In short
A stern-to berth is won by preparation, not helmsmanship: fenders, lines, roles and boathook, sorted before the boat moves.
Prop walk is not the enemy. Learn which way your boat walks her stern and set the approach up so it works for you.
Astern, aim for walking speed: slower and the rudder does nothing, faster and you cannot stop.
The lazy line is picked up with the boathook, walked to the bow cleat outside the guardrails and hardened in. Gloves on, never let go.
A beam wind blows the bow off faster than the stern, so aim upwind of the gap.
If it goes wrong, motor out and come again. That is normal practice, not failure.
What a stern-to berth is
The Mediterranean scheme is simple: the boat lies stern (sometimes bow) to the quay, and the bow is held either by a lazy line running down to a concrete block or ground chain, or by her own anchor. Two stern lines go ashore to cleats or rings, and she hangs stretched between the two, touching neither the quay nor her neighbours.
Almost every marina in Greece, Croatia, Turkey and Italy works this way: three times as many boats fit along a quay.
Preparation: everything happens before the manoeuvre
The approach takes two minutes. Preparation takes ten, and it decides the outcome.
1Fenders. Three or four a side, at the height of the quay and of the neighbouring hulls. Two right on the stern quarters — that is what touches another boat. Check the height from the pontoon, not from the deck.
2Lines. Two stern lines flaked loosely, led outside the guardrails, with an eye ready in the working end. Inside the rails a line will snag.
3Boathook. In the hands of the person picking up the lazy line, not underfoot.
4Roles. Helm, two on the stern lines, one with the boathook, one loose on the fenders. Say them out loud before you start.
5Deck. Clear the table, the stern and the side decks. Raise the bathing ladder.
6Reconnaissance. Motor past slowly: width of the gap, wind strength and direction, where the lazy line lies, what the sounder says.
Prop walk and how to use it
Going astern, the propeller pushes the stern sideways: that is prop walk. A right-handed propeller walks the stern to port, a left-handed one to starboard. How much depends on the boat, the revs and how long you hold astern. Three practical consequences.
Find out which way before you need it. Ask at the base briefing, or test it in clear water: a short burst astern with the rudder amidships shows where the stern goes.
Set the approach up so the walk helps. If the stern walks to port, come at the berth from starboard and let her turn herself into the gap. Turn her in her own length the same way.
Steer with bursts. Short powerful bursts give more walk and less speed; a steady run gives less walk. Combining the two, you steer with the stern.
Remember that the rudder only works astern when the boat is moving. Turning the wheel on a stationary hull achieves nothing.
Going astern: step by step
1Stop two or three boat lengths off your berth, bow the other way, and take the way off her.
2Engage astern and build up a controllable speed — roughly walking pace. Any slower and the wind steers her, not you.
3Bring the stern down the line between your neighbours, steering with short bursts and small helm angles.
4Someone on the stern calls the distance out loud: "five metres, three, two."
5Two or three lengths off, the lazy line is picked up at the bow.
6Stern lines go ashore at the last moment, a metre or so off. Nobody jumps: you pass lines ashore, not people.
7Stop her with a short burst ahead, not with fenders against concrete.
8Harden in: stern lines tight, lazy line tight, the boat hanging between them and clear of the quay.
The lazy line: picking it up and working it
The lazy line lies on the quay beside your berth, or marina staff hand it up. The thin line in your hand runs down to a heavy one — a ground chain or a concrete block.
Take it with the boathook or from the hand, and do not let go. A dropped line goes under the boat and from there under the propeller.
Walk it forward along the side deck, outside the guardrails, to the bow cleat, hand over hand.
Wear gloves: a lazy line is always weeded, slimy and hard on the hands.
Take up the slack by hand while she is still moving astern. Once it comes tight, a figure of eight on the cleat, then harden in.
Judge the tension from the stern: it must not reach the quay when a wash rolls through.
With no lazy line and the bow held by your own anchor, drop it four or five lengths off the quay, in line with your berth, and veer chain steadily as she goes back. The chain should be snubbed by the time the stern lines go ashore.
