Dinghy Cruising Seamanship includes knowing what method to use when tying up to the shore.
#sailing #dinghycruising #woodenboats
Anyone with a dinghy that has sweet lines will tell you they attract a lot of attention wherever you take them. This attention takes many different forms.

I understand that because one of my favourite things after a day sailing and cruising is to sit back with a glass of wine and watch Moonlight bobbing around on the anchor.

I was thinking about how much there is to learn about handling small boats to make the cruising experience one of peace and satisfaction. Tying up safely and securely is an important part of seamanship, and if done well, it will take the stress out of coming ashore and resting for a while.

There are many things to think about when tying up. Tides, currents, shore structure, type of bottom and many more things all need to be taken into consideration. The right decisions about how to make the boat fast will determine whether it feels safe to walk away.

Anchoring off the shore a little way out is probably the simplest and easiest method. You need to have the right kind of anchor, and plenty of rope, sometimes called “rode” and even for a small cruising dingy a couple of metres of chain will come in handy. I am going to deal with the subject of anchoring in detail in a later video.

If you do anchor a little way out, take into consideration the type of bottom, as this will require the right kind of anchor with enough holding power in either sand mud or rocks. I have a small “Danforth” sand anchor with 2 metres of 6mm galvanised chain and about 30 metres of line. Be prepared to let out between 3 and 5 times the depth depending on wind, waves tide and current.

I also have a smaller “shore” anchor which I can carry up the beach and bury in the sand if needed. It is sometimes called a grapnel anchor or a folding fluke anchor. It works well if you physically bury it in the sand, and is not a bad option for anchoring on reef or coral.

It is even better if there is some shore structure such as a tree, or some rocks to tie off on. You just have to make sure the object is strong enough to take a substantial load. If you are intending to tie off onto some shore structure, beware of getting your legs tangled in the line as you wade to the boat. I once stepped into a loop in the rope as the boat was rising and falling on a small swell. The loop tightened around my left ankle and I still have the scar on my Achilles tendon to remind me of the danger. Fortunately, I stumbled forward in the direction that undid the loop. I had gone backwards, I might well have amputated my leg, the forces are that strong.

Tying off securely also means that what you tie onto is sufficiently strong for the purpose, both in the boat and on the shore.

If you are planning to spend the night sleeping onboard, you need to go through a mental checklist. In this case, there was no tide, waves, currents or wind, so it was perfectly safe to tie-up between two fallen trees. I once placed a stern anchor and tied it to a tree, just off the shore. I hadn’t allowed enough line for the tidal fall and the strong current wanted to sweep the boat away between the taught bow and stern lines. As I was watching this play out from the shoreline, I was able to narrowly avert a disaster. Should the gunwale have dipped in, the boat would certainly have swamped.

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