Hermitage rules

Useful info

How long and strong should mooring ropes be?

ES-TRIN has a (minimum) requirement for 20m+ boats:

Length+20m
2/3 of (1) and
1/3 of (1)

For a 20m boat this is: 40m, 27m, 13m.

The last two lengths are ideal for springs and breast (bow/stern) warps respectively, so two of each is sensible.
The longest is probably only useful for towing.
The shortest length should be about right for most locks and for bow & stern ropes when mooring.
The middle length is ideal for springs to stop the boat moving back and forward on a mooring and for deeper locks.

So, a good starting suggestion for all boats is two each of (2) and (3), with the option of (1) for boats under 20m.

Larger boats that are covered by ES-TRIN standards are required to have a minumum of three mooring ropes of a strength at least

6 + (Length*Beam*Draught)/100 Tons (L/B/D in metres)

For a 20x4x1m barge that is about 6.8 ton . Typically 22mm 3-strand polypropylene will be in the order of 7 tons strength and 16mm about 3.5 tons

Useful links

Port of London Authority (PLA)
- The speed limit here is 12kn. Check the speed of any vessel passing within the last 24 hours using the ‘playback’ function on www.myshiptracking.com.
- To report any excessive wash, use https://www.pla.co.uk/Safety/The-Harbour-Masters/Houseboat-Wash-Report

Tide levels