Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

My new-to-me pontoon & dock came with the cottage I bought so I've had a steep learning curve. When I tie off to the dock in the manner of the previous owner there's too much slack in the lines & too much boat movement. My lake level is controlled by a dam so there's no need to set lines for current or tidal variations. The boat or dock have no cleats--the boat has an eye in the front & rear corners of the frame & ~5 foot dock lines with loops slide over the dock posts. The front line runs rearward & the rear line goes forward like spring lines but not nearly as long. There is a 3rd that goes from the back eye rearward to a clip & eye on the end of the dock. Not sure what that one is for.

I hope the description makes sense because I didn't think to try to take a picture that would show the arrangement.
As far as I know this boat & dock are both from '79 so it's survived this long with this arrangement--but to my (inexperienced) eye it can still be improved on. It's VERY unlikely this 'toon will ever leave this lake so I'm not looking for versatility

My slip has 4 cleats, 2 foreward and 2 aft. However the prevailing breez
tends to push the boat up against the port side. with 3 bumpers out I
just tie off on the port side. old jim

I would install cleats on the dock and your boat if it's possible. Can't beat a cleat.

What's special about a cleat? The railing on my old Crest sits right at the edge of the deck--no room for cleats.

You could put cleats vertically on the rub rail.

guy48065 wrote:What's special about a cleat? The railing on my old Crest sits right at the edge of the deck--no room for cleats.

Yes, you do have room. My boat has a similar bow layout. Not sure about your stern though. Cleats are simple, effective, and relatively cheap.


http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleat_(nautical)

Ron Burgundy wrote:Cleats are simple, effective, and relatively cheap.

And best of all, adjustable--which I don't require.

I intended my question to be about rope lengths and arrangement, not hardware. Almost all the info I can find on the web (and here) is about tieing off to allow for tidal changes, current, big waves, strange docks, etc. I only need to deal with wind & the occasional wake of a passing bassboat. Boat position and rope length will never change. Probable reason why I can't find the info: Doesn't matter (?)
A co-worker who's a sailor told me about "dogbones"--snubbers that go on the lines to give them some stretch. He tells me that way I can tie it up tight against the dock & the rubber bones will give. I haven't looked into them yet.

here you go!!

http://search.overtons.com/?D=snubbers& ... t=snubbers

I don't think you need anything else..the way your tying up is fine. That keeps the boat from moving forward & backwards. Just leave a little slack for wake movement & position your fenders correctly so if a boat goes by the fenders will be the buffer between the boat & the dock.

OK here goes my setup I use bumper lines to tie my boat up with they are 6 foot long, I also have a 15 foot lead line that I can use if need be. Put my bumpers out Tie my bow line so that the boat cant go forward any more than i want it to, tie my rear line so that the boat is tight to the bow line. This setup is for an inland lake, never had a boat on the coast so I know this is not how they would do it, but this works for me. BTW this is how I've been trying up are boats for over 40 years. If you still don't feel safe then tie a 3rd lead line form the bow to the dock forward of the nose or better yet for you to the shore. Hope this helps

Line length - experiment with tighter lines. Not so tight that boat is snugged up against the dock. Boat needs to respond to wave/wake action on its own, not jammed against the dock. The fenders should connect with the dock when there is wave action/wind pushing the boat to the dock. Otherwise boat should be at least 12" from dock. Watch how boat responds in wind/wakes and adjust line length accordingly. Once you've got best line lengths, tie the lines dockside permanently so you or someone else doesn't undo them. Put a snap shackle on the other end of the line. When you're coming back in to the dock, just snap the line onto the boat.

It looks like the posts on your dock are fixed. Will your dock float up and down on the posts? If so, pay close attention to dock and make sure it will float higher/lower without jamming. If dock is not designed to float with the posts, leave extra line available on dockside so you can lengthen lines if necessary. I've seen boats pulled over sideways because water level went up but the post/dock didn't and the lines were pulling the boat over to the dock. Not pretty.

guy48065 wrote:

Ron Burgundy wrote:Cleats are simple, effective, and relatively cheap.

And best of all, adjustable--which I don't require.

I intended my question to be about rope lengths and arrangement, not hardware. Almost all the info I can find on the web (and here) is about tieing off to allow for tidal changes, current, big waves, strange docks, etc. I only need to deal with wind & the occasional wake of a passing bassboat. Boat position and rope length will never change. Probable reason why I can't find the info: Doesn't matter (?)
A co-worker who's a sailor told me about "dogbones"--snubbers that go on the lines to give them some stretch. He tells me that way I can tie it up tight against the dock & the rubber bones will give. I haven't looked into them yet.

No, adjustability isn't really their best attribute. Sounds like you are looking for a bungee snubber. The link Curtis posted has them.

You don't really need spring lines if the water level is constant.

I'm hesitant to say it, but a HUGE part of the nautical tradition is learning to tie knots, and knowing which knots to use.

In the smart-aleck tradition, I, of course, would just say "use one-sided lines"...

After watching a few youtube videos on all the clever things one can do with spring lines & cleats I do realize that I'm missing out on learning good line handling techniques. But I'm just being pragmatic. This boat will never be off this lake and it's even unlikely to ever be tied to a different dock. I really only need fixed-length permanent dock lines.