Rafting together

J

JLC

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Ok, here's a new one to discuss.

Your going to meet friends in a harbor and all of you are going to tie up together.

The conditions in the harbor are mixed, it can be calm, or windy, flat or 1ft waves.

One guy usually likes to let the boats hang loose or comfortably tied, and of course uses fenders.

The other guy likes to put out the same amount of fenders but ties the boats together as tight as he possibly can to the point that the cleats are almost touching each other. He likes to lock the boats together he says.

Spring lines are used in both cases.

Sail boaters seemed more at ease with the lines due to the shapes of the boats, they only meet in the middle, the transom's and bow's taper away from each other, big fenders are used and spring lines, everything seems to work out nice.

With powerboats its a crap shot and each boat owner has his "right way" of tying up.

One guy wants space, fenders and snug lines, the other guy wants crushed fenders and lines so tight cleats are just about touching.

What say you?
 
Unless it is flat calm, I wont raft up. Boats bounce around too much and things get broken.
 
The guy who wants to tie up tight will have to tie to someone else, it ain't gonna happen next to me.
 
this is an easy one.

i aint rafting, loose, tight, calm, bouncy.
no rafting, thank you.
 
i rarely if ever raft up. all it takes is one jerk flying by throwing a wake to cause a headache... and i also enjoy my privacy.

to visit friends anchored nearby, we use the tender, that's what they're for!

what we often do is have friends stopping by for a while, usually with smaller boats, that's different. in that case i like the boats to be a little loose with plenty of fenders.
 
We don't have a tender, neither do a lot of our friends.
We raft up a lot. We usually have the biggest boat drop anchor and then raft out on each side from biggest to smallest. Who ever comes in to tie off, ties off how ever the boat they are tieing off to wants it done.
 
We enjoy rafting with others! But not if it is rough. Usually its just a day thing and when we do I prefer the boats to be somewhat snug but not fender crushing snug.

Boats will rock differently and I dont want them working against each other. That will put stress on lines, cleats, fenders etc. We use plenty of fenders, 2 spring lines, one bow, one stern line. It seems to work out just fine. But there is always that guy who comes in throwing a large wake that can put a little anxiety into your day.. I think you just have to accept the fact that morons are everywhere and it is part of boating.
 
we participate in raft ups at least once a month here and have plenty of practice with knuckle heads that throw us an occasional wake......lol.

to get back to the original question we typically pull the boats close enough that the fenders touch both boats snuggly. spring fore and aft. the bow lines are usually not that tight but we keep the stern lines fairly snug so the boats generally don't move apart. much safer when people are crossing back and forth. the fattest fenders go at the stern.

i think the size of the boats has alot to do with it. we try to make sure that similar sized boats are rafted together with the smallest being on the outside. every other boat sets an anchor so the lines are really only carrying 2 boats at the max. we try not to set stern anchors as it tends to be a mess when people want to leave and a larger raft tends to stay set in the direction originally oriented.

our raft ups are always done in no wake zones that are generally protected from wind and never out on the ocean or unprotected water.
 
We are known to raft up often, even with the Hudson River crew ;-)
DSCN0945.jpg


I agree with Vic’s comments on the how and why to tie up-
Most people who raft up often have it down to a science . It never fails that someone in the middle of the raft up needs to leave early and most of the experience rafters can split the raft and rejoin it without messing up someone gel-coat
 
quote:
Originally posted by abalmuth

I agree with Vic’s comments on the how and why to tie up-
Most people who raft up often have it down to a science . It never fails that someone in the middle of the raft up needs to leave early and most of the experience rafters can split the raft and rejoin it without messing up someone gel-coat

Click to expand...


That's been my experience. We usually have them 8-12 deep on any given summer weekend. Someone in the middle always has to leave at 8 on Sunday morning, and we have the splitting process down to a T. Everyone has lines long enough to reach the spans and everyone knows how the pig-tails work for sharing a generator between two boats.
 
I have seen 20 or so boats, me included, all tie up for fire works. We noticed that we kept moving farther and farther away from the beach. One of the bigger boats radioed the other bigger boats to tell them their anchor was not holding. The other boat said his anchor was not out.
We all looked and there was no anchors out. Just a bunch of boats tied together. Poor planning. But the food was good.
 
