All fenders should be rigged and ________ should be broken out and ready before reaching the dock.

All fenders should be rigged and ________ should be broken out and ready before reaching the dock.

• A. Mooring Lines
• B. Heaving Lines
• C. Tow Lines
• D. Rope Ends

Answer: (B)

When bringing a vessel in to a dock, you prepare the gear so you can secure quickly and safely. Fenders are placed or already rigged to cushion contact with the quay. The item you want broken out and ready before you reach the dock is the heaving line. A heaving line is a lightweight line with a weight on the end that you can throw to the shore or to a line crew on the pier. Once it lands, the crew can haul a heavier mooring line ashore and secure the vessel. Having this line ready ahead of time minimizes delays and helps you establish a secure mooring as you come alongside. Mooring lines are the heavier lines used to tie the vessel to the dock after the line has been brought ashore, so they aren’t the ones you typically break out and throw. Tow lines are for towing or pushing a vessel and aren’t part of the docking routine. Rope ends are just loose ends of rope and don’t provide the practical hookup needed to secure the boat to the dock.

When bringing a vessel in to a dock, you prepare the gear so you can secure quickly and safely. Fenders are placed or already rigged to cushion contact with the quay. The item you want broken out and ready before you reach the dock is the heaving line. A heaving line is a lightweight line with a weight on the end that you can throw to the shore or to a line crew on the pier. Once it lands, the crew can haul a heavier mooring line ashore and secure the vessel. Having this line ready ahead of time minimizes delays and helps you establish a secure mooring as you come alongside.

Mooring lines are the heavier lines used to tie the vessel to the dock after the line has been brought ashore, so they aren’t the ones you typically break out and throw. Tow lines are for towing or pushing a vessel and aren’t part of the docking routine. Rope ends are just loose ends of rope and don’t provide the practical hookup needed to secure the boat to the dock.