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Learning to steer and handle your boat is vital. Even
when the waters are calm, things can go wrong very quickly. Remain alert
at all times, the tranquillity of the canals and rivers can can put you
in difficulty when you're pushing the boat a little too too fast.
How to moor a boat on the river
Before you do anything, you have to judge if the place
where you want to moor your boat is safe and also permitted.
The other important factors are the strength of the current,
your direction and the length of space available for your boat.
Remember that you will generally moor with the bow pointing
upstream. If possible have somebody already ashore, ready to take you
mooring lines, as you will not always be sure if the deckhand will be
able to jump ashore (shallow waters, strong current...).
Unlimited space
Your cruising upstream, there is not too much current.
Begin to approach the mooring quay by heading for a point before the bollard
you are going to use. Cast the mooring lines ashore from the bow, slow
ahead. Once the line is placed on the bollard, bring up the slack on the
barges bollard, the bow will automatically be taken to the quay as the
line tightens, your engine should be idle at this stage. Once your bow
is held fast in the desired spot, slow ahead with the rudder set to bring
the the barge straight with the quay. The current will held by pushing
the stern towards shore. Make fast the stern lines before stopping engines.
 Normally you should not moor the barge with the stern to the current,
but it may be useful to know how to do this. Whenever you moor a barge
coming downstream, you should always stop the boat on the stern bollard
of the barge. If you use the bow, the current can quickly take the stern
away from shore and put you in difficulty. Remember that as your already
moving with the current, even with the main engine on idle, the boat may
be moving, so do this slowly.
Slow down before beginning your approach. When you begin to manoeuvre,
push the stern towards the quay. Cast the mooring lines ashore from the
stern, dead engines. Once the line is placed on the bollard, take up the
slack and slow the barge to a stop. As you begin to slow down the barge,
the stern will tend to drawn to the quay very quickly, the bow will be
pushed to the quay by the force of the current.
Limited space
This is the same principle as the manoeuvring required
for mooring upstream in the first example. The big difference is that
you less room for errors. Slow down before begetting your approach and
head to the quay at a sharper angle the in the first example. Get the
mooring line ashore from the bow, pick up the slack and allow the barge
to advance as much as possible. Once you are in position, slow ahead and
use the current to bring in the stern. Straighten up and make fast the
stern lines before stopping engines (if not the barge will be carried
by the current and you can damage the boats behind).
Remember when the barge is at an angle to the current,
the current will be pushing the bow downstream, so control you power carefully,
as the effect of the barge turning will be accentuated. If things start
to go wrong, do not suddenly put full power on reverse engines, your bow
is going to hit the barge behind you with a lot of force. Try and push
the stern to a 45 degree angle and then use reverse engines to pull the
bow away.
When your cruising downstream and have to moor up in
a place with limited space, the best bet is to make a 180 degree turn
and then moor up. In the above diagram the barge has turned very close
to the quay, but generally you would turn further downstream. The rest
of the manoeuvre is the same as in the previous example.
Now that the barge is moored up, let's learn how to position
the mooring lines correctly. So on
to the next stage.
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