Chapter II

Mooring

WHEN a vessel is anchored with both

anchors leading ahead, she is said to be on
open moor. Supposing a vessel is lying to a
single anchor dead a head and with a stress
in her cable of T tonnes. If she had two
anchors leading dead ahead the stress in
each tons would be t T tonnes. When the
angle between the cables becomes 120
degrees, i.e. with each anchor about 5t
points on the bow, the stress in each cable
becomes T tonnes. This value increases to 2T
and 3T as tons the angle becomes ISO
degrees and 160 degrees respectively. When
the angle exceeds the safe limit of 120
degrees she is commencing to ride to a tight span. Fig. 2.1 illustrates the parallelogram of forces for an angle of
120 degrees.

COMING TO OPEN MOOR

Fig. 2.2 shows the successive stages of this

manoeuvre. The vessel is headed into the
anchorage with the wind or current on one bow
in order to assist counteraction of lee drift. The
weather anchor (or upstream anchor) is let go
on the run (1), and headway continued for
roughly one third of the final length of cable.
The second anchor is let go and the first one
snubbed at the gypsy. As the vessel brings to on
her weather cable, it gradually grows taut to
windward, snubbing the bows round (2). If the
engines are then worked ahead, using weather
helm, so as to keep the cables taut (the second
cable is checked soon after the anchor is let go)
the bows will develop a rapid swing
into the stream or wind. Bykeeping
a little ahead of her anchors (3), so
that both cables grow slightly aft,
the maneeuvre is hastened. When
heading into the wind or stream,
both cables are veered (the second
one only, for a short while) and the
vessel brings to in position

(4).The reason for veering the

second one by itself while dropping back initially is to middle the ship between her anchors.

By laying out one third of the length between the anchors ,each finally lies a point on the bow.

Mooring is usually taken to mean securing the ship with two anchors,one ahead and one lying astern a cable each
way, as it was once called.
The upwind or upstream anchor is known as the riding anchor and cable,the other being called the sleeping or lee
anchor and cable (Fig. 2.3).

The advantages of mooring are:

(1)The vessel occupies little swinging room, turning almost in her own length about her stem.

(2)The scopes can be pre adjusted for the prevailing strength of wind or stream. The scope of each cable is
estimated in the same way as that for a single anchor (Chapter I).

The disadvantages are:

(1)The second, or lee, anchor lies astern and is of no value to the ship if a headwind increases or if the vessel
begins to drag. In the latter event, if possible, it is better to drag the anchor down until the lee anchor is reached
(heaving in the lee cable while dragging).

The two cables can then be veered together. If cable is veered on the riding anchor initially and the vessel
continues to drag, by the time the lee anchor is reached there may be so much cable out on the riding anchor
that the other cable can be veered only a shackle or two.

(2)There is a risk of getting a foul hawse. To avoid this, the vessel must always be swung within the same arc at
each consecutive tidal change(Fig. 2.3).

(3)Due to the fact that one cable leads aft, the vessel must be dropped down to it when leaving the anchorage,
weigh it, and then heave herself back to the riding anchor. At 4 5 minutes per shackle, this will take a considerable
time. At open moor, provided the anchors are close together, both cables can be hove simultaneously.
(4) In a beam wind the vessel will turn and lie at open hawse across the line of her anchors, creating a tight span.
Both cables must be veered smartly, the vessel then riding to open moor.

FOULING HAWSE

This occurs when the cables become entwined. In Fig. 2.4 it is apparent that from position

(1) the ship should be swung within the arc lying on the line of her anchors nearest the bottom of the page. This
will result in clear hawse. If, however, she
swings to

(2) within thefouling arc she develops a

cross in her cables. Another swing anti
clockwise to (3) results in an elbow, and a
third similar swing produces a cross and an
elbow, (4).

To avoid this, the vessel at (1) should have

been given a broad sheer
to starboard just before slack water so that
the new stream catches her starboard
quarter, swinging her within the clear arc.
However, during calms or windy conditions
at slack water this sheer may be cancelled
and an adverse one develop. Engines will
then have to be used as the new stream
commences to run, in order to restore the
correct sheer.

MOORED CLOSE TO A DANGER

In Fig. 2.5 a vessel is moored close to a shoal. This is hardly advisable, but the occasion may arise. In position

(1) the vessel is initially moored riding to

her off shore anchor. When she swings
with the change of stream to position

(2) she must do so to starboard, so

avoiding running her stern close to the
shoal. Because she is riding to the off
shore anchor, her hawse remains clear.
In (2) she again rides to the off shore
anchor the starboard one.

