Technical Question: How to they get the ropes from the ship to the pier when docking?

[ahecht]

Okay, so this is probably more of a "large boats" question then a cruise-specific question, but I figured that plenty of people here have watched ships dock. When the ships are docking, they usually come up along-side the pier using thrusters/azipods, and then are guided the rest of the way in using the ropes. My question is: how to they get the ropes from the ship to the dock?

 

In the following video, it looks like the ropes are just dropped in the water and then pulled up on the pier.

 

Are they actually using the wake from the azipods to push the ropes, were the ends of the rope connected to a thinner rope that can't be seen on the video, or is there some other method? Does anyone have better videos of this process?

 

Of course, none of this has ANY impact on my upcoming first cruise, but as an engineer, I'm curious. Maneuvering a large boat the size of a city block into a tiny concrete wharf is an amazing feat.

[gma_pat]

Yes they have thinner ropes or guidelines that are either tossed to waiting shoremen or are handled by deckhands in small motor boats to hoist the larger lines to the dock. I have even seen them "shoot" the guideline across with what looks like a type of airgun. Fascinating.

Edited August 21, 2012 by gma_pat

[Kartgv]

We watched them dock the Radiance in Hobart. They threw the smaller rope coil, which was attached to the heavier rope/cable, to the men on the dock, who then pulled the heavier rope up.

 

 

Fun to watch, not exactly high-tech!

Edited August 21, 2012 by Kartgv

[LHT28]

They shoot the messenger line to the shore it usually has a weight on the end so the shore crew have something to grab

 

You can see it in the picture above

[beachbum53]

If your kids want to know, just tell them trained fish pull the ropes across to the guys waiting on the dock.:D:D

[OneStrangeGuy]

That weight on the end of the thrown line is called a "Heavie' (I might have spelled it wrong) and the line itself is called a 'Heavie line'.

[dsrdsrdsr]

Or sometimes the smaller rope is tied at the end in a complicated knot called a monkey's paw. It makes it look like a ball on the end, so it can be thrown.

 

On one line, I think it was Hurtigruten though I'm not 100% sure, they sometimes used shore-based boats to carry the rope ashore. Possibly because they're docking 6 or 7 times a day, they didn't want the main ropes to get wet.

[ahecht]

Thanks for all the replies! Fascinating!

[Capt_BJ]

That weight on the end of the thrown line is called a "Heavie' (I might have spelled it wrong) and the line itself is called a 'Heavie line'.

 

 

that's heaving line

 

A heaving line is a lightweight line which is used on board ship to establish a connection with people in another ship, people on the shore, or shipmates who have gone overboard. These lightweight ropes are typically weighted at one end, classically with a monkey's fist knot, and they are very easy to throw across long distances. Once a heaving line has been tossed, one end of the line can be attached to a heavier rope or object.

The advantage to a heaving line is that it is very easy to throw, and less dangerous for someone on the other end of the line. For example, when a ship docks, it is attached to the dock with heavy hawsers which keep it from moving. These hawsers could be extremely dangerous if they were just hurled from the ship to workers on the docks; instead, a heaving line is thrown and caught by a dock workers, and then a hawser is attached on the ship, allowing the dock worker to easily pull the hawser to the dock and make it fast.{wizeGEEK.com}

[grand isle joe]

If your kids want to know, just tell them trained fish pull the ropes across to the guys waiting on the dock.:D:D

 

 

 

 

.....to think all these years I thought it was mermaids that pulled the ropes.......learn something new every day........:D:D

[Padraic]

The weight at the end of the line is called a "monkey's fist."

[bbwex]

Capt BJ has it exactly right, which I am sure he does not need me to say. It's a fairly routine evolution (event or exercise) since they do it so often. If you are able to get a vantage point far forward, you will see that the heaving line is already made up to (tied to) the hawser and everything is ready to go. Though I would like to see the guy who could throw a hawser!

 

The guns that fire the small line across use a plastic projectile that replaces the monkey's fist. These are used less frequently in civilian situations but they are used sometimes.

[fischymom]

if your kids want to know, just tell them trained fish pull the ropes across to the guys waiting on the dock.:d:d

lol!!

[Capt_BJ]

to be more technical, the "monkey's fist" is no longer used by naval forces or most commercial craft.

 

The monkey's fist knot used for the end of a heaving line was usually tied around a large nut to give it weight and allowed the heaving line to be thrown something like a bolo, by spinning and 'let fly'. http://www.wincingdevil.com/mf.htm

 

The monkey's fist prepared like this is heavy and hard; it carries far, but can do damage if it hits the intended receiver. I once saw one go through a car windsheild when overthrown .... ouch. Today a softer and somewhat larger poly ball covers a weight so as to minimize danger

 

Edited August 21, 2012 by Capt_BJ

[Jimnbigd]

This youtube video start with the small line being pulled by the shore workers. This small line is attached to the big line that holds the ship to the dock.

