LET TERS
LETTER OF THE MONTH
Up against it
Having read your article on how to moor
a boat to rocks (YM, October 2017),
I thought that readers might be interested
in my method of berthing alongside
a dock wall singlehanded. I’ve done this
successfully many times over the years.
Come alongside a ladder and secure
temporarily to a rung. Take lines ashore
and make fast on long scopes. Weightshung halfway along the warps will minimise
adjustment. Full cans are best but small
anchors, chums or chain are alternatives.
Take a rope and attach it to a rung near
the top of the wall. Thread the other end
through the thimble of a lizard (a short rope
with a thimbled eye). A shackle or bowline
can be used instead but the latter may twist.
Near low water, pass the end of the ropeunder the lowest practical rung, pull it tight
and secure to a rung above the high water
mark. Take a turn round the mast with the
tail of the lizard and make fast. This can
then run up and down with the tide,
stopping the boat falling away from the wall.
The photo shows my Elizabethan 2 3
Reservation dried out with the offshore
leg rigged as a precaution. Jim MottramSend us your letters in less than 200 words by email [email protected] or by post Yachting Monthly,
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Jim Mottram shares how
he berths alongside a dock
wall while singlehanding