Anchoring, Mooring & Docking

The Difference Between Anchoring, Docking, and Mooring

Let’s look at the differences between anchoring, mooring, and docking. While they all refer to ways of securing your boat in place when necessary, these 3 nautical terms all mean something slightly different.

An essential part of learning how to navigate a new vessel is learning all the options you have for stopping your boat whenever the need arises, such as when you’re:

  • Preparing for an overnight at sea
  • Waiting for a storm to pass
  • Stopping to cast a line
  • Taking a swimming break
  • Retiring the boat for the season
  • Getting fueled up

To secure your yacht in place for any length of time, your choices include anchoring, mooring, or docking the boat. All these terms refer to securing your boat in position on the water – for hours, days, or months at a time.

Anchoring Your Boat

Anchoring your boat refers to dropping a large, heavy object that is attached to your boat into the water, where it latches itself to the seabed with hooks and suction to keep the boat in place. You can anchor your boat anywhere if you have an anchor cable (known as an anchor rode) that’s long enough. To figure out how long your anchor rode should be, multiply the deepest water you might anchor in by eight.

Many modern motor yachts come with built-in anchoring systems. For example, like on most Riviera luxury yachts, the anchoring station on board the Riviera 57 Enclosed Flybridge is located at the bow, concealed from view, and comes with a remote control, fresh and saltwater washdown outlets, and a rope locker.

Having your yacht come with an anchoring station takes the guesswork out of which size and weight of anchor is best for your vessel, but there is a greater science behind anchoring that you’ll want to be aware of if you’re a new boat owner, especially if you’ll be anchoring in varying types of sea beds.

For additional anchoring security, many boaters carry two anchors of different styles – a fluke/Danforth style and a plow/scoop variety. The type of seabed you’re navigating, such as mud, grass, sand, coral, or rock, will determine which anchor is most suitable to use. Research your anchoring options before sailing too far from shore, and make sure you’re confident with how the process works.

Mooring Your Boat

Mooring refers to lassoing, tethering, tying, or otherwise securing your boat to a fixed object, such as a mooring buoy, rather than dropping an anchor to secure your vessel anywhere you fancy. You can moor your boat to a mooring buoy, dock, quay, wharf, jetty, or pier.

If mooring at a dock or pier with many other boats, such as at Van Isle Marina, there is a chance your boat will be occupying a dock or dock space that is the width of your boat, rather than the length. However, you will always have your own strip of docking walkway for easy loading and unloading.

Mooring your boat (sometimes called berthing) is done a few different ways and might take some trial and error until you perfect this skill. Mooring in a tight space amongst many other boaters proves to be intimidating for many new boaters.

To moor a boat at a mooring buoy out in open water, you’ll need something to grab hold of the buoy with, such as a boat hook or a line. You can either lasso the buoy with your line and pull your boat towards it to further secure it or use a boat hook to reach out and grab the buoy.

At these types of mooring locations, there will most likely be the mooring anchor, mooring chain, and mooring buoy – all you need to supply is the line or the hook to help your boat attach to the mooring area.

  • mooring anchor – this is a regular anchor in a fixed position that keeps your boat steady while it is being moored. Use one that is three times the weight of your service anchor.
  • mooring chain – this line connects the anchor to the floating buoy. We recommend three times the length of depth, and a quarter-inch larger than your service chain.
  • mooring buoy – a floating device that connects to the anchor and marks the place where the boat is moored.

If you find a vacant mooring anchor and buoy, simply pull up as close to it as possible and attach your line and mooring buoy accordingly – using your lasso technique or the boat hook. If the buoy is not public property, be prepared to vacate at short notice if the owner turns up. To tell if the buoy is strong enough to moor your yacht, consider the size of boats on similar buoys nearby and use your best judgment.

If you have enough hands on-deck, backing the boat up will likely get you close enough to the mooring point via the stern rather than the bow, making things a little simpler, depending on the shape of your boat.

Van Isle Marina offers moorage for boats of all sizes at competitive rates per square foot.

A Word on Rafting Up: Sometimes, you might come across boats that are tied together on the water. This is known as “rafting up” and is essentially a boat moored to another boat. It can come in handy when every other moorage station is full, in emergencies, or if you’re just looking to socialize with another boat on the water. If you’re looking to raft up with another boat, whether it’s moored already or you’re both out on the open sea, the proper etiquette is to ask first, and have your fenders in place and an anchor ready to drop.

Docking Your Boat

Docking your boat refers to pulling your vessel up to a dock as parallel as you can, and then using ropes (dock lines) and nautical knots to secure (fasten) the boat to the dock.

In addition to the docking line, to dock your boat safely, you’ll require four or more fenders – large plastic or rubber devices that act as a buffer between the boat and the dock or pier and other boats, protecting both from damage. Using a couple of large fenders close together at the front of your boat when coming into dock can act as a bumper, further protecting your yacht during this procedure.

