Conference unifix::sailing

    The key to trouble free mooring alongside walls in areas of great tidal
    drop is .....
    
    The longer you can make your springs and breasts the better........
    
    You want to place your springs and breasts as far forward and aft of
    the boat as you can get them.
    
    	A							B
    
    				c      d
    
    Springs d->A and  c->B
    
    Breasts c->A  and d->B
    
    
    Should keep you snug without having to tend your lines to much.
    
    Pete

at add a bit to .1:

Depending on the tidal range, the lines to the wharf/dock may need to be 
quite substantially longer than the usual docklines. It has been several 
years, so my memory is a little vague, but as I recall, we needed lines 
between 100' and 150' at the wharf in Shelburne, Nova Scotia. The 
tidal range was enough that the lines needed some tending -- it was not 
a sleep through the night situation. Depending on the particular wharf, 
you may well need lots of chafe protection for the lines and a couple of 
stout fender boards. The wharves in the Nova Scotia ports we visited 
had a face of rough and heavily creosoted (meaning very grubby) pilings.
Keeping the fender boards centered on the pilings required frequent 
attention. At least one wharf using the mooring bollards meant that our
lines led down over a rough concrete edge (even at high tide our deck
was well below the top of the wharf). In retrospect, anchoring out would 
have easier and safer in some respects. 

    add to previous replies
    
    I spent a summer taking a boat up the inside passage of western Canada
    to Alaska where there is a very large tidal range.  Previous replies
    suggested long docklines and fender boards.  These are a must!  In
    addition we had two six foot sections of chain with a oversized shackle
    on each end of the chains.  The chains can be very usefull in several
    ways.  As mentioned the docks and pilings are very rough.  Sometimes we
    would wrap the chain around the attachment point and lead the chain
    over the edge of the warf.  The shackles would be large enough to pass
    the dock lines through and tie off so that the line does not touch the
    piles or warf edge.  Also we could pass the chain around  the back of a
    pile with the lines attached to the boat fore and aft and allow the
    chain to ride up and down with the tide.  If you have used a chain to
    ride along side a pile be very careful that there are no cross braces,
    protruding bolts, spikes, or nails to catch the chain on.
    
    In all cases we used fender boards.  There are available rubber bumpers
    to make your own boards.  They attach at each end of the board and hold
    the boat 4 inches or so away from the board.  This is the type we used,
    in addition to two large fenders per board.  The rubber bumpers on the
    ends help keep the fenders in place and should the fenders come out
    they are a backup for protection.  We used four lines per board,  two
    to position the board height and two to keep the board positioned fore
    and aft.  Extreme tides demand *utmost* care and attention.  
    
    Watch your mast in relationship to the warf.  It doesn't take much of a
    roll of your boat for your mast to hit the warf when the warf is thirty
    feet above your deck.  A passing boat can cause this to happen in a
    very protected harbor.
    
    We only tied up this way as a last resort.  Usually only to get
    supplies and we would leave someone to tend the boat.  In the remote
    area we were the small fishing boats would tie up three and four deep
    to a pier.  Most of the time they would let us tie along side which
    solved the problems and allowed us to trade beer for fresh fish.
    
    There the tides would run as high as 18 feet.  With six hours between
    high and low tide your boat moves three feet per hour.  It doesn't take
    much time to have the potential for significant damage.  Bad weather
    will compound the issues.
    
    Chuck  

    Additional reasons for short pieces of chain.
    
    Most wharfs are designed for large ships and the cleats and bollards
    are for very large line and it is difficult to tie a small line to. 
    The chain around these gives you a chafe free spot.  Also they are
    generally to far apart and many times we could feed the chain under a
    dock plank or tightly around a post to create a tie off spot where none
    existed.
    
    Chuck

    A few ideas for protecting your shore lines from chafe......
    
    Old jeans cut into strips and wrapped around at vulnerable points ,even
    on board where going through the cleats.
    
    Old shoes with the leather cut to suitable size
    
    Old handbags from her who must be obeyed.
    
    I keep a bag of this on board as we regularly go along side old harbour
    walls in France and the UK. The tidal ranges are large and the tidal
    streams interesting can be as high as 8 knts in places.
    
    On nice hot sunny day when anchored or tied up I intend to put leather
    around the spliced eyes on my mooring warps. As yet I have never made
    it as a glass of wine or beer seems to cause a certain state on
    inertia....
    
    We carry two boards the are attached to the boat at four points and go
    out side four sausage type fenders no problem. Chain I only use if I
    have to personal preference. I carry 2 lines at 60 ft, 2 at 80 ft and 2
    at 100 ft plus a spare very thick octoplait 200ft anchor warp. My Bow
    anchor has 200 ft of chain.
    
    Pete