We raft-up every time we go out, anywhere from 2 to 23 boats at a time. I have earned the moniker, "anchor nazi" because of my obsession with having sufficient anchors out. Each boat is responsible for rafting to the boat next to him/her.
 
quote:
Originally posted by HOGAN

We raft-up every time we go out, anywhere from 2 to 23 boats at a time. I have earned the moniker, "anchor nazi" because of my obsession with having sufficient anchors out. Each boat is responsible for rafting to the boat next to him/her.

Click to expand...


hogan, IMHO its better to be called an anchor nazi than to be in the middle of a raft up that starts dragging the remaining anchors. its an awefull mess when that happens. or worse, wind up with someone getting damage to their boat when a cleat is pulled out or a fender crushed. it usually falls on the old salts to share the wisdom with the new guys on the block about these things. most are happy to learn.
 
quote:
Originally posted by vic33004

quote:
Originally posted by HOGAN

We raft-up every time we go out, anywhere from 2 to 23 boats at a time. I have earned the moniker, "anchor nazi" because of my obsession with having sufficient anchors out. Each boat is responsible for rafting to the boat next to him/her.

Click to expand...


hogan, IMHO its better to be called an anchor nazi than to be in the middle of a raft up that starts dragging the remaining anchors. its an awefull mess when that happens. or worse, wind up with someone getting damage to their boat when a cleat is pulled out or a fender crushed. it usually falls on the old salts to share the wisdom with the new guys on the block about these things. most are happy to learn.

Click to expand...
Vic
you mean like this:
DSC00409.jpg
 
quote:
Originally posted by rduhon

I have seen 20 or so boats, me included, all tie up for fire works. We noticed that we kept moving farther and farther away from the beach. One of the bigger boats radioed the other bigger boats to tell them their anchor was not holding. The other boat said his anchor was not out.
We all looked and there was no anchors out. Just a bunch of boats tied together. Poor planning. But the food was good.

Click to expand...


ROFLMAO!

If the wind had been nlowing in the opposite direction, mighta mad a great photoi op...
 
I don't think it's wise to raft up under choppy or windy conditions or if there is a lot of boat traffic.

That said, it's impossible to have a "rule" or "right way" to raft or tie up under all conditions.

Where I boat, there are strong tidal currents and they reverse with each tide. Shortly after I bought my current boat and took a marina slip, a group decided to take eight boats on a multi day trip with one night rafted on the hook. These are 30'+ cruisers and my trawler.

I got to the overnight spot first (because I left several hours before the rest) and set my anchor with about a ten to one scope.

The rest of the boats arrived and rafted to my boat. After a half hour or so, someone noticed the shore getting closer (yep, dragging anchor). Everyone broke loose and the others decided we would raft to another boat with a bigger anchor and a chain rode.

We did and everyone got on my boat or the adjacent two for dinner. It got dark. I thought we were drifting, but the others said we weren't. I hit the MOB button on my plotter and sure enough we were drifting and heading sdown the river for a dock. We all broke loose and I told the rest I was going to anchor by myself for the night. The rest eventually decided to do the same.

It turned out, we drifted about a mile down the river!

Now, people sometimes decide it will be best for two or more boats to set their anchors. In our tidal area, the boats swing with the tide change. Result - a tangled mess of rodes.

Can you raft in alternating directions with anchors set so the boats won't swing? If it works, great. There's going to be a lot of strain with half the boats anchored with the stern into the current. I haven't tried it and I doubt I will.
 
We raft virtually every weekend

Boats of similar size together

Tight fenders

Every other boat drops a forward anchor

Since we are usually in sheltered coves with minimal wake and aft to shore, we aft anchor +/- every third boat or so

We have as many as 20-24 vessels sometimes and I am the Anchor Nazi as well. No questions, No BS. Everyone's comfort and safety depend on having a plan!
 
quote:
Originally posted by rolfejr

We raft virtually every weekend

Boats of similar size together

Tight fenders

Every other boat drops a forward anchor

Since we are usually in sheltered coves with minimal wake and aft to shore, we aft anchor +/- every third boat or so

We have as many as 20-24 vessels sometimes and I am the Anchor Nazi as well. No questions, No BS. Everyone's comfort and safety depend on having a plan!

Click to expand...


You won't do that areound here!
 
I also do alot of weekend raftups with boats of all sizes. I like to keep lines tight. Alot of our raftups are in a sheltered cove so traffic is minimal. If you do get that a hole that wants to come in and throw a large wake we will have the local authorities remind them they are responsible for any damage they create. As Hogan stated he is our "anchor nazi"..

raftup.jpg


ticket.jpg
 
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