BOAT HANDLING LEARNING THE ROPES


Of course, having made it alongside, you will have to tie up your boat to prevent it drifting away. It usually takes four separate ropes – more usually called lines – to secure a boat to a quayside or pontoon. And the naming of these is fraught with confusion. For instance a ‘bow line’ could be a rope from the bow whereas a ‘bowline’ (pronounced ‘bowlin’) is a type of knot. And there are those would claim that a ‘back spring’ (and here I’m ignoring anything to do with gymnastics) would be a rope leading forward from the stern to a cleat on the dock, while others would call the same a ‘fore spring’ because – they would argue – it leads forward.


So, for the sake of all our sanities, let’s step back from the squabbling and adopt the following terms:


■ Bow line (A) a line leading a little way forward from the bow to the shore or pontoon. On short pontoons, it may be impossible to take the bow line forward, so a shorter bow line is rigged pretty much at 90°, in


A


4


C


D B Fig 4:9


which case it should more correctly be called a ‘breast rope’. Either way, their purpose is to hold the bow securely in against its fenders.


■ Stern line (B) a line leading some way aft from the stern and serving much the same purpose as the bow line. Again, in cramped circumstances it may have to be rigged as a breast rope.


■ Bow spring (C) a line led as far aft as is practical from the bow. Its job is to prevent the boat from surging forward.


■ Stern spring (D) the mirror image of the above – a line from the stern secured to the dock as far forward as is practical. Stern springs prevent the boat surging aft.


RYA Seamanship for Sea Anglers


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