When you’re docking a boat, the boat will be close enough for guests to easily disembark the vessel onto the dock (land). Docking usually means the length of your boat (bow and stern) will be secured to the dock, giving you a maximum amount of space for loading and unloading of supplies, as well as maintenance and cleanup of your vessel.

Docking is made easier when there is someone already on the dock to help you, and when the winds and the tide are cooperating. However, just like parallel parking a car, docking a boat gets easier and easier each time you do it. At Van Isle Marina, one of our experienced boaters can show you how it’s done.

Van Isle Marina in Sidney, BC is your go-to boat marina in the Pacific Northwest. We love to help fellow boaters just like us learn more about all the ins and outs of boating, including anchoring, mooring, and docking. If you’re interested in buying or selling a boat or moorage at our marina, give us a call or stop by to find out why so many people love to moor with us.

What people have to say about mooring with Van Isle Marina:

Impeccable facilities, moorage for 100’+ yachts down to small fishing boats, always helpful and alert staff, 24 hour video security, full service boatyard, large dry stowage yard, two sided fuel dock, Canada Customs dock, pumpout dock, laundry, showers and the best restaurant in town all located just 15 minutes from Victoria International Airport (YYJ) and on the door step to one of the best cruising grounds on Earth.  ~ EZBob Vincent

Great spot for moorage. Friendly staff, excellent facilities with updated docks.  ~ Scott Hutchinson

33 Different Styles of Fishing

33 Ways to Fish – from Angling to Trotlining

When you find the fishing technique you prefer over all other styles, it’s quite easy to forget that other styles of fishing even exist! But at Van Isle Marina, we believe it’s never too late to try something new. If you’re new to the world of fishing or just looking for another type of fishing style to master, check out our overview of the different types of fishing out there.

As a community of enthusiastic boaters, our favourite way to fish involves anything off a boat. Whether it be angling, jigging, trolling, or fly fishing, we believe fishing from a boat is most effective because it gives you more access to different species of fish and ups your chances of a bite. Fishing on a boat is also comfortable and fun! Fortunately, many of these styles of fishing included in our list can be done from a boat.

33 Fishing Styles

Angling – refers to using a hook attached to a line to catch fish. Angling is almost always done with some type of bait and sinker on the hook. It can be done on the shore, off a dock, or on a boat.

Bank Fishing – a style of angling off a river bank or a similar shoreline, usually with a fishing rod, or less commonly, nets, traps, and spears.

Bottom Fishing – This angling technique refers to fishing on the bottom of the seabed, usually for groundfish like suckerfish, bream, catfish, and crappie. A weight is added to the end of your line or rod.

Casting – this refers to using a flexible fishing rod to throw (cast) your fishing line out, over, and into the water. Casting is a sport all on its own, regardless of any fish that are caught, with tournaments marking competitors on their accuracy and distance.

Chartered Fishing – refers to fishing with or without a tour guide aboard a boat that you have hired for the duration of the trip. Charted fishing excursions can involve any number of techniques listed here.

Commercial Fishing – fishing for profit. The commercial fishing industry is heavily regulated by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, a federal governing body.

Droplining – refers to dropping a long fishing line straight down, without casting far off into the water. A dropline often has several hooks attached to it, although not as many as a longline. It’s a form of angling, meaning there is hook and bait involved, as well as a weight at the bottom and a float at the top.

Fly Fishing – refers to a style of fishing in which artificial flies are used to lure fish to your line. It’s an older method of angling, particularly effective for trout, salmon, bass, carp, and more. Fly fishing is commonly done off the shores of river banks or standing right in the river.

Freshwater Fishing – fishing in lakes and rivers using any technique. Freshwater fishing is heavily regulated in BC. Learn more about freshwater fishing licences and regulations in British Columbia

Hand-Gathering – Hand-gathering is the act of fishing with the simplest set of tools – your hands. There are many styles of hand-gathering fishing, such as simply picking up shellfish or clam digging at the beach. Pearl divers are also hand-gatherers, and divers can also fish for lobsters using just their hands.

Handlining – a type of fishing using a single fishing line that is held in your hands. It can be done from boats or from the shore, mainly for catching groundfish.

Ice Fishing – refers to fishing with lines and hooks through a small opening in a frozen body of water.

Jigging – a popular style of angling in which a jig is the chosen type of fishing lure. A jig consists of a hook moulded into a lead sinker that is covered by a soft coloured rubber.

Kayak Fishing – this angling technique refers to fishing off the side of a kayak. Special considerations must be made on what equipment to carry, and how it will be fitted to the small-sized vessel.

Kite Fishing – a unique style of angling, kites can be used for trolling a lure through water and provide people without boats or people with mobility issues greater access to hard to reach bodies of water. This type of fishing is more common in places such as the Pacific Islands and Australia.

