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Jun 09, 2023

How to moor your dinghy afloat to disembark in all conditions?

Mooring your dinghy anywhere, in any conditions, is not always easy. The wind can blow ashore, the nature of the shoreline can be aggressive and the swell can make it difficult to dock. However, we

Mooring your dinghy anywhere, in any conditions, is not always easy. The wind can blow ashore, the nature of the shoreline can be aggressive and the swell can make it difficult to dock. However, we can implement a device to get to land while keeping the boat away from the shore.

To carry out this operation, we will need at least a good dinghy mooring - anchor and chain - a pulley and a long, strong rope of at least 30 meters. It will also be useful to get a grappling hook when there is no ring or bitt on land. Finally, the dinghy must have a solid attachment point for our rope.

The principle of our device is to maintain our dinghy on its anchor, far from the shore, with the possibility of bringing it ashore to disembark and embark. To do this, we hit the pulley on the dinghy's anchor and the two ends of the rope at the dinghy's attachment point. The latter forms a ring that passes through the pulley.

When you arrive on site, you drop the anchor so that the block is about 5 to 10 meters from the shore, perhaps more if the tide or conditions require it. As the dinghy approaches the shore, the rope is unrolled as you go. Once ashore, pulling on the strand that passes through the block will move the dinghy offshore, abutting against the block. All that remains is to attach the two strands of rope to a solid mooring point and wrap the excess.

To leave, we will do the opposite operation. Untie our rope, bring the dinghy back with the right strand and let the one that goes through the pulley go. Once the crew is in the dinghy, take the rope that goes through the pulley, coil the rope as you go along and then raise the anchor.

With this technique, our dinghy stays afloat away from the shore. There is no need to make a perilous and difficult landing, especially if the boat is heavy and fragile.

However, the operation has some limitations. You have to be well organized, because the mooring and the rope take up space in the dinghy. When the rope drags in the water, it can get into the outboard's propeller and complicate the docking maneuver. Finally, it is important to evaluate the distance at which the anchor is dropped... too close, the dinghy is no longer protected and too far, it becomes impossible to dock. Performing this operation with several people makes the maneuvers easier.