Docking tips

Stu Jackson · Jul 18, 2010

Midship spring line. You say you already have it. See: http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/002688.php Scroll down.

Ted · Jul 18, 2010

As a last resort, you can install bow thrusters.

Alan · Jul 19, 2010

Trying to squeeze a 13'4" beam into a 14' wide slip is cutting things really tight. That doesn't even leave enough room for your bumpers. I would move to a more appropriately sized slip. Docking can be a challenge but you're trying to squeeze a size 10 foot into a size 9 slipper.

dscribner · Jul 19, 2010

I can't help you but I feel your pain! We trailer to a ramp about 1 1/4 miles up river from the coast. Going out is great but coming back to the dock it a little nerve racking. I CRAWL past the end of the dock then slowly turn the bow towards it. The current catches the keel and and rolls it over towards the dock. I have three bumpers: two that we hang from the toe rail and one that my wife birthed 18 years ago. I have a trailer sailer with a shoal keel but my mistress is 25 feet long, weighs 4000 lbs and has a 2'X7' keel hanging in the current.

What if you ran a taught line with a snatch block and snap shackle on it from the bow location of the dock to the stern location. Run a line thru the anchor cleat and clip it to the snap shackle. Now the boat can be backed out while remaining a contolled distance distance from the dock and your neighbor. You could run the line aft to the winches if you like and if it worked, a couple of fair leads would help.

cephius (Dave) · Jul 19, 2010

I agree with Alan. The slip is too small.

To deal with what you have you may just need to use more power than you are used to. This means coming in faster and reversing harder. None of that is safe, but it works. If you ever watched the staff move 40' to 60' boats at a charter base you realize how much rudder speed is needed for tight quarters. More than most of us are willing to use.

garyg · Jul 19, 2010

The slip is way too small. It is understandable you are having difficulties under every day conditions so on a day with adverse winds your situation will only be aggravated.

Deadline · Jul 19, 2010

Back in

The slip is wide enough. If anything, it will keep you from severe banging. Just install some batterboards to take the short blows at the pilings.

Sailors on the Cooper River in Charleston have considerable trouble backing out of their slips and recommend backing in when docking. The key of course is to play the wind and the current. The technique goes like this...

1. Approach the critical piling closely at low speed, 90 degrees.
2. Tighten the wheel brake slightly to keep it snug.
3. Go to neutral and let momentum carry you.
4. Within 10 feet, sharply tun wheel over for backlng down.
5. As the boat turns, momentum will take aft toward piling.
6. Power up to get as much boat inside the slip as possible.
7. Use the piling as a pivot (ie. push off on the other side, aft).
8. Straighten out the wheel.
9. Continue to power in, fending off from the aft.
10. Rev up within 12 inches to avoid hitting the aft.

Process takes 2 minutes or less, because you're using power to your advantage. It's less complicated and more intuitive than it sounds. May take a few times to master it, and the currents and wind will always differ. Think of it as a ballet or (more manly) a torridor mastering the bull.

captmikem · Jul 19, 2010

Think of the current as an asset, use it to help you, use that midship spring around a cleat on the dock and back to the boat, use it to control as you drive against it. And Practice practice practice... after a while you will not even think about it.

Ross · Jul 19, 2010

I have been docking a nine foot beam boat in a 14 foot wide slip for ten years. The slip opens to the north and I back in but when the wind is out of the west making the turn to back in is always tricky. The wind blows the bow off the turn when I stop to reverse. I have come to the point of just laying the boat across the slip opening and man handling her in when the wind is adverse. With the wind from any quarter but the west docking is a breeze and can be done with finesse.

OldDedHed · Jul 19, 2010

I do the same thing as Ross. The wind is almost always at a difficult angle for my slip, so I back in just close enough to dump a crew member who takes the midships spring line with them. It's a little more of a panicked ballet when I'm alone, but the principle is the same.

RichH · Jul 19, 2010

Two things that will aid in docking in such situations:

1. become a master at 'backing and filling' by learning how to do a 'pivot turn' under momentary or brief 'bursts' of HIGH engine power. A pivot turn will allow you to turn the boat using 'prop walk' solely/principally as the means to control the 'rotation' of the boat as it enters or leaves the slip. The USA Sailing website has videos on how to do a 'pivot turn' (backing and filling) ....www.videos.sailingcourse.com/pivot_turn.htm Just remember that using a pivot turn that 'most' boats with *right handed propellers* will only turn to PORT and you may need to do a U-turn in the fairway before you enter your slip - either the portside bow goes in first or the portside stern quarter goes in first. To make it easier, sometimes you must forego docking 'stern-to' to the dock and go 'bow-in'.

2. Add 'sissy lines' to your slip. These are simply lines tied along the sides of the slip spaces. When entering the dock have a short line with a large 'caribiner' attached - you enter the slip and quickly attach the caribiner to the sissy line on the side of the boat that current is COMING FROM. The combo of sissy line plus 'lanyard with caribiner' will hold the boat in place as you 'slide along the sissy line'.
For leaving such a slip .... just short 'doubled' line over the sissy line (dont use the caribiner), slide along the sissy line with the doubled-over line and when you get to the 'end' of the sissy line just 'let go' of the doubled line (one end of the doubled line still attached to the boat). You can also use the doubled line to 'wear' the boat to turn it AT the very end of the slip - good for very fast cross-wise currents IN the slip.

Id choose a standard (large) caribiner (from a mountain climbing shop) as they are 100X faster to use/apply than a 'snap-shackle', etc.

Plumper II · Jul 19, 2010

That is a very narrow slip. It sounds like an insurance claim waiting to happen. It would be difficult to park a car with only 4" on each side. I would find a better slip or hope that your neighbor wasn't there whenever returning. Getting out shouldn't be difficult. You can hand bomb the boat out most of the way. Good luck with getting in with a cross wind running.

John Krasnick · Jul 19, 2010

You mentioned a harness to keep from hitting your neighbor's boat. One of the boats in the marina where I dock has gone a step more and vreated a "V" with dock lines and his boat can only dock in properly. Just make sure you use the correct size line with little or no stretch.

Ross · Jul 19, 2010

My prop is in an apperture so the rudder is very close astern. I can put the rudder hard over and apply a short full throttle ahead thrust and kick the stern sideways without gaining forward movement. Then a full throttle astern run for a few seconds will serve for me if the wind isn't messing with me. It is quite a dance with the rudder and throttle and not a time to be distracted.

Bill Roosa · Jul 19, 2010

Need more info

IF you where to back into the slip you would come down the fairway (current direction please) and turn (lef or right please) to position the stern in the opening of the slip. also how strong are the currents and are you sheltered from the wind or not?

I'd have to agree that this is tight but I've done it before and it can be done without touching the bolards. Practice and understand propwalk, prop & rudder techniques, and realize that the boat pivot point going forward is not the same as when going astern.

PKFK · Jul 19, 2010

Let's try this with no pilings or finger docks.....

We also have problems - but more when the neighbors boats on both sides are not present.

Out setup at our club is strictly med-mooring.....no pilings or docks. Each boat docks bow-to the wall, with one stern buoy, plus a messenger line between each "slip". When you leave, you tie your stern lines to the Stbd messenger line for retrieval when you return.

The prevailing Wind, Current, and