Mooring

Why do some people do it?

Picture the scene, it is a relatively sunny and pleasant day, the river is alive with folks enjoying the September sunshine afloat, to miss the rush for decent moorings in the next village, boats start to arrive early. Boat one, ours for avoidance of doubt, moors on the end of the stretch of moorings adjacent the footbridge, using the first bollard in the run and the next one along. An hour so later boat two, a 50ft(ish) narrowboat, arrives and moors about 25ft away, leaving a gap only suitable for the smallest of boats. WHY?

OK folks may want their privacy but why moor so far away? Sharing a bollard does not mean you have to share your life or time with the other boat. It does however, mean that other boats have the chance to moor up for the evening in what is a popular mooring spot with both local and visiting craft.

In the end the situation was sorted when a boat was looking to moor, we moved back a few feet and moored our stern onto the piling. Technically we should not have done so as the mooring is just before a bridge however a few feet did no harm other than to sit our sterndrive in the mud for the evening!! The owners of said narrowboat were a little unimpressed to find the stern of another cruiser up against their bow though. I am sure they expected to have the 25ft in front of their bow to themselves all night. As is usual with folks who have had their noses put out of joint, they left the next morning with not even a smile between them. Miserable sods.

Whilst we are on the subject of mooring, can we also try and moor boats adequately at least. 2 loosely tied pieces of string at 90 degrees to the bank will not stop your boat moving when other boats pass, even if they pass at a sensible pace. Spending an extra few minutes on your mooring lines can mean the difference between a comfortable night and one where the boat snatches at the lines every time a boat goes passed. The onus isn’t just on passing boats to be sensible but also on those moored up to do so in a sensible and adequate fashion.

For those who struggle with the concept of spring lines, if you do use a line fore and aft that are at 90 degrees to the bank, then supplement these lines with extra ropes one from the fore cleat/bollard/stud to a point midway down the boat (obviously secured on the bank) and one from a rear cleat/bollard/stud to the same midpoint. These lines then help to spread the load as the boat moves which reduces snatching on the lines but also limits the forward and backwards movement of the vessel resulting in a more comfortable mooring experience. This may seem overkill to some, especially those who limit their cruising to canals only, but given the fact that there are more boats on the system, it stands to reason that you will be passed more often and not all of these boats will pass sensibly, using extra lines limits your chances of having pins pulled and being set adrift as the load is spread more evenly.

So come on folks, let us try to be a little more considerate when mooring. Rant Over, for today anyway.