Secure boat to dock in rough water

[JVB]

My sailing club has a 30 foot pontoon boat which is kept next to a single straight floating dock. The dock rides up and down on several pilings. And the dock is exposed to a lake which is two miles wide at that point. Sometimes whitecap waves and big wakes come in. Recently the manufacturer's attach point for the bow line (welded to the top of the nearest pontoon) was discovered to be tearing a hole in the pontoon. Obviously shock loads on the bow line fitting are the cause. Some club members want to use a stronger attachment point(s) on the main structure. Others want to use stretchier lines and bigger fenders. A mooring to hold the pontoon a few feet away from the dock has been suggested. Some want to tie the boat tightly while others want lots of slack. What would you do to keep a pontoon boat safely docked in rough water ?

 

[RichH]

I vote for the 'bombproof' mooring.

No boat is going to long withstand being 'pounded' at a dock.

 

[Maine Sail]

What would you do to keep a pontoon boat safely docked in rough water ?

Put it on a mooring, not the dock......

 

[MrBill_FLL]

or How about some boat whips, if you insist keeping at dock.

 

[Joe Blizzard]

What would you do to keep a pontoon boat safely docked in rough water?

Moorings aren't an option where I park my boat, so I use mooring whips to keep it from getting beaten up too much: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISSOsfKTIrU

 

[pateco]

I use mooring Whips on my 1983 H31

 

[woodster]

why not use spring lines to help lessen the blows at the dock

 

[Kermit]

You could always join Lake Murray Sailing Club instead.

 

[All U Get]

A couple of old tires if money is an object.

All U Get

 

[Johnb]

Please tell us how the dock is standing up to the waves - it can't be much better than the boat.

 

[JVB]

The floating dock has steel truss structure sections hinged together with concrete tiles on top and rectangular floats underneath. So it is a substantial dock. It is showing no signs of distress, so far ! The mooring whip idea looks to me like the best primary solution. Bigger fenders and spring lines are also needed.

 

[Manureva]

Good fender, 2 spring line, one bow line, one stern line. Make sure the fender are low enough that they will not pop up over the dock but still protect the boat. You could also use some rubber thing that go in the line to give it some elasticity, i forgot what they are called, they are usually black.

 

[woodster]

Good fender, 2 spring line, one bow line, one stern line. Make sure the fender are low enough that they will not pop up over the dock but still protect the boat. You could also use some rubber thing that go in the line to give it some elasticity, i forgot what they are called, they are usually black.

not to be a know it all but you are referring to SNUBERS.......

 

[Manureva]

Yes that's it! Thank you

 

[All U Get]

You could also use some rubber thing that go in the line to give it some elasticity, i forgot what they are called, they are usually black.

Ditto on the snubbers, we added them to our spring lines. It took a while to decide on the best way to use them, but the results were a very comfortable boat.

All U Get

 

[YVRguy]

Sounds to me like the only long term solution is to find a better place to tie up. Tying up exposed to the waves is going to be hard on your boat no matter what you do to mitigate the pounding. For the short term I would fix mount fenders to the dock and use snubbers on your bow and stern lines, with spring lines for lateral stability.

I think the question of tying up loosely or snugly depends on the wind. If the wind is blowing the boat against the dock, tying up loosely won't do anything but give the boat some extra momentum before hitting the dock.

 

[centerline]

Ive posted a link of what I use on our boat (for 5/8 line).. estimated weight of the boat with all of our stuff and tools, is about 11,000lbs. they were there when we got the boat and i was going to remove the ugly things, but before I got around to it, I saw how they work and what they actually do. I will never remove them now.
I highly recommend them for all boats... especially when you are occupying the boat. when trying to sleep or eat, the wave surge jerking on a dock line can be irritating as well as worrisome. these eliminate it entirely

I have them in the bow line the stern line and both springs.

we commonly tie to docks, and at several we visit we get a lot of wind waves... and also the barge traffic can produce some gigantic wave surge on the outside of the dock...

with these snubbers we never feel the dock lines jerk or get tight..... and as long as there is some give, it will never rip a cleat out. the boat moves up and down, side to side, but never with a jerk when a line comes tight.

what causes the damage is not the actual amount of the pressure, but the suddeness of it... with a snubber, it will take the sudden "jerk" away from it, and it will lessen the amount of pressure that develops in the line and on the cleats.

it may not be something than an ocean cruiser would use, but for anyone who ever docks in a bumpy fairway, they are well worth the money and effort.

dock line snubberhttp://www.jmsonline.net/taylor-made-mooring-snubber-3-8in-tay-307.htm?utm_source=google_shopping&gclid=CKiJ_L2Sl8MCFYpcfgod4VQAaA

 

[Ken Cross]

Ive posted a link of what I use on our boat (for 5/8 line).. estimated weight of the boat with all of our stuff and tools, is about 11,000lbs. they were there when we got the boat and i was going to remove the ugly things, but before I got around to it, I saw how they work and what they actually do. I will never remove them now.
I highly recommend them for all boats... especially when you are occupying the boat. when trying to sleep or eat, the wave surge jerking on a dock line can be irritating as well as worrisome. these eliminate it entirely

I have them in the bow line the stern line and both springs.

we commonly tie to docks, and at several we visit we get a lot of wind waves... and also the barge traffic can produce some gigantic wave surge on the outside of the dock...

with these snubbers we never feel the dock lines jerk or get tight..... and as long as there is some give, it will never rip a cleat out. the boat moves up and down, side to side, but never with a jerk when a line comes tight.

what causes the damage is not the actual amount of the pressure, but the suddeness of it... with a snubber, it will take the sudden "jerk" away from it, and it will lessen the amount of pressure that develops in the line and on the cleats.

it may not be something than an ocean cruiser would use, but for anyone who ever docks in a bumpy fairway, they are well worth the money and effort.

dock line snubberhttp://www.jmsonline.net/taylor-made-mooring-snubber-3-8in-tay-307.htm?utm_source=google_shopping&gclid=CKiJ_L2Sl8MCFYpcfgod4VQAaA

Those rubber snubbers are what I use. They have held up so far for 13 years on 2 different boats and I plan to move them to the new boat. They take the shock out of the dockline.
Ken