Longlining – this commercial fishing technique involves the use of a long heavy fishing line that has hundreds of baited hooks hanging from it via branches, a.k.a., “snoods”. Longlining is typically done on boats called longliners that use a special winch to haul in the line and operate in deeper waters. Longlining is a common method used to catch swordfish, tuna, halibut or sablefish.

Netting – a style of fishing using nets to capture many fish at once. It’s the main method of commercial fishing. There are many types of net to use, including:

  • Cast nets: round, weighted nets, also called throw nets.
  • Drift nets: nets that are not anchored.
  • Hand nets: small, hand-held nets that remain opened using a hoop.
  • Gill nets: a special net a fish cannot pass through without hooking its gills on the mesh.
  • Trawl nets: large nets that are towed through the water by a boat called a trawler.

Noodling – a style of hand-gathering fishing in which the “noodler” sticks their arm in a catfish hole, hoping for a bite. It’s dangerous, and therefore illegal in some states.

Pitch Fishing – a method of angling which involves intentionally casting your line and lure out at a lower angle so that is enters the water quietly, so as not to scare the fish away.

Recreational Fishing – fishing solely for fun. Recreational fishing is an overarching type of fishing that involves any number of techniques listed here, especially saltwater fishing and freshwater fishing.

Remote Control Fishing – picture a floating drone rather than a flying drone, with a fishing rod attached to it, and you get a good idea of what remote control fishing is all about.

Rock Fishing – a style of angling in which you are fishing off the edges of rocky jetties and cliffs. This is considered a highly dangerous type of fishing.

Saltwater Fishing – fishing in salt waters (oceans). Also called “tidal waters fishing”. To fish in salt waters in BC, you must get a tidal waters fishing licence.

Slabbing – used to catch bass, this line fishing technique involves constantly lifting and dropping a flat lead lure painted to look like a baitfish. To be most effective, the fishermen must first locate a school of fish using a fishfinder.

Spearfishing – refers to any form of fishing that involves impaling the fish using a spear on a long pole. Spearfishing is usually done in shallower waters when the fish are visible. It requires you to be quick and precise with your movements. You can spearfish off a boat or by wading into the water.

Spears can be simple or complex, ranging from bow and arrow style, harpoons, Hawaiian slings, trident-type spears, and modern spearguns:

  • Bowfishing: involves using a bow and arrow to kill fish in shallow water from above.
  • Harpooning: involves using a long spear-like tool often with barbs at the end.
  • Pole spears: involves using a sling attached to the spear.
  • Hawaiian slings: involves using a sling separate from the spear (slingshot or an underwater bow and arrow).
  • Tridents: tridents are spears with three prongs rather than a single prong.
  • Gigging: involves using small, trident-type spears to kill bullfrogs.
  • Pike Poles: an older form of spearfishing, particularly used during ice fishing. Instead of a spearhead, two smaller, curved spikes were used.
  • Spearguns: used for fishing and target practice, spearguns are deployed by divers underwater. There are threaded, lined, and break-away varieties.

Sportfishing – refers to fishing competitively to see who can catch the heaviest fish, or who can catch the most fish. Sport fishing often involves large cash prizes and bragging rights for the winner.

Surfcasting – refers to fishing from the shores of a saltwater beach. Surfcasting is a style of angling that requires a long surfcasting rod and the ability to cast a large distance.

Tenkara Fishing – a Japanese style of fly fishing (angling) that was first done with a bamboo pole and no reel. Modern tenkara fishing rods use a tapered or level line and are mostly telescopic and made of graphite.

Trapping – refers to the sinking of baited traps to the bottom of the seabed in the hopes fish swim into the trap. The traps resemble large cages and are commonly used for crab and lobster fishing.

Trawling – the process of dropping a large net off the side of a slow-moving boat called a trawler.

Trolling – a line fishing technique that involves slowly pulling one or more baited lines through the water. It can be done effortlessly off the side of a moving boat, or from land as you cast your line as far as you can and slowly reel the line back in.

Trotlining – trotlining is a line fishing technique that is a lot like droplining, but the trotline’s hooks are suspended horizontally in the water, rather than vertically. This fishing technique is good for fishing across rivers.

While we here are Van Isle Marina on Vancouver Island love a lazy afternoon of fishing from shore every now and then, we believe there’s no better feeling than reeling in a big one onto your motor yacht.

If you’re on the market for a new fishing boat, check out our selection of fishing boats for sale. We invite you to learn more about our yacht sales process or come and see our marina in Sidney, BC.

For tips on when to use lures or live bait, check out our Lures vs Live Bait debate.

No matter what style of fishing you love the most, when you eventually catch one or two, you’re going to have to know how to clean them to preserve their flavour.

See a style of fishing not mentioned here? Contact us and let us know!