Berthing in a beam wind
Wind on the beam is the hard part. The bow is lighter and offers more windage, so she pivots: the stern goes where you steer and the bow blows off to leeward.
What helps:
Aim upwind. Line the stern up with the windward edge of the gap, not the middle, and let the wind set you in.
Carry a little more speed. A small increase astern cuts leeway sharply; a slow approach in a fresh breeze is doomed.
Start the turn earlier. The harder it blows, the more room you need.
Come in from the windward neighbour's side, so leeway carries you into the gap rather than onto someone's topsides.
Fenders to windward in advance.
When the gusts are serious, take the alternative rather than the heroism: go in bow-to, lie alongside the outside of the pontoon, or ask the marina staff to take your lines.
The usual mistakes
Too slow. The commonest: she stops answering the helm and lies across the wind.
Too fast. The second commonest: a fine approach, no way of stopping, the stern into the quay.
Fenders at the wrong height, or three for the whole boat.
Lines inside the guardrails, tangled and underfoot.
Jumping ashore. Never. Nobody steps off a moving boat onto concrete.
Holding the lazy line by hand as it comes tight instead of turning it round a cleat.
Winding the wheel with no way on.
No roles allocated, so shouting replaces work.
Nobody watching astern to call the distance out loud.
Stubbornness: a bad approach pressed on with anyway.
When it goes wrong
Motoring out and coming again is part of the manoeuvre, not a failure. Say it out loud — "we're going round again" — engage ahead, get into clear water and work out what happened: too early, too late, not enough speed, wind underestimated.
The second attempt is almost always better, because you have seen how she sets. Rescuing a bad approach a metre off someone's topsides ends in a gelcoat chip and a line in the damage record.
Bow-to and alongside: when they are better
Bow-to. She goes forward, and forward she handles far better. In a strong beam wind this is often the only sensible option, and it keeps rudder and propeller away from the quay. The drawback is getting ashore over the bow.
Alongside. Approach at twenty to thirty degrees, take the way off, pass a bow line and a stern spring; a short burst astern against the spring brings the stern in. This is how you lie on the outside of pontoons, against walls and at the fuel berth, with fenders along the whole side.
Common questions
How do I moor stern-to, step by step?
Prepare fenders, lines, boathook and roles; motor past and read the wind; stop two or three lengths off, bow the other way; go astern at walking pace; bring the stern down the line with bursts; pick up the lazy line and walk it to the bow cleat; pass the stern lines; stop with a burst ahead; harden in.
What is prop walk and how do I use it?
The sideways kick of the stern from the propeller astern: to port with a right-handed prop, to starboard with a left-handed one. Learn which way your boat goes and plan the approach so the walk turns the stern into the gap. Short bursts give more walk, a steady run less.
How do I berth stern-to in a beam wind?
Aim at the windward edge of the gap, carry slightly more speed, start the turn earlier, and come in from the windward neighbour's side so leeway carries you into the space. Fenders to windward in advance. In strong gusts, bow-to or alongside is wiser.
What should I do if the approach goes wrong?
Leave. Ahead, clear water, work out the error, come again. Pressing on with a bad approach hurts the deposit far more than a second attempt.
How does lying alongside differ from a stern-to berth?
Alongside she lies with her side to the quay: a shallow-angled approach, a bow line and a stern spring, fenders along the whole side. Easier, but it takes far more quay space, which is why marinas keep it for the outside of pontoons and the fuel berth.
What next
The "Learning" section has diagrammed breakdowns: "Stern-to mooring on a lazy line", "Berthing alongside", "Leaving a berth in wind", "Crew roles when berthing", plus the "Mooring and anchoring" quiz to test yourself before the first approach. The "Logbook" records the passage and the berth, and "Weather" shows the gusts for the next few hours — gusts, not the mean wind, decide how the approach goes.
Read next: "Working out an anchorage: how much chain to veer and what radius" if the bow is held by your own anchor; "Your first charter: what to bring and what to check before you sail" for crew roles and the briefing; "Yacht charter handover: the checklist that protects your deposit" for the fenders and lines counted on the way back.