Rafting up ??

[Dswizzler]

So when out boating do you anchor

alone ? Tie up to a dock most nights ? or Raft up with a few friends...not sure if this is just a California Delta thing, but over the weekend a few friends stopped by and we ended up with about 9 boats. Our highest number was 18 a few years ago during 4th of July. It makes it nice to drink and walk home..

 

[skipperdude]

Depends on how much you trust the person who set the hook.

Hard to get a good set if you are already rafted.

SD

 

[bshanafelt]

another issue with rafting is roll period. There are very few that match my boat, so we rarely do this. I lost a hand rail one 4th of July weekend when rafted to a friends boat with almost a mirror image roll period. This was from the wake of a passing vessel.

 

[Tom.B]

We will do it for short periods (like an hour) with lots of supervision on the rail, but unless the water is dead calm, I don't feel right with boats rubbing together like that.

 

[ktischler]

Nope, no rafting for us. I want to have my own anchor down and set so I am comfortable with staying in place. And I want to be able to leave in a hurry, should I need to. Any boat passing nearby throwing a large wake can wreak havoc on a raft-up. I have seen some real cluster-messes with rafting.

Any visiting to or from a friends boat will be done by dinghy. Call us, we'll be happy to come pick you up.

 

[jleonard]

We often raft here in the LI Sound area. I don't do more than 3 for an overnight however many others do.**We also have several group raftups during the summer where we raft during the afternoon/evening, then break apart for the overnight.

I have set many a hook after a boat has been rafted. Easy to get a good set if you know how.

When in a large group raft we usually set every other hook.

You just have to be careful who you raft up, ie make sure they are responsible AND will be responsive. And we always designate a captain in charge who calls the shots. If something happens and we need to break up, ie a storm or wind direction change, there is no room for an argument. (If so that person may get his lines cut and he's on his own. Then of course that boat won't be*invited for the next time.)

*


-- Edited by jleonard on Wednesday 1st of June 2011 05:09:38 AM

 

[Woodsong]

I really enjoyed rafting up with my previous boats. We've not yet had our Monk in a raft up- we'll see how that goes.

I have a lot more such pictures from our previous boat (in all the pictures above) if you want to see them.

With our trawler though....my biggest concern would be rafting up with gas powered boats and them sharing all their CO with us!

 

[Dswizzler]

Great photo's looks like you and the family are having no fun at all

 

[skipperdude]

jleonard wrote:
*

I have set many a hook after a boat has been rafted. Easy to get a good set if you know how.

*You gotta tell me how you set a hook with any scope for a raft up. Perhaps with twins. Hard to do with a single and be able to come alongside for the raft.

SD

 

[Dswizzler]

With small boats and hooks, it is easy with a dingy. We have the first two boats hook a good bow and stern line. The as the rest of the raft up comes in you determine how many hooks are needed. Sterns can be dropped on the way in and bows set by dingy. that way you make sure you are hooked good and you don't cross anchor lines. Again this is not something done in swift moving currents. Many times well have one line ashore from every other boat, with a hook set from every other boat. Works fine for me.

But then the CA. Delta is like a big bath tub, lots of safe places to anchor is fairly shallow water., less then 30-40 ft.

 

[jleonard]

"You gotta tell me how you set a hook with any scope for a raft up."

*

As stated we use a dinghy and a 2 person crew. Take the anchor rode out maybe 120 feet then drop being careful to drop so the anchor is in the correct orientation to set.* Then we go back to the bow of the big boat and grab the rode again and follow it out to the anchor maybe 40 feet or so. Then we set the anchor with the dinghy in reverse. One tug to get it to grab, and another hard pull with some momentum to set it. Then the anchoring boat* can take up slack until there is a strain close to equal to those already anchored.

Also use the dinks to unhook in a similar manner alsthough many times I have done it myself with my single screw when I had my old *34 Mainship I.

*

 

[skipperdude]

Ok. *I just hate to depend on someone else's anchoring job.

When I put a hook on the bottom I want to know it is going to stay there. (at least as good as I can get it)*Till I am ready to pull it up.

Over Memorial weekend a boat was found adrift.

Tied to a raft the owners woke to find there boat missing. They had camped out on another boat on the raft.

Should'a *tied the boat up better. I say

SD*

 

[Bendit]

Happy to raft one or other two boats.

I always anchor first and have the other(s) each side. They are usually smaller boats than Pioneer and we have the heavy-duty ground tackle. We only raft in perfectly calm conditions.

The only problem arises in the morning when*someone (usually us) wants to head out early for some fishing and the others are still in their bunks!

In my younger days we would often raft 5 or 6 boats (mostly yachts) together and even motor, in unison, to a new anchorage. Great fun when only the two outer vessels control the direction. You need good fenders or cheap boats to do this though...

*

 

[ktischler]

Yikes!!

Bendit wrote:

In my younger days we would often raft 5 or 6 boats (mostly yachts) together and even motor, in unison, to a new anchorage. Great fun when only the two outer vessels control the direction. You need good fenders or cheap boats to do this though...

*

*

 

[jleonard]

"Ok. *I just hate to depend on someone else's anchoring job."

If I set you..you are hooked up. Period. Been doing it for a long time.

 

[Woodsong]

We almost always set our own hook when rafting up. In my previous boats with twin engines, I would drop a hook way out in front of the raft up if it was already in existence, back down on it with adequate scope to make sure it was set, then drop a lot more rhode and back down on the raft up with the hook already set. Once tied off to the boats I'd pull in the excess rhode. This way, my anchor was set and we were good to go for the night, even if others left and we were the only boat remaining. Obviously we would only raft up in calm quiet anchorages out of the reach of turbulent waters. If we were first to the anchorage I'd set the hook as normal but then let out extra rhode to make sure we were good and usually ever other boat, +/-, would drop a hook though it often depended on captain ability to do so. The dinghy trick mentioned previously works good too. I am guessing with our Monk we'll mostly dinghy over instead of raft up- hard to set a hook and accurately back down with just a single screw with no thrusters! For us though, rafting up was/is all about fun times with close friends on the water.

 

[FlyWright]

He were are at Mildred Island in the CA Delta last summer.* I like the outside position for late arrival/early departure.

-- Edited by FlyWright on Wednesday 1st of June 2011 09:01:18 PM

 

[Woodsong]

FlyWright wrote:
I like the outside position for late arrival/early departure.

*

Al, do you have commitment issues??!! *