Line basics

[capz]

What's the best way to secure your bow and stern lines when casting off? I usually tie the bow line to the rail with a double half-hitch. But it takes some fiddling to untie when I have to do it fast in tough wind.

 

[Pakmule]

I personally leave mine attached to the dock. I have other lines on the boat for doing things like tying up to other boats.

 

[Presentation]

Ditto to what Pakmule said.

My dock - the lines stay at the dock. This way when I return the lines are the exact correct lenght.

Away - I take them off and store them in the storage compartment at the transom.

 

[tphinney]

If you have to take your dock line with you; you need to buy more..

I carry 4 25', 4 15', plus 100' line in case I need to tow someone in or be towed.

 

[penbroke]

I personally leave mine attached to the dock. I have other lines on the boat for doing things like tying up to other boats.

What he said. Saves a lot of time upon returning to the slip. No doubt that everything is adjusted correctly. Just thread the eyes through the cleats, drop them over the top, give a tug and walk away...

Frank
Simple is good, foolproof is better. :wink:

 

[Turtlesboat]

I take all my lines with me... I don't like to leave my lines on the dock, ducks crap on them while i'm gone.

 

[boatrboy]

I too leave mine at the dock. I find that most of my guests are not boaters and I can make it fool proof for arriving at the dock. I lay the lines down at the dock so when I return, I have my guests or wife walk off the swim platform and just loop them around the cleats. I have set the length of all the lines so the guests don't even need to loop the cleat, only hook it. I basically only have them worry about the midship cleat (pre-sized stern line). It always works like a dream, and then I have them hand me the pre-sized bow line and I throw it around that cleat and go back to loop the other cleats.

Mark

 

[capz]

I have extra lines on board, and thought of keeping pre-sized lines at the dock, but it's a little tough as I can't reach the forward cleat from the end of my slip. My spring line stays at the dock. I suppose the stern line could stay too. What I'm looking for is a knot to wrap around the rail that you can untie with a quick pull on the bitter end.

 

[Asureyez]

Probably not a knot

I don't know of a knot that will hold reliably while under way and not come loose in wind and wave and yet slip loose with a yank.

Slip knots slip.

The best I can offer you is to make up a hank with a stopper in the top loop and then tie the whole hank to the bow rail witha clove hitch. The clove can be untied single handed and the hank can be unstopped quickly.

You will see this method used on every larger sail boat out there to stow the tails of their halyards running up the mast when docked.

This would meet most of your desires to have a dock line at the bow handy yet safely fixed to the boat to prevent unraveling and fouling a prop.

 

[Sorrento 25]

You may want to try this.
These work well, adjust and snap to lock, and remain captive on the line at any desired point in its length.

 

[Nehalennia]

You may want to try this.
These work well, adjust and snap to lock, and remain captive on the line at any desired point in its length.

Not for lines. Those are for fenders. Lines would more than likely break the device and are really meant to attach to your railing also not advised for tieing your lines to.

 

[sebagoman007]

I'm with capz, in the sense that I can't reach my bow cleat from my too-short slip finger.

I bought a clamp-on jam cleat that fastens to the bow rail near the windshield that I CAN reach at the dock. When leaving, I cleat the line off to it with one turn, then coil the remainder and hang it from a plastic enclosed stick-on hook thing attached to the side of the windshield. I can't tell you more about the hook thing as it was on the boat when I got it.

Spring lines stay on the dock. Flemished to avoid tripping, of course.

I adopted a kind of interesting stern line approach from the previous owner - the eye is looped to the stern cleat on the opposite side from my finger dock. It then leads down, through the stern eye, across the top of the swim platform, (fits into the seam, you can hardly see it) through the dock-side stern eye then to the cleat on the dock. By being so short it acts as both a stern and a spring line. Obviously, this only works for a floating finger. When leaving the slip I uncleat it from the dock and cleat it to the stern cleat on that side. Sounds complicated, but it works out slick.

Of course, I always have extra lines in the stern locker.

Once again, I have gone on too long but hey, it's the curse of being an engineer, I guess.........

Cheers,

Bill

 

[Sorrento 25]

You may want to try this.
These work well, adjust and snap to lock, and remain captive on the line at any desired point in its length.

Not for lines. Those are for fenders. Lines would more than likely break the device and are really meant to attach to your railing also not advised for tieing your lines to.

No, of course this wouldn't be used to secure the line to when mooring. I thought he wanted a way to secure the line back and to the rail so as not to have to remove it from the forward cleat.