Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I finally have the boat cleaned up, throttle cable has been replaced and ive repainted the helm from where it was chipping all over, so the boat is ready for the summer and I am putting it in the slip Monday or Tuesday if the weather does right. I was wondering if there are tips, or things I should know about tieing it down for the week, any special knots, ropes or anything of the sort that I would need?

I appreciate your input.

The best solution for slips is to make up mooring lines with eyes that you half hitch through your cleats. Once you have them made up to the right length they just stay on the dock. If you are tying up for a short while you can just drop them over the cleat. If you are going away hitch them through the legs of the cleats.

Every year, I buy two 50' hollow core ropes--looks like ski rope. I cut each 50' section into 4 sections and burn the ends to prevent unraveling. Then, I insert about 1' of each end back into the hollow core to make loops on the rope ends. I thread each loop onto the eyes/cleats on 4 corners of my pontoon--10' is the perfect length for day to day use.

If I need longer ropes, I have 4 more ropes in reserve that can be looped together and made longer.

I get new ropes every year, as nylon does age with time.

If I was going to leave my boat in the water for a few days unattended, I would use a more substantial back up rope.

If I was ever going to pull anyone on a "tube", I would insist on using at least a 1/2" rope--heavier than a ski rope. We had two horrendous accidents closeby when ropes broke and threw teenagers into docks.

I also carry an old 50' 1" heavy rope in case I have to be towed due to breakdown. The big rope is also used to pull down trees, and often pull cars out of ditches. It's always stored in the pontoon boat, however.

I think we use 1/2" lines which are permanently tied to the cleat at the slip and there is a loop on the end that fits through the cleat on the boat. The lengths are such that the boat does not bang up against the dock. Quick and simple to secure or unsecure the boat as we don't have to measure the line or redo the know each time.

Just make sure there is enough slack to deal with water elevation changes. When I kept my toon tied to the dock, I had about 5ft of slack since it was just on the side of the dock and not in a slip. When the dam was generating it would be pulled away from the dock. Had tires covered with canvas on the side of the dock to act as fenders so it worked well for me. Also if they pulled the plug on the lake the water was only 5 ft deep so it would just bottom out in the mud. That never happened but if it did the boat would not be hanging sideways on the dock.

When you have to deal with water coming and going you use spring lines. The bow line ties to a dock cleat in the stern and the stern line ties to a cleat on the bow end. Then your normal bow and stern lines can be fairly loose.
Another thing you can do is put snubbers in your lines to pull them fairly tight and still allow then to stretch. You can buy "nautical" ones or you can make your own with long "trucker" bungies (the black rubber ones). Take the hooks off and replace them with brass or stainless clips snapped to bowlines you tie in the lines.

Quick links


or spring snaps


You end up with this

Sounds simple enough, Just make a loop on both ends thread them through the cleat on the deck and then you are in good shape?

Doesnt sound like a big deal

Brandon wrote: ...any special knot....

If you don't know this one its good to know. When my father in-law ties off it looks like two pieces of spaghetti fu#@ing. Drives me crazy.

Thanks Ron, I do need to know how to tie some better knots... I am a little like your In law when it comes to that. I just keep knotting until it seems like its not coming lose.

That was a running joke in the CG - "Can't tie a knot? Tie a lot!"

If you only learned how to tie one knot it should be a bowline.

That knot will do damned near anything and the huge advantage is it is stable when you pull on all three ends yet you can always break it down, even if you were towing a truck with a nylon line. It can always be untied.

I am not sure I could do it using that "rabbit in the hole" thing but I do know how to roll one. (I can also throw one but that is a trick)

If you hold the bitter end of the line in your hand, in line with your fingers, and a few inches sticking out beyond your fingers, form the loop about as long as you want it and bring the hand with the bitter end down on the standing part where you want the loop to stop. Flip your hand over bringing the standing part with it using your thumb (that is the rabbit hole)
Then take that bitter end around the back of the standing part and poke it through the hole you made when you flipped your hand over.
Pull everything up tight and you have a perfect inside bowline.
With a little practice you can do that in a couple seconds. With a little more practice you can do it without using your hand to hold the bitter end but that one is the "throwing" trick.

You also might want to try www.animatedknots.com

Good ideas here, and even shows you how to tie them.

Yep the bowline is a good knot. I use to use it more than any of the others. Now seems like the 2 half hitch is what I use mostly. Thanks Boy Scouts.

doc

The good old clove hitch is handy too. If you tie it on a bight you just yank the bitter end and pull it loose. Handy for those quicky tie ups like the gas dock.