That's how we stop the boat most of the time. I'll slow the boat down as best I can by coasting and putting it in reverse with little to no throttle and then the spring line goes on to bring it to a halt. I should really find a spring line with some more stretch as the cleat is on a spinnaker track
Reinforcing stanchion
- Thread starter Project_Mayhem
- Start date
It's not a bad idea. I'll have to take a look at the deck layout to see if there's space
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,727
I found room with one of these.
I installed with a 1/4" Aluminum plate as a backing material
I installed with a 1/4" Aluminum plate as a backing material
I am a little late to this discussion so I will try to cover several items at once.
My boat is a C30 Mk2 so very simular in almost every way. In your first post you commented that the small screws were pulling out of the deck. On my Mk2, all of the stanchion bolts are thru-bolted. Some of them can be an absolut bugger to get the nut back on once you remove them for rebeding. I printed these nut holders just for doing this job. It hold the nut captive until the threads come all the way through the nut and then the threads push the holder off.
I had two screws that were completely impossible to get the nuts back on without cutting out significant access holes inside the boat and that was not acceptable. In those cases, I drill the holes out larger and epoxied in knurled brass ferrules so that the screws were attached to brass threads strongly anchored into the toe rails.
I have a midship cleat that I use for my spring line that is at the widest part of the boat.
I used to use the midship cleat when docking but found that it would turn the bow into the dock when used to stop the boat because it was too far forward. I now use a dock line that has the loop dropped over the primary winch. From this location, a line dropped over the back end of the dock cleat will form a single line tie that perfectly balances the boat parallel to the dock. When I am single handing or with experienced crew, I use a line with two loops and 6' between the ends. with one loop on the winch and the other loop on the stern dock cleat, I can then bump the boat into forward and it will pull against that line and the balance between the line and the prop will pull the boat over against the dock and stay there with no other lines as long as the engine is running.
With less experienced crew, I will use dock line over the winch and tell them that their job is to hook that line around the back end of the stern dock cleat and pull on it when I tell them to. With new crew, before I go into the marina, I tell any crew that will be leaving the boat "Your job is to step off the boat and pull on the line when I tell you to. You are never to jump from the boat because that will push the boat away from the dock. You are only to pull on the line in your hand and not touch the boat. If you try to pull on the boat instead of the line, you will be leaning too far over the water and likely will fall in. You are not to push to boat away from the dock because the whole point of docking is to touch the dock and the reason I have all of those nice fat fenders out there is to protect the side of the boat from the dock and they do a much better job at much lower pay. If I am not close enough to the dock for you to step [NOT JUMP], I will back out and approach again."
I then tell them a story about one time when a crew disregarded this order and jumped off just as we got close, stumbled and when headfirst into the 50º water between the dock and the boat next to me. In the time it took him to finish his plunge, turn around and reach the surface, I had backed down to a stop, stepped off the boat, picked up the dock line he had dropped and have my other hand ready to grab his and haul him up on deck. Between his chattering teeth, he said, "I guess I shouldn't have jumped." Ya think!!!!
My boat is a C30 Mk2 so very simular in almost every way. In your first post you commented that the small screws were pulling out of the deck. On my Mk2, all of the stanchion bolts are thru-bolted. Some of them can be an absolut bugger to get the nut back on once you remove them for rebeding. I printed these nut holders just for doing this job. It hold the nut captive until the threads come all the way through the nut and then the threads push the holder off.
I had two screws that were completely impossible to get the nuts back on without cutting out significant access holes inside the boat and that was not acceptable. In those cases, I drill the holes out larger and epoxied in knurled brass ferrules so that the screws were attached to brass threads strongly anchored into the toe rails.
I have a midship cleat that I use for my spring line that is at the widest part of the boat.
I used to use the midship cleat when docking but found that it would turn the bow into the dock when used to stop the boat because it was too far forward. I now use a dock line that has the loop dropped over the primary winch. From this location, a line dropped over the back end of the dock cleat will form a single line tie that perfectly balances the boat parallel to the dock. When I am single handing or with experienced crew, I use a line with two loops and 6' between the ends. with one loop on the winch and the other loop on the stern dock cleat, I can then bump the boat into forward and it will pull against that line and the balance between the line and the prop will pull the boat over against the dock and stay there with no other lines as long as the engine is running.