MOORING

There are two basic methods whereby a vessel may execute the moor.

(1) The Standing, Ordinary, Dropping, or

Straight Moor Let us assume the vessel is
required to moor with her bridge along the
line AB in Fig.
2.6. The stream is running from the left side
of the page. Five shackles length is required
on the port anchor and four on the
starboard anchor. The vessel is headed into
the stream (with a wind instead of a stream,
the vessel is headed to windward, and when
both are present the vessel heads the one
which is having the stronger effect),with
sufficient headway to take her to (1), which
will be roughly five shackles plus a half
ship's length beyond the line AB (the vessel
is to ride to her port anchor initially, let us
say). At position

(1) the port anchor is let go and the vessel drifts downstream, rendering her port cable to nine shackles, the sum
of the two lengths. She is brought up gently on this cable and the starboard anchor is let go underfoot at

(2). The vessel then middles herself between the anchors by veering or rendering four shackles on the starboard
(lee) anchor cable and heaving in four
shackles on the riding cable until she
reaches position

(3). During the middling, engines may be

used to relieve the windlass of the stress
on the taut riding cable.

The figure has been laid out in three

sections to show the maneuver with
clarity, though, of course, the mooring is
done along the first track of the ship.
Notice that the vessel passes the bridge
position

line twice during the maneuver. To move from (2) to (3) will take approximately 16 23 minutes with a 48 kilowatt
windlass, depending upon whether the riding cable is slack or taut.

(2) The Running, or Flying, Moor (Fig. 2.7)assuming the same conditions and requirements as before, the vessel
again heads the tidal stream or wind. The starboard (lee) anchor is let go with headway on the vessel at a position
distant from the line AB four shackles less a half ship's length (1). The cable is rendered as the vessel moves
upwind or upstream so that the bow is not checked round.

The lee cable is laid out to a length of nine shackles, the sum of the two lengths, and the brake is screwed up. The
cable is not allowed to tighten ,otherwise the bow will cross the stream and high engine revolutions will be
necessary to correct this sheer.

At position (2) while the lee cable is still slack the port anchor is let go underfoot and the vessel moved astern.
This riding cable can either be veered to its length or else alternately surged and snubbed. As the vessel moves
down wind or stream, five shackles must be weighed on the lee cable (20 minutes) and five shackles veered on the
riding cable. The vessel is then brought up on her riding cable at (3).

The figure is again laid out in three sections for the sake of clarity.
The vessel passes the line AB only once in this manoeuvre. Under certain conditions, this moor may take longer to
execute, reckoning from the time the first anchor is let go. In the dropping moor, 9 shackles are rendered with the
stream. In the running moor 9 shackles are rendered against the stream. Again, in the dropping moor, only 4
shackles have to beweighed, against 5 in the running moor. Naturally, if the lengths had been reversed, this latter
consideration would also be
reversed.

In a cross wind the weather anchor is

the first to be let go so that the vessel
does not drift across her cable. If the
lee anchor is let go the cable will
grow under the ship, her bows will be
snubbed up into the wind, and she
will get across the stream. In the
dropping moor slackening the riding
cable at some stage between (1) and
(2) and working the engines astern
under weather helm will help to
counteract leeway, the swing of the
bows across the stream being checked as necessary on the cable.

In the running moor leeway is checked by laying out the sleeping cable under engine power and steering upwind.
Any sheer across the stream is then corrected with lee helm and also partially corrected by the vessel's tendency
to pay off the wind under headway. Notice that in the dropping moor sheer across the stream due to astern
movements is aggravated by this tendency. However, the cables provide a good checking action. Too much
sternway should not be allowed (see Fig. 2.8).

In calm weather the port anchor is the better one to drop first in the standing moor, since any astern movements
on the engine (right handed single screw ship) to reduce any remaining headway will cant the stem away from the
anchor underfoot.

For similar reasons, in the running moor the port anchor is the better one dropped at (2). Further, in the event of
the lee cable becoming jammed during the run from (1) to (2), an astern movement swings the vessel to
starboard, the cable grows clear and avoids a bad nip.