 

When I've cruised, it looks like this small line is "shot" to the shore crew from the ship, maybe with some type of air gun/cannon. As already said, this small line has some weight on the end of it to hold it on the shore once it is shot. The shore crew starts pulling on this small line, which has the big line attached to it. That's where this video starts.

 

When the ship is ready to depart, the ship releases the tension on the big line, the shore crew detaches the line, and the ship reels it in.

Edited August 21, 2012 by Jimnbigd

[backspring]

Havnt been on this site for a while,and just spotted this question.The smaller rope called a heaving line is attached to the heavy rope [hawser],using a bowline knot ,the heaving line is weighted at the end by a splice called a monkeys fist,this is a splice around a large steel nut to give the heaving line weight when it is thrown from ship to shore.

[Capt_BJ]

in extreme situations a line throwing gun can be used

 

http://www.hawills.com/lineguns.html

[touline]

Hi !

Sorry to join you in an old discussion but it is very interesting

 

The technique of the heaving line is highly symbolic : you use a small thing (a rope of 2 or 3 pounds) to move a hawser able to make move a boat of thousands tons !

 

I found your discussion when looking for a translation of these terms, as a french guy

 

In french :

the throwing gun is "le lance-amarre"

the knot is "la pomme de touline"

the heaving line (rope + knot) is "la touline"

the rope only is "le mandeur"

 

Does anybody know translations of these terms in other laguages (italian ?) or a dictionnary specialized in the transaltion of such terms of marine in different languages ???

 

Thank you

[Vampire Parrot]

Cruise ships can and do position themselves with high accuracy against a dock without use of the lines. The lines will be sent ashore before the ship touches the dock, but there won't be made tight until the ship is in the required position.

 

Sometimes the spring lines may be used to help move the ship slightly along the dock, for example if a bollard on the quay would interfere with a gangway.

 

It's fascinating to watch the lines go ashore.... and I'm amazed at just how far some of the sailors can throw the monkeys fist!

 

VP

Edited June 26, 2015 by Vampire Parrot

[navybankerteacher]

When the ship nears the pier a "heaving line" (a very light weight rope with a weight - a "monkey's fist" - at the end) is thrown to the line handlers on the pier. The line handlers then haul in the heaving line, which is often attached to a somewhat heavier line: the "messenger line", which is used to haul the much heavier mooring line to the pier. Sometimes the heaving line also serves as the messenger line.

[SantaFeFan]

Originally these thick ropes were made of hemp, sisal or manila and were stiff and heavy, especially when wet. Modern ropes are made of synthetic materials, typically nylon, polypropylene or polyester. More recently, Dyneema® has become a popular synthetic material. These synthetics are lightweight, very flexible, and are waterproof so they float, making them much easier to handle than traditional natural material ropes. You can see the benefits of these ropes in the video link posted by Jimnbigd. They are also stronger, and have a longer usable life span.

Edited June 26, 2015 by SantaFeFan

[loubetti]

And just as a reminder, as it was mentioned above, those big ropes are known as "lines".

 

Now, can anyone one tell me what a "spring line" is?

[MommaBear55]

Spring line goes from the bow to the stern (May be multiple lines) that attach to the dock and keep the boat or ship from being pulled away from the dock by tides or winds. (My husband is a master mariner as well as a merchant marinerand retired navy)

[navybankerteacher]

Spring line goes from the bow to the stern (May be multiple lines) that attach to the dock and keep the boat or ship from being pulled away from the dock by tides or winds. (My husband is a master mariner as well as a merchant marinerand retired navy)

 

Spring lines go both ways: aft from the bow to the pier and forward from the stern to the pier. At times there will also be breast lines which do not run either forward or aft, but straight across to the pier. Finally, no lines go to the "dock": the "dock" is actually the space the ship occupies when it is alongside the pier - it is a "chunk" of water whose place the ship fills when alongside a pier. That is why a drydock is called dry - the water gets removed.

[Vampire Parrot]

[ If there was a "like" button on cruisecritic then navybankerteacher and Capt_BJ would be getting a whole load of them :cool: ]

 

There is a pretty good description of spring lines, bow lines and stern lines on http://maritime.about.com/od/Vessel_Operations/a/Dock-Line-Terms-And-Best-Practices-For-Securing-Your-Boat.htm

 

A cruise ship will obviously have multiple lines holding it in place, from what I've seen a typical configuration for a cruise ship of say 90000 tons in calm weather is four stern lines, two forward spring lines, two aft spring lines and four bow lines.

 

VP