Markus' Buoy Maneuver

[MarkusSails]

Hello everybody!

Since I'm new here, let me shortly introduce myself:
I'm Markus and a sailor/skipper and engineer from Germany.
I usually enjoy one week trips with monohull sailing yachts and a crew of 5 to 8 in the Mediterranean Sea.

Mooring at buoy is sometimes a challenging maneuver, especially with unexperienced crew, some wind and no special tools/buoy hook available at the charter yacht.

So I invented a maneuver which has the following advantages:

• same approach maneuver as for MOB training can be used, doubles the training
• easy pickup point at the side of the yacht
• suitable for untrained crew
• works for small buoys, where lasso does not work
• no special tools (like special buoy hook) needed
• double safety at the buoy without a lot of additional work
• works reliable even in harsh conditions

I've created a step by step info PDF.



What do you think?

• Is this new? I'm of course willing to give credit to who ever has invented and documented this before me.
• Since I'm not a native English speaker, any reccomondations how to improve the wording?
• How to improve the pictures?
• Any general hints/comments?

Hope it could help somebody, thank you,
Kind regards, Markus

[Alan Mighty]

Change "clamp" to "cleat".
Change "middle clamp" to "midship cleat".
Change "B-linie" to "B-line".
Change "Preparation to Release" to "Prepare to Release".
Change "Bull" to "Pull". Reword that sentence perhaps to "Haul in the B-line to bring the bow and buoy together."
At <Heading>Release</Heading>, change the first sentence ("Put the shorter end ...") perhaps to "Remove the locking hitch on whichever bow cleat holds the short end of the B-line."
Change "looses" to "loses".

Change "Add. to" perhaps to "Notes:" for each of Preparation, Approach, At the Buoy, ...

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Markus.

[Alan Mighty]

Change "Because it has only one attachment point, wear down through rubbing will be reduced." perhaps to "With load on the simple and short O-line, chafe will be less than if the mooring load were carried by the B-line."

[Alan Mighty]

At "the "Scott's simple lock bowline"." perhaps add "(search for it on Youtube)."

[Alan Mighty]

At "Add. to At the Buoy", change "boot hook" to "boat hook".

[Alan Mighty]

Change "put the gear immediately" to "immediately shift to neutral".

Change "works reliable even in harsh" to "works reliably even in harsh".

[danielamartindm]

Hi Markus,

Your English is actually very good! I did this years ago with a 30 foot cat boat. It's great because it gives the helmsman a better view of the pennant as the vessel approaches it, it reduces the need for those sometimes-frantic hand signals between crew and helm, and it ergonomically minimizes the number of lines used (as well as their lengths).

The utility of this technique can be further expanded to solo mooring with one minor modification: Initially, secure the "B" Line to the AFT deck cleat. On most vessels, this means a shorter walk from the helm to pick up the pennant; and on catamarans, it also affords the possibility of stepping down onto the sugar scoop (closer to the water) to pick up the pennant. The cat's engine on that side, or the monohull's single engine, can be placed in neutral gear if there is any concern about snagging the mooring's lines.

[MarkusSails]

Thanks a lot, especially to Alan Mighty!


New version attached.


Kind regards,
Markus

[_andi_]

Originally Posted by MarkusSails

• Is this new? I'm of course willing to give credit to who ever has invented and documented this before me

Hi, sorry, this is not new. I first saw something like this in duncan wells book "stress free sailing". The underlying concept is a so called bridle, pretty handy trick for plenty of situations and around for ages. My personal favourite is the "stern bridle" for docking.

Couple of differences/additions:

• can be done without O-line
• use winches instead of cleats (so you can adjust the length / let go of the bridle in case of emergency while steering the boat)
• prepare both sides: long line / spinnaker sheet from Port winch, loop around port bow cleat, loop around bow / stem head, loop around starbord bow cleat and to starbord winch. release one of the loops after catching the buoy.
• can also be used to leave the mooring in a controlled fashion
• In case of high topsides you can also approach in reverse, using the stern platform for access.
• Always point into the tide to keep positive flow over the rudder (picture 2kn of tide on the bow & gale force winds on the stern. You can motor reverse against the wind, zero speed over ground and still manoeuvrer bc of the tide).