Newbie Boat Questions

[johnsaunders]

I'm buying a new 22' boat in a few weeks that I will keep in an assigned boat slip. I have several questions (some which may be stupid) and would really appreciate if someone could answer.

1. Do I need to connect just one spring line (that's 22') to the starboard midship cleat so it slides through then attach each end to the bow/stern cleats on the finger pier (fixed). The tides here fluctuate about 3-4'. Or do I need to attach one line from the stern pier horn to the midship and another line from the midship to the bow pier horn?

2. I have 3 strand twisted lines with loops/eyes in one end of each line. I am planning on keeping the lines on the pier with four additional lines kept on board. Should I just attach the eyes to the cleats on the boat or mix it up and put them on both the boat and the dock? What's the most secure way to attach the eyes? Or, should I just cut them off and tie hitches to both ends?

3. I'm confused about turning off the batteries when the boat's not in use and keeping the bilge running so rain water will be pumped out. Will the bilge still run with the battery setting turned off? If not, should I leave it on and/or plug in a power line to the dock?

4. As much as I'm looking forward to cruising around in a new boat, I'm nervous as hell about not tying up my boat properly and the lines being either too long or short for the tides. Any tips on how to know how much slack to give?

5. If I'm trolling with around 6 lines out and get a fish on, do the other lines need to be reeled in? Does the boat need to be stopped or should I keep trolling while pulling in a fish (when there are several other people on board)?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Newbie Boat Questions

Welcome to iboats.

1. Do I need to connect just one spring line (that's 22') to the starboard midship cleat so it slides through then attach each end to the bow/stern cleats on the finger pier (fixed). The tides here fluctuate about 3-4'. Or do I need to attach one line from the stern pier horn to the midship and another line from the midship to the bow pier horn?

If you run a line through a cleat without attaching it, it's not a spring line at all. In that case there is nothing keeping the boat from moving fore and aft at least a little ways which may be too much. Do you have a fixed pier on both sides of your boat or just one? If you only have it on one side consider these>> http://www.iboats.com/Mooring_Whips/dm/*******.039192039--**********.794606537--view_id.427004
If you have a pier on both sides the best way to have weighted spring lines running through pulleys on the pylons. You need 4 lines on each side of the boat. A bow line, stern line and 2 springs to be totally bullet proof.

2. I have 3 strand twisted lines with loops/eyes in one end of each line. I am planning on keeping the lines on the pier with four additional lines kept on board. Should I just attach the eyes to the cleats on the boat or mix it up and put them on both the boat and the dock? What's the most secure way to attach the eyes? Or, should I just cut them off and tie hitches to both ends?

Just run the loop through the middle of the cleat and then over each of the horns on the cleat. If you have the proper length lines already attached to the pier then you can just attach the eyes to your boat and you're good to go.

3. I'm confused about turning off the batteries when the boat's not in use and keeping the bilge running so rain water will be pumped out. Will the bilge still run with the battery setting turned off? If not, should I leave it on and/or plug in a power line to the dock?

You need to check and see if your pump is wired to run with the batteries off. It should be and if it's not, you should fix it.

4. As much as I'm looking forward to cruising around in a new boat, I'm nervous as hell about not tying up my boat properly and the lines being either too long or short for the tides. Any tips on how to know how much slack to give?

See above.

5. If I'm trolling with around 6 lines out and get a fish on, do the other lines need to be reeled in? Does the boat need to be stopped or should I keep trolling while pulling in a fish (when there are several other people on board)?

Not a fisherman, can't help you here. Sorry.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Good luck!

 

[johnsaunders]

Re: Newbie Boat Questions

Do you have a fixed pier on both sides of your boat or just one?

It's a fixed pier -- a piling on one side and a little walkout/finger? pier on the other side.

If you run a line through a cleat without attaching it, it's not a spring line at all. In that case there is nothing keeping the boat from moving fore and aft at least a little ways which may be too much.

There's all these diagrams with colored lines but the spring lines are always the same color and hard to tell if it's one line or two. So each line should be 22' (the length of my boat) and go from the stern/pier horn to the midship cleat on my boat (same with the bow line). If so, seems like if each line is the length of my boat they would both be wayyyy too long from hitting the main dock behind the motor.

Just run the loop through the middle of the cleat and then over each of the horns on the cleat. If you have the proper length lines already attached to the pier then you can just attach the eyes to your boat and you're good to go.

So this would be okay even if I attached two 1/2" lines on top of each other on the midship cleat? (one line from the stern/pier horn and the other from the bow)

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Newbie Boat Questions

Well, personally I'd use the mooring whips in your case.

If you use a spring line roughly the length of the boat and attach it to the pier, in front of your boat at high tide, then the only direction for it to move is forward as the tide ebbs. If you do the same thing with the aft spring line then the only direction your boat can move is down with the tide. In that regard, you're safe. The problem you'll have is the side of the boat rubbing on the pier. Since you only have the one pylon on the opposite side, there's no great way to secure the boat on that side. The mooring whips will hold it off the pier for you and the springs will keep it from moving fore and aft.

If two lines will fit on one cleat, there is nothing wrong with doing that. If there's not enough room, just run the second loop through the loop on the first line from underneath and them over the horns.