Faster has it right...at least out here. We just raft up and walk across the other boat. It's actually quite necessary in many cases and pretty much common. If someone is on board I will ask, otherwise I just put out some
fenders, raft up securing to his
cleats and run extra
lines to the float. But around here, everyone usually has
fenders out on both sides for others to raft up. If it's a pleasure vessel we usually walk across the bow but if it's a commercial vessel it usually doesn't matter too much.