BERS ~ Bowline Easy Retrieval System
For those familiar and very used to the Mediterranean 'Med-Mooring' or 'Stern-to' method of docking a boat, maybe you have already asked yourself the question, how to retrieve and attach a bowline, with no side decks on an EkoKat to walk along whilst grappling with the lazy line? It is a good question and we have a very good answer!
Enter the custom-made BERS. Bowline Easy Retrieval System. Initially developed specifically for EkoKat, the realisation soon followed that such a system is actually a very welcome one for any type of boat - with or without side decks. Anyone that has visited many a Mediterranean marina or town quay will know, lazy lines are often sat on the seabed in dirty sludge, sand (and goodness knows what else), for long periods of time, and in some marinas are rarely changed for new ones as the years go by.
This results in an annoyingly dirty boat, dirty hands, and also often razor sharp cuts and scratches because the rope is covered in barnacles. There is nothing worse than a filthy lazy line! BERS makes this dirty and annoying job fun and easy, ensuring the 'lucky individual' given bowline duty, only needs to actually take hold of the lazy line right at the front of the boat, the cleanest part, as it connects into the bowline itself, and for the last few 'pulls' to bring the yacht away from the dock.
Imagine. You are approaching the marina and it is 'fender and line duty time'
The person with the bowline job takes position, this time on the bow of the boat. They take out the BERS from the storage locker, which simply comprises of a length of thin line with a small carabiner on one end and a large weighted carabiner on the other. The larger of the two has a series of carbon fibre wheels around its larger end to allow free flow of the lazy line that will run through it. You can pretty much work out the rest yourself with the aid of this Giff and diagrams.
It works effortlessly, takes minutes, and ensures no dirty side decks (not that an EkoKat has or wants any), no cuts and scratches from barnacle-ridden lazy lines, and no scrambling along the side decks - pulling and tugging and trying to avoid touching it using a boat hook or wearing gloves (we've all been there!). The large carabiner's weight keeps it pretty much along the seabed until you pull it up, and the wheels ensure the smooth flow of the lazy line even if it has knots in it. If for any reason you do find yourself battling with tangled fenders, push the boat adjacent to you away from the bow, cockpit or through the salon windows.
The person on bowline duty simply pops up to the flybridge with the BERS once the small carabiner is attached to the railing, passes it around the roof supports, and then down to someone in the cockpit who is ready to fish out the lazy line with a boat hook and attach the large carabiner. Then just haul it along and up!
FENDERS: Whilst on the subject of docking the boat. EkoKat stores 3 port and starboard fenders (and lines) neatly and out of sight on the bow in dedicated lockers, 3 under the flybridge sun pad, and 3 in the cockpit lockers. Midship fenders are simply attached, lowered and adjusted from the cleats on the sides of the flybridge.
When on the surface it may have seemed that a full beam boat may present problems with Med-mooring, it in fact turns out to far from the case and with newly discovered tools and benefits!
BUY BERS - With BERS being suited for monohulls as well as Power Catamarans, EkoKat
have decided to sell them separately via the EkoShop.