The Baltic Moor

This method of mooring a ship is employed when a vessel is to lie alongside a quay, the construction of which is
not sufficiently robust to permit ranging of the ship during bad weather.
These days the naming of the moor is inappropriate, but there are no doubt such wharves in various other parts of
the world. It is a useful method of berthing a vessel in an onshore gale of wind, particularly when the vessel is
expected to leave before the weather abates. It is a popular maneuver in certain small classes of naval vessels.

If the manoeuvre is to be executed in an average sized merchant ship, a 25 30 mm wire is passed from the after
leads on the poop, along the 3 3t in offshore side, outside and clear of everything. The offshore anchor is a'cock
billed and a man sent overside on a chair to secure the wire to the anchor, preferably at the shackle. The after end
of the wire is sent to a warping barrel, ready re heaving in slack wire.

When the stem is abreast the position on the

quay where the bridge will eventually be the
anchor is let go, still with headway on the
vessel.About half a ship's length of cable is
surged and then the cable is snubbed. The
wire is hove in aft.The onshore wind will drift
the vessel down on to her berth, and the
scope of the cable, and the wire, is adjusted
and slowly veered until the ship lands
alongside. Fig. 2.9 shows the maneuver, It is
most important to let go the anchor having
the best possible judgment of position, for if the anchor be let go too far off the quay the wire will be of
insufficient length and the ship will fail to reach her berth. The anchor must then be 120fathoms weighed and the
maneuver repeated. If the available wire is 240 m 110fathoms in length and 220 m are to be veered, then roughly
7.5 shackles of 500ft 60ft cable will also be veered. If the ship is 150 m long and 18 m in beam the anchor will then
lie one and a third ship lengths off the quay. If it is discovered, before too much cable is veered, that the anchor
has been let go too far from the jetty the
cable must be snubbed and the anchor
dragged to the desired position.
If there is no wind at the time of berthing
the cable and wire are kept slack and the
vessel maneuvered to the berth under
engine power and helm. Each time the
propeller is moved the wire must be hove
until it grows farther to long stay. In the
event of the anchor lying more than a
ship's length from the berth, clearing is
comparatively easy: the vessel is hove out
to her anchor by her cable, using the wire
to make sure that the stem does not foul
the berth. If desired, the reverse may be
done and the vessel hove out to her anchor
stem first, using the wire alone, picking up the slack cable as she goes. The anchor is weighed and the vessel
swung to the desired direction(3). In an onshore wind, the anchor can be left at short stay and the vessel steamed
round it, if she desires to head upwind (Fig. 2.10).

If the anchor is lying less than a ship's length from the quay the vessel can heave herself out to it, keeping parallel
with the jetty.
There is no room to swing head to an onshore wind, so the anchor is weighed and the vessel bored up to
windward stem first under powerful revolutions. She will execute this swing rapidly. When sufficiently far from
the quay, she can then swing to the fairway. If there is no wind it will be preferable to again heave out parallel
with the quay, weigh anchor, and proceed to swing (if necessary, of course) under powerful headway (Fig. 2.10).

The Mediterranean Moor

This moor is used when wharf space is limited and there is deep water alongside the wharves. The vessel is
moored stem on to the jetty with both her anchors lying ahead of her, fine on each bow. The maneuver varies
greatly according to the prevailing wind, and will therefore be fully discussed in Chapter IV after the reader has
studied Chapter III.
 CLEARING A FOUL HAWSE

The gear necessary for this operation should be made ready at slack later. It will include at least three 20 2S mm
wires; a smaller wire, say 10 mm, or some lengths of 1O I5 mm fibre rope; a boatswain's chair; and equipment
necessary for breaking open a cable joining shackle.The operation may be started as soon as the ship is swung to a
new stream, thus giving about 6 hours freedom. The clearing may take up most of this time if the hawse is badly
fouled. Much will depend upon the men employed.The hawse is cleared by unshackling the sleeping cable and
passing the end around the riding
cable.In Fig. 2.11 the turns are hove
above water and the cable lashed
together below the turns, using the
fibre rope. The naval method may be
employed, by using the light wire as
shown in the figure. The two ends
of the wire are then belayed on deck.
There should be no difficulty in
bringing the cables together, since the
sleeping cable will be reasonably
slack. One of the bigger wires is then
passed around the sleeping cable
below the turns, hove tight, and belayed. This wire acts as a preventer in case the unshackled end of the cable is
lost, and also relieves the

