CottageGirl said:
Any thoughts, tips, ideas for catching a mooring ball solo? My husband and I want to know we can handle a 40' cat by ourselves. So if he's driving us up to the ball, I know I can hook it but in the past I've had 2 crew with me to run lines thru the eye and back to the cleats. If it's just me, thinking I get one line through and secured and then go get the other line and finally adjust them both. Is there a better way?
Definitely depends on wind conditions, but my method for single-handed ball pickup on a CAT is:
Prepare lines to each bow cleat, bring both line ends to the side that the helm is located on (under lifelines, around the forestay for the far side line), lay mooring hook on the helm-side deck. I place the helm-side line, properly coiled, on the deck, and drape the free end on the life-line so that it is readily available when I raise the pendant eye. (Take care to route so that it will not be not over the lifeline when loaded). Motor dead into the wind, putting the ball just outside the helm-side hull, a quick burst in reverse to stop forward momentum, walk forward, pick up mooring hook, lift pendant, run helm-side line through eye, snug the line to helm-side cleat and cleat it down (the eye is now <12" from this cleat). Feed the opposite line through eye at your leisure, pull the free end back around forestay, motor up toward the ball(as necessary), let some helm-side line out to bring the eye to the bow center, and pull the opposite side line to it's cleat. Permanently cleat both line down on their respective hull cleats. Have a cold one...
I have successfully picked up mooring balls by myself on 40' CATS (Leopards are easy, Lagoons hulls are tall) more than a dozen times. Winds do make a difference, but I have missed only once on first attempt. Marisol (above) is selling herself short- it is all in the helm, so she is making it happen. If the position is right, the pickup is smooth and easy.
I am a single-hull guy, but have had to go over to the dark side due to the Admiral's preferences (one level, back issues).
I have never understood the "committee" approach to mooring a CAT. Putting 5-6 people up on the tramp, yelling, with (different) hand-signaling, bending and stretching, and general confusion is entertaining, but... It is so much easier to just treat it like a mono-hull and put the ball just outside the hull that the helm is on. Easy-Peasy. No discussion. All in the helm, because you can see the ball, just like in a monohull. If you are two, the stopping point and reverse burst is when you see the forward person bend down.
