Tie the boat to the dock, or the dock to the boat?

[P-Dogg]

Subtitled, "Where Does the Eye Go?"

Strolling down the dock today, I was struck by the diversity of ways in which people tie-up their boats. So let's say that you are tying-up to a dock that has a cleat on it:

A). Do you put the eye on the dock cleat, or on the boat cleat? Why?

B) What do you do when you tie to a piling?

[gettaway]

I always put the eye on the boat cleat and the other end to the dock, we don't do the piling tie at our marina, and I have noticed that even those who leave their lines behind, still have the eye on the boat end

[prowlersfish]

There is a correct way to do your lines by the book . And I do some of that way . The stern lines ,opps . I forget some dock bow in . ok The lines on the dock have the eyes on the boat cleat so you can adjust them from the dock . lines on the pilings eye on piling so you can adjust them from the boat . Same goes for spring lines .


That's how I do my stern lines eye on boat . But I also do the other lines that way . Why ? once there adjusted its easier to tie up the boat ,less room for error . especially when the GF gets the lines . The lines always stay when the boats leave .


When cruising and stopping at different places I put the eye end on the pilings ( loop with the eye )

[RWS]

for my own style, it depends on different things.

adjusting from the dock or the boat?

is this a lunch/dinner quick stop or overnight?

Is this the last line to untie before hauling a$$ ?

Do I need to make a quick getaway?

How cold is the beer?

RWS

[P-Dogg]

Oh come on! I was sure that this would be an inciteful thread.....

My practice is to put the eye on the cleat or the piling regardless of where I'm docking or for how long. Why? I don't want to have to get off and on the boat to adjust the lines, and I don't want to get off the boat until I am sure that the lines are done right. If I'm staying on my boat, I want to be able to leave where I am in a hurry, i.e. to not have to get off the boat to free it from the dock, in the event of an emergency, in which case it would be fine to leave the lines on the dock. And I don't want anyone ashore to do anything with the line except put two turns under and one over on the cleat.

OK, OK, then there is the anal retentive part of me that has to have all the lines the same. Since only about one person in two hundred can tie a decent clove hitch, I always pass the eye to the dockhand when a piling is involved. What would then be the sense of passing the bitter end when a cleat is involved ashore? Who is tying-up my boat-- me or the dockhand? And are they tying the boat to the dock, or the dock to the boat?

[prowlersfish]

P-Dogg ,Do you take your lines with you when you leave the slip ?

[larryeddington]

At my home slip eye goes on boat, and at a foreign slip using my lines eye on boat as well, if lines provided eye probably will be on dock. At the end of the day probably does not make any real difference.

[rickalan35]

Hi - Re: my home dock, I leave my lines behind and simply reconnect when I return.

My home lines all have the eye on the boat. The lines are set up to allow enough movement to be able to re-fasten the eyes through the boat cleats upon return.

I'm on a thirty foot dock with a thirty-six foot boat plus swim platform. So, I reverse into the slip and connect the spring line first. Then reconnect the two transom lines (not chris-crossed but slightly angled). The bow line is adjusted last.

We use one line to spring in both directions. This line has an eye connected to the forward dock cleat and then a secondary eye woven in that connects to the midship boat cleat. Then the rest of the line is tied to the rearward spring line cleat. (Sorry for the complicated explanation) When backing into the slip, we often get a volunteer on the dock to pick up the spring line and slip the middle eye into our midship cleat as we are slowly easing past.

We have additional lines looped around the side and rear railing. After leaving our home dock, when my wife pulls up the fenders she also loops the eyes of these additional lines through the side and rear cleats. When we stop somewhere, we're mostly ready to tie up. Hope I made sense here.

[P-Dogg]

Do you take your lines with you when you leave the slip ?

I take the stern lines (I hate it when folks just throw their lines on the dock willy-nilly and leave!) and leave the spring and bow lines. Crew pops the eye off the (dock) cleat on the stern lines, hops aboard and gets spring line (eye on each end, so easy to get off), then bow lines. Doing bow last lets me move the boat up so the wider part of the boat is adjacent to the pilings, which means less reaching or throwing of lines to the piling than if done from the pointy end. Crew spends the time that I'm moving forward to uncleat the bow lines. We also usually disconnect the shore power cords if we're going any distance.......

[rickalan35]

We also usually disconnect the shore power cords if we're going any distance.......

............. very funny and similar to those unfortunates who forget to disconnect their fresh water lines.

(I hate it when folks just throw their lines on the dock willy-nilly and leave!)

......... now I guess I'm going to feel really guilty every time I throw my lines willy nilly onto the dock when I leave.