This is probably a silly question but never having had a boat before I want to be sure I do this correctly.
My new 20' pontoon boat is going to be at the marina and the only slip available is one in which the dock will be directly in front of and horizontal to the bow. On the starboard side will be another docked pontoon boat and on the port side are these ramp sort of things that apparently are for personal watercraft to ride up onto and then tie off at the dock.
My question is how do I go about tying off the pontoon so that it won't drift enough to bump the other boat or the ramps next to me? Ideally, I wish I was able to tie off on one or the other side of the pontoon boat. I think that would be a lot more secure. Tying off on the 8.5' bow leaves 20' sticking out that is unsecure. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do? Would it make sense to tie the bow to the dock using both front cleats and then perhaps dropping an anchor off of the back of the boat to keep it from drifting? Would that even work?
I hate to think that I would incorrectly secure my new pontoon only to return the next day to find that it has been beaten to death as a result.
Thanks for any advice!
My new 20' pontoon boat is going to be at the marina and the only slip available is one in which the dock will be directly in front of and horizontal to the bow. On the starboard side will be another docked pontoon boat and on the port side are these ramp sort of things that apparently are for personal watercraft to ride up onto and then tie off at the dock.
My question is how do I go about tying off the pontoon so that it won't drift enough to bump the other boat or the ramps next to me? Ideally, I wish I was able to tie off on one or the other side of the pontoon boat. I think that would be a lot more secure. Tying off on the 8.5' bow leaves 20' sticking out that is unsecure. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do? Would it make sense to tie the bow to the dock using both front cleats and then perhaps dropping an anchor off of the back of the boat to keep it from drifting? Would that even work?
I hate to think that I would incorrectly secure my new pontoon only to return the next day to find that it has been beaten to death as a result.
Thanks for any advice!