The gear necessary for this operation should be made ready at slack later. It will include at least three 20 2S mm
wires; a smaller wire, say 10 mm, or some lengths of 1O I5 mm fibre rope; a boatswain's chair; and equipment
necessary for breaking open a cable joining shackle.The operation may be started as soon as the ship is swung to a
new stream, thus giving about 6 hours
freedom. The clearing may take up
most of this time if the hawse is badly
fouled. Much will depend upon the
men employed.The hawse is cleared by
unshackling the sleeping cable and
passing the end around the riding
cable.In Fig. 2.11 the turns are hove
above water and the cable lashed
together below the turns, using the
fibre rope. The naval method may be
employed, by using the light wire as
shown in the figure. The two ends
of the wire are then belayed on deck. There should be no difficulty in bringing the cables together, since the
sleeping cable will be reasonably slack. One of the bigger wires is then passed around the sleeping cable below the
turns, hove tight, and belayed. This wire acts as a preventer in case the unshackled end of the cable is lost, and
also relieves the turns of some of the cable weight. A round turn may be used when passing this preventer around
the cable. This enables the wire to be slipped later from the deck. The vessel is shown riding to
her starboard cable.In
Fig.2.12awiremessengerhasbeen
passeddownthroughthehawse
pipe, dipped around the riding
cable, following the run of the
port cable, and returned to the
forecastle deck. It is dipped only
once, and only half a turn will be
removed at anyone time.On deck
(Fig. 2.13) the port cable has
been veered until a joining
shackle is forward of the gypsy.
The third wire is secured to the
cable just forward of the shackle,
both parts are led to the bitts,
belayed,
and then the cable is eased to
this wire. The shackle is broken
open.
When the cable is parted the
shackle may be replaced and
assembled.
The easing wire should be
capable of being slipped from
the deck, and for this reason it is
advisable to have it passing
through the open end link. Even when the stress of the cable is on the easing wire, the shackle should still be
movable. If the shackle is jammed in position by this taut easing wire (through the end link) it will not matter,
because it can still be broken and reassembled in spite of this. One inboard end of the messenger is now secured
to the joining shackle, the other is taken, with as good a lead as possible, to a warping barrel, and set tight. The
easing wire is shortly going to be surged on the bitts if desired, one end of it can also be led to a warping barrel; it
can then be surged without risk of fouling the other end of the wire, or it can be veered under power.In the case
 of a lugless joining shackle, where there are no end links or enlarged common links, the cable is secured by chain
stoppers or efficient bow stoppers, the cable shackle broken and then reassembled (when the cable has parted)
fast to both the messenger and the easing wire. The easing wire is then hove, the weight taken off the
stoppers,the latter cast off, and the situation is before .All is now ready for removing the first half turn. The
messenger is hove in and the easing wire eased. The direction of movement of the messenger rises shown inFig.
2.12.When the end of cable is about to be dipped the easing wire is slipped (Fig. 2.14), the messenger hove, and
the end of cable dips around the starboard chain. It then continues on up to the hawse pipe and on to the
forecastle deck.

On deck the easing wire is again set up, the weight is taken on it, the

messenger cast off and re dipped as before to remove the remaining half tum.

When this has been achieved the situation is as shown in Fig. 2.15. The

cable is re joined, the preventer is cast off, and the fibre lashings

are burned through. This is often done by sending a man overside on a

chair. Heswingshimselfalongthecable,soaksthefibreropeinparaffin, and

returns to the deck. A bucket is then lowered, containing burning

paraffin rags, to set the rope alight. Many methods may be devised for

this minor job. The cables will then part with very little whip,

because the sleeping cable is still slack.

Using the naval method, the light wire is eased from the deck to part
 the cables, one end is slipped, and the wire hove in. This light wire will pass through a common link.
There are several other methods used to clear a foul hawse: the ship
may be turned, using her engines or tugs, until the hawse is clear;

sometimes the broken end of the sleeping cable is let go completely overside, and
then a wire from each bow is used to lift it over the riding cable

until the turns are removed. In a small ship a wire which is large in relation

to the cable (so that it will not jam between links) can be dipped

around the cable twice at a time and a full turn removed by heaving on this messenger once.

One method employed is worth noting; this can be used only when, upon

heaving the turns above water, a joining shackle is visible in the

sleeping cable. Using a craft of substantial construction, the sleeping

cable may be parted here (after hanging it well off at the ship's

side), and the end suspended from the hawse pipe passed around the

riding cable until the turns are removed. The cable is re joined and

the hanger removed.