Tips for tying to boat slip

[Travism]

Hey guys,

As I have mentioned in other posts I am a new boat owner.

I am headed out for two weeks holidays this Friday and will be leaving my z3 in a slip while there.

I have 5 of the exile fender balls that I still have to inflate.

Can you guys tell me the proper way to tie up to the dock and where to properly place the fender balls ?

Any tips are appreciated !

Thanks,

Travis

[boatwakes]

IMG_4703.jpg
In order to avoid this, make sure your auto bilge is operational. We find that centering the boat in the slip and making sure the lines are tight with no slack keeps the incidental scratches to a minimum and doesn't require the use of fenders. Use the two tie down eyelets at the back of the boat and the bow eye with two lines, one going to port and the other starboard. Adjust it so the boat sits in the middle of the slip and enjoy.

[Travism]

How do I check to make sure the auto bilge is working ?

The boat only has 11 hours on it !

I'm not sure if there is a dock on each side. May only have dock on one side of the boat

[Duncan]

How do I check to make sure the auto bilge is working ?

While on the trailer, put the plug in and start filling the bilge with a water hose. The bilge pump should kick on automatically.

If you have a "slip", there should be two docks. We kept our RZ2 at a rental vacation house that hold only a dock. Just use lots of fenders and lines. Use your foot to push the boat around hard and make sure the dock cannot rub on the gel coat.

[chpthril]

How do I check to make sure the auto bilge is working ?

The boat only has 11 hours on it !

I'm not sure if there is a dock on each side. May only have dock on one side of the boat

Put the bilge plug in and fill the bilge with a garden hose to see if the pump comes on.

[Travism]

Approx how high should the water be in the bilge area before the pump kicks on ?

Do I have to leave the battery disconnect on in order for the bilge to work ?

[Yokes]

On my boat I have to leave the battery disconnect on but I did my disconnect after market yours is most likely connected directly to your main cranking battery. You can test that when you test if the bilge is working. If you can get to the bilge pump most are on little mounts that clip onto the bilge. Disconnect it and flip it upside down. That's how I tested mine. Mine is a '00 though...

When my boat sat in the water I took water over the back when ever it stormed. My bilge was turning on multiple times a day. Only took about 2 1/2-3 inches to kick on. I boat a lift after the first month of that. Needed the piece of mind.

[Duncan]

Approx how high should the water be in the bilge area before the pump kicks on ?

Do I have to leave the battery disconnect on in order for the bilge to work ?

Depends where the pump is located in the bilge. But a few inches of water should do it.

The pump should come on even if the battery disconnect is in the isolate position.

[NICKYPOO]

I rent a slip when I head up to Shasta every year. I know have dedicated moorings lines just for that trip. It's kind of a funky dock so, you might not need this set up.

On the forward cleats, I use a 10' line with a hook at the 5' point. I hook the hook to the bow eye and then tie off to each cleat. It works perfect. Always centered and one, simple connection. I then use some short moorings lines to the pop up cleats next to my rear tower legs to the dock cleats. I have a fender tied to each dock cleat and the moorings lines are "hard wired" on top of the fender line, meaning my ropes are always attached to the dock cleats.

This is kind of a crappy pic but, you can see the bow line.

I also like using the midship cleats as opposed to the lifting rings on this shallow slip for the reason that the front/rear lines are opposing each other. It keeps the bow away from the front of the slip. Kind of moorings 101 but, sometimes you need to adapt your set up to what your slip will accommodate. The one in the picture is kind of jenky and really shallow. Maybe 15' at best. This set up rides really nice though. I can tie up in a minute or less.

[Ewok]

This is a good picture which shows multiple ways to tie up to a dock. The picture from Nickypoo is great if your going to be in a slip with a dock on either side, but if your sharing a large 2 boat slip or just on a dock this shows some techniques. You have to figure out where the current is or where the majority of the wave action will be coming from, its obviously easier to tie up with the bow facing into the current or wave direction. The factory cleat positions on the Z3 are better than the factory locations on my RZ2, I had my dealer add two cleats under the driver and passenger windows so I could hang fenders there. Your cleat locations are similar to location 2 and 4 in the picture below. Depending on the spacing of the cleats on the dock I would probably use 2 lines from your forward and aft cleats to a dock cleat slightly in front of the aft boat cleat, and the forward boat cleat to a dock cleat slightly in front of the forward boat cleat. I would also think just 2 fenders in the picture would work, hanging from the boat cleats. You'll want to watch it for a few minutes after you tie up to see how the waves are pushing the boat. You may need to tighten or slacken the lines and add fenders or move the current ones to the major hit spots. If you need to hang a fender midship you can loop a line around the base of the tower for that.


Picture is from here: http://www.mooringlines.com/tie_up.htm

I am also not 100% sold on the big round bumper balls, lots of people swear by them but I carry 4 of these guys in the 8.5"x26" size. They have done a great job for my boat, especially on rough days at the dock waiting to pick up friends or having lunch somewhere.



There are many different techniques and you can see them all on display at the marina. Some people read Chapmans and do a fantastic job, some just wing it and you can see the damage on their sides. Bottom line, everyone has their favorite techniques, look around and see how other people like their fender and dock line setup and don't be afraid to ask questions, boaters are a very friendly bunch and they will definitely help you out if you need it.

Here is a pic of my boat in a pretty wide slip. I used 4 lines on 4 corner boat cleats and the fenders were there for when I pulled the boat a little closer to that side of the slip for boarding. If it was not in a protected cove and if wind or waves was an issue I probably would have used another line from my aft cleat to the center dock cleat which does not have any lines on it in the picture.