With less experienced crew, I will use dock line over the winch and tell them that their job is to hook that line around the back end of the stern dock cleat and pull on it when I tell them to. With new crew, before I go into the marina, I tell any crew that will be leaving the boat "Your job is to step off the boat and pull on the line when I tell you to. You are never to jump from the boat because that will push the boat away from the dock. You are only to pull on the line in your hand and not touch the boat. If you try to pull on the boat instead of the line, you will be leaning too far over the water and likely will fall in. You are not to push to boat away from the dock because the whole point of docking is to touch the dock and the reason I have all of those nice fat fenders out there is to protect the side of the boat from the dock and they do a much better job at much lower pay. If I am not close enough to the dock for you to step [NOT JUMP], I will back out and approach again."
I then tell them a story about one time when a crew disregarded this order and jumped off just as we got close, stumbled and when headfirst into the 50º water between the dock and the boat next to me. In the time it took him to finish his plunge, turn around and reach the surface, I had backed down to a stop, stepped off the boat, picked up the dock line he had dropped and have my other hand ready to grab his and haul him up on deck. Between his chattering teeth, he said, "I guess I shouldn't have jumped." Ya think!!!!
I used the winch technique on my ODay 25 but I suspect that the C30 is too long for this. It's 4-6' longer than the dock. I don't have a toe rail unfortunately. I'll double check to see if the small screws are through bolted but I doubt they are. I don't see any reason why I couldnt make that happen.I am a little late to this discussion so I will try to cover several items at once.
My boat is a C30 Mk2 so very simular in almost every way. In your first post you commented that the small screws were pulling out of the deck. On my Mk2, all of the stanchion bolts are thru-bolted. Some of them can be an absolut bugger to get the nut back on once you remove them for rebeding. I printed these nut holders just for doing this job. It hold the nut captive until the threads come all the way through the nut and then the threads push the holder off.
View attachment 235557
I had two screws that were completely impossible to get the nuts back on without cutting out significant access holes inside the boat and that was not acceptable. In those cases, I drill the holes out larger and epoxied in knurled brass ferrules so that the screws were attached to brass threads strongly anchored into the toe rails.
View attachment 235558
I have a midship cleat that I use for my spring line that is at the widest part of the boat.
View attachment 235559
I used to use the midship cleat when docking but found that it would turn the bow into the dock when used to stop the boat because it was too far forward. I now use a dock line that has the loop dropped over the primary winch. From this location, a line dropped over the back end of the dock cleat will form a single line tie that perfectly balances the boat parallel to the dock. When I am single handing or with experienced crew, I use a line with two loops and 6' between the ends. with one loop on the winch and the other loop on the stern dock cleat, I can then bump the boat into forward and it will pull against that line and the balance between the line and the prop will pull the boat over against the dock and stay there with no other lines as long as the engine is running.
With less experienced crew, I will use dock line over the winch and tell them that their job is to hook that line around the back end of the stern dock cleat and pull on it when I tell them to. With new crew, before I go into the marina, I tell any crew that will be leaving the boat "Your job is to step off the boat and pull on the line when I tell you to. You are never to jump from the boat because that will push the boat away from the dock. You are only to pull on the line in your hand and not touch the boat. If you try to pull on the boat instead of the line, you will be leaning too far over the water and likely will fall in. You are not to push to boat away from the dock because the whole point of docking is to touch the dock and the reason I have all of those nice fat fenders out there is to protect the side of the boat from the dock and they do a much better job at much lower pay. If I am not close enough to the dock for you to step [NOT JUMP], I will back out and approach again."
I then tell them a story about one time when a crew disregarded this order and jumped off just as we got close, stumbled and when headfirst into the 50º water between the dock and the boat next to me. In the time it took him to finish his plunge, turn around and reach the surface, I had backed down to a stop, stepped off the boat, picked up the dock line he had dropped and have my other hand ready to grab his and haul him up on deck. Between his chattering teeth, he said, "I guess I shouldn't have jumped." Ya think!!!!
The best approach to docking is to stay calm. You have time to react to mishaps. After the springline is hooked, the bow will bounce and then come close to the dock so you can get the dock line on the front cleat. I usually walk at a normal pace on the dock. There's enough time
Sometimes its a little too fast and sometimes I have to pop it back into gear to get it all the way in or regain steerage. I almost always use a speed over water knotmeter to help judge speed. There's certain landmarks that I try to be at certain speeds when I pass them. Coming off the main fairway I like to be at 2-2.5kts and no faster than 1kts for the final run to the slip. Any faster is too fast and much slower I don't have enough momentum to make it
Here's a map with my typical route. The docks shift around so angles and distances change from day to day. Sometimes the docks are only 10' apart. No currents. Winds are usually under 5kts
Hmmm, trying to understand - can you show me your docked boat on this graph?
dj
I think you have the same toe rail that I have. Maybe I should have called it a min-bulwark. On the edge of the C30 deck is a 1" high by 1" wide raised lip that the 1/2" bolt for the stanchion bolts through. I mounted my midship cleat to the top of that. Here is a video link showing a method very similar to mine.
My aft dock cleat is about even with the front stanchion of the pushpit which is about 3-4 feet forward of the transom. I found the balance point by loosening the regular dock lines and experimenting with a line from that cleat to the winch until I found the perfect length for my boat and dock combo. For me, the line needs to be one full span of my arms or about 6'. YMMV. If your stern dock cleat is too far forward, you can rig a stern/midship cleat loop line. With this method, you use a long dock line. put the loop around the stern cleat, run the end through the eye of your midship cleat and then back to a single turn around a winch. To dock you toss the length of line which is between the stern and midship cleats over the stern dock line. This makes a bridal from your stern cleat, around the dock cleat and back to the midship cleat. This way, the midship cleat is in position to stop the forward movement of the boat and the stern cleat prevents the stern from kicking out. you control the length at the winch. This can all be done without leaving the boat. @jssailem had a very nice video of this method but I cannot seem to find it.
Interesting dock arrangement. I have never seen anything like it before.
Attachments
I would be in one of these two spots. It all depends on which way the wind was blowing that day. Sometimes my slip faces land and sometimes it faces the other floating dock
My aft cleat is under the pulpit where the useless sugar scoop starts. 6ish feet works well for a springline connected to the midship cleat. If I'm solo docking I'll put two loops in the line - one for the dock cleat and one for my boat hook. It's easier to handle and I'm less likely to have a boat hook try to harpoon me. If I do a single loop, the boat hook ends up an odd downward angle and is likely to get stuck between the line and dock cleat while me and the boat are still moving forward
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,727
Here is the post I shared
And here is a link to the video.
Winter Cruising Question
BTW, there’s a new pub, the Gateway Taphouse and Grill, that opened on Peace Portal Drive there in Blaine in December. Great spot; I visited it recently on their opening weekend. Make a nice “weekend” to come to Blaine, visit the pub for lunch (winter service) and/or other nice spots, load the...
forums.sailboatowners.com
And here is a link to the video.
And you don’t think a rope tied off to the end of the dock (assuming there is a cleat out there), and a loop to put over a cabin top winch can be shortened enough to stop you before you hit the dock?
A midship cleat may be better positioned, but it is a heck of a lot harder to secure if you are coming in single-handed. getting a loop over the cabin-top winch is easy-peasey
Greg
A midship cleat may be better positioned, but it is a heck of a lot harder to secure if you are coming in single-handed. getting a loop over the cabin-top winch is easy-peasey
Greg
Star docks…. We had some in my marina south of Chicago until they put in new docks and got rid of the star docks.
Greg
I never thought of using cabintop winches. I'm curious if dodgers or stanchions get in the way
Wow, no wonder I couldn't envision this - I've never seen such an arrangement - do you always get the same slip even though it may move around?
dj