A ship is moored when she is made fast to a mooring buoy, when she is swinging on a bight of chain between two anchors, or when she is secured by lines alongside a pier or another ship.
Bowlines and stern lines usually are longer than the others and run directly from the bow and stern. Well in advance of mooring, the lines should be faked down, fore and aft (if practicable), each near the chock through which it passes. The end with the eye should be passed through the chock and the loop laid back on the lifeline.
The bowline and foward springs prevent the ship from drifting astern. With sternway on, both these lines, when secured, tend to breast the ship in.
The stern line and after springs prevent the ship from drifting forward. With headway on, both these lines, when secured, tend to breast the ship in.
The forward and after breast lines prevent the ship from drifting away from the pier.
When mooring lines are used for handling the ship in coming alongside, it is important that they be broken out as soon as you can. Lines are referred to by numbers, the forward line being No.1, and you may be told to hold to slack off or check any of them, as: "Hold one," "Slack off two," "Check three. "
Here are some of the things you might here when handleing lines, and the meaning. These may very from ship to ship and who the chief mate is but this will give a idea.
• "Slack away" or "Slack off" Pay out the line, (The number or name of the line may be said.)
·"Take a strain!"Put the line under tension. "Take in the slack!" Heave in on the line, but do not take a strain.
• "Ease it," "Ease away," or "Ease off! Pay out enough to remove most of the strain.
• "Check it," "Check number three!"Hold the line, but ease it off enough, when necessary, so that it does not part.
• "Hold it!" Take sufficient turns that the line does not give.
• "Double up and secure! Run any additional lines and double all of them, as necessary.
• "Single up!" Take in all additional lines, leaving as few to hold the ship.
• "Stand by your lines!" Man the lines, ready to cast off.
• "Cast off all lines! " Let go all lines.
When a line is checked, it is payed out a little at a time as the strain on it becomes heavy. A line should be checked rather than parted, even without being told to, but you should watch your line. If the strain is about to become dangerous, tell somebody. Warning of a dangerous strain is given by the creaking of the line. Line handlers can make the operator look good or bad.
When moored to a pier, rat guards are always put on mooring lines to prevent rats from coming aboard over them. These rat guards consist of a circular metal disk, made in halves, which can be lashed together on the lines. They usually dip toward the center, and the concave side should face outboard.
DECK FITTINGS
Deck fittings are cleats, bitts, bollards, chocks, and towing pads.
• Cleat: A cleat is a device consisting mainly of a pair of projecting horns used for belaying a line or wire
• Bitts: Bitts are cylindrical objects made of cast iron or steel. They are arranged in pairs, each pair mounted on a separate footing, which in turn is welded or bolted to the deck. Usually there is a set of bitts forward and abaft each chock. They are used mainly for belaying mooring lines.
• Bollard: A bollard is a strong cylindric on a pier, around which the eye or mooring line is thrown.
• Chock: A chock is a heavy fitting, with smooth surfaces through which mooring lines are led. Mooring lines are run from bitts on deck through chocks to bollards on the pier when the ship is mooring. Chocks are three types .
• Open chock:A mooring chock, open at the top.
• Closed chock: A mooring chock, closed by an arch of metal across its top.
• Towing pad: A towing pad is a large pade is welded to the deck. It is for towing operations.
Roller chock: A mooring chock that contains a roller for reducing friction.
