You are putting the genoa sheet on this winch. Which way do the turns go round the drum?
A. Clockwise
Yacht winches turn clockwise only, so the sheet goes on clockwise.
You are getting the fenders ready for tonight's berth. Where do you hang them?
A. Both sides, at the widest part, level with the neighbours
Stern-to, your sides lie against the yachts next to you, so the fenders go on both sides.
You are at the stern as the boat backs in. What do you do?
A. Put a loose fender in the gap and keep your hands out
Never put hands or feet between boat and quay: tonnes of boat will crush them.
The wind pushes the boat along the quay. Which lines take the strain?
B. The stern line and the spring led aft from the bow
Lines leading aft from the boat stop it moving forward: the stern line and the spring from the bow.
Which stern line do you pass ashore first?
D. The port one, on the windward side
The windward line stops the stern blowing downwind onto the neighbours.
The tender is towed astern on a long painter, and the skipper is about to reverse into a berth. What do you do with the painter?
B. Shorten it or bring the tender alongside, clear of the prop
Going astern the boat runs over a slack painter, and it can wrap round the propeller.
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