Quick way to tie up to piling.

zz4gta · #1 (**permalink**) 07-23-2008

This has probably been covered before but I can't seem to find it. I'm looking for a fast way to tie off a boat to pilings since a lot of docks near my boat don't have cleats and some of the pilings are too tall to loop a bowline over the top. What would you suggest is the fastest way that is still secure? Thank you.

sailortjk1 · #2 (**permalink**) 07-23-2008

Round Turns and Half Hitches....... or
I will use a variation of a Clove Hitch followed by Half Hitches.

sailingdog · #3 (**permalink**) 07-23-2008

Round turn and two-half-hitches.

However, this knot generally won't move up and down the piling, so if you've got a tidal range...make sure you tie it where you can reach it when you get back to the boat.

T37Chef · #4 (**permalink**) 07-23-2008

Bungee Cords

Boasun · #5 (**permalink**) 07-24-2008

Take a bight around the piling and secure the bitter end of your mooring line on your boat. Don't use a round turn it won't slid up or down with the tide.
This way you can take off your lines from the boat.
The best way to do this is with two people. One with a boat hook that he/she extends behind the piling and the other would toss the line so it would cross the boat hook. then the line can be brought back aboard the vessel and secured. Of course your mooring lines will have to be long enough to go out and back. And one thought on this is that type of doubling would increase the Breaking strain of the moor by one half. So if your mooring line has a BS of 2000# then the doubling in the latter case would make your moor 3000#. Any questions?

dealweb · #6 (**permalink**) 07-24-2008

Why not just tie the bowline around the piling instead of trying to get the already tied bowline over the top of the piling? Just a thought.

sailortjk1 · #7 (**permalink**) 07-24-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boasun

Take a bight around the piling and secure the bitter end of your mooring line on your boat. Don't use a round turn it won't slid up or down with the tide.
This way you can take off your lines from the boat.
The best way to do this is with two people. One with a boat hook that he/she extends behind the piling and the other would toss the line so it would cross the boat hook. then the line can be brought back aboard the vessel and secured. Of course your mooring lines will have to be long enough to go out and back. And one thought on this is that type of doubling would increase the Breaking strain of the moor by one half. So if your mooring line has a BS of 2000# then the doubling in the latter case would make your moor 3000#. Any questions?

Boasun, Just a thought.
We don't practice this because (Well first off there are no tides on the GL's) I like to leave my mooring lines secured to the dock/pillings. Makes it much easier when returning to the slip to simply attach the lines to the boat cleats. Everything is already set to the propper length and it makes tying up a lot easier with fewer hassels.

I can see why you would reccomend it in a place of changeing tides. I guess the other question would be, is this a permenant or tempoary dock? If permenant, I like to keep our lines secured to the dock and not take them with us each time we leave the slip. I also than carry a second set of mooring lines for when we are transiting to other marinas.

JohnRPollard · #8 (**permalink**) 07-24-2008

TJK,

I assumed the OP was talking about temporary tie-ups (I'm pretty sure ZZ is a trailer sailer), otherwise your method would be the normal practice for sure, at least in areas with moderate tide ranges.

As regards temporary tie-ups to pilings, my pet-peeve is when folks come in and tie off to a shared piling but fail to dip-the-eye, which seems to happen more and more. It is a very basic docking courtesy that should not be overlooked!

Melrna · #9 (**permalink**) 07-24-2008

I tie up to two pilings. I use Round Turns and Half Hitches for each line after I rap my line a couple of times around the piling. I have two springlines and two bowlines ( I live in Florida for high wind protection) for each side. One line on each is closed looped so when I come in and out of the slip all I have to do is drop it over the cleat (I single hand most of the time). The other line is free so I can loosen or tighten as required for tidal range so I can get on and off the boat. This line is actually my primary for holding the boat correctly into the slip while the close looped line is my secondary for security during high winds and docking. I obviously keep them on the pilings. I have two hooks on each piling, front/back to hang the lines when I am out sailing.
I thought of getting those piling plastic balls the supposedly float on the water for those with large tidal swings. Not sure that will work for me and the jury is still out. No one in my marina has them, so I am not sure they are worth it.

sailingdog · #10 (**permalink**) 07-24-2008

Boasun—

One major problem with looping the line around the piling and back to the boat is chafe. If the boat is there for any period of time with wind, swell and tide, the line will chafe far more being looped around than it would with a round turn and two half-hitches. While this isn't much of an issue for a ship, where the lines are two-to-three inches in diameter, with a 3/8" or 1/2" dock line, it becomes an issue rather quickly.