Mooring - How To?

[Jibho]

I''m new to sailing and boating and have taken some lessons and belonged to a sailing club last year. I''m hooked, taking the plunge and buying a boat. However, I will need to keep the boat on a mooring and I''ve never taken a dinghy out to a sailboat on a mooring and am not sure how to get to the sailboat, get on the sailboat, tie up the dinghy to the mooring(?) etc. and how to reverse it at the end of the day.

I''ll be doing this singlehanded some of the time.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[paulk]

There are so many variables involved with what you want to do! What kind of mooring is it? (Bow&stern, bow only?) Is it well protected or not? What kind of boat are you climbing onto? What kind of dinghy are you climbing out of? How heavy is it? Are you rowing or motoring? Is there a ladder or transom platform? Is there a gate or stern pulpit? Which way is the wind blowing? The tide? Does the dinghy have a centerboard? Is it down or up? How long is the painter? All these things, and more, have to be factored into how you - or anybody - transfers to and from a moored boat. No set on-line answer is going to work for every situation you might encounter. You can make a mistake and get by in some conditions while the same mistake could be fatal in other conditions. The best advice might be to find a book with a chapter on dinghy handling (hopefully a dinghy like yours), and practice, practice, practice. If you''re singlehanded, a lifejacket - worn on you - might also be in order.

[JeffC_]

In other words, it''s a pretty straight-forward affair:<P>I approach my boat from the stern (boat blocks any wind). I have a long painter (the line attached to the nose of the dinghy) ready to hand. I approach at idle, and just before I bump my boat, I kill the motor and throw the outboard tiller over so that the two vessels are perpendicular to one another, i.e., the <u>side</u> of my dinghy is agaisnt the <u>stern</u> of my boat. If there is wind, the outboard was thrown into neutral instead, so that it cannot eat any line I drop in the water inadvertently, and in case something goes wrong and I must re-approach, it''s still running.

Now I grab the swim ladder or a stantion before I drift off and carefully stand, pass the painter to one stern cleat, tie, lower the swim ladder if needed, pass the long painter loosely across the back of the boat, tie it off on the opposite stern cleat, then lead it down somewhere near the back of the dinghy, like a rope hand-hold, and tie it off. I leave enough slack so that the dinghy is not rubbing up and down the stern with each ripple and wake.

This leaves the dinghy secure against the stern of the boat, allowing easy loading & boarding, and keeps it from being a hazard to others. The 20'' painter also comes in handy when it''s time to haul the the dinghy on deck and tie it down.

I''m sure there are as many diffferent ways to do this as there are yatchsmen. As long as you are able to approach and board safely, tie the tender off securely and keep it from becoming a nuisance to others, we''ll all watch you and call it a seaman-like maneuver.

BTW, leaving an expensive dinghy & motor on the mooring while you''re gone is an invitation to thieves, or at best means it will be a problematic when you return and it''s riding directly downwind of the mooring, blocking your preferred approach. I''d either rig it to be towed or haul it aboard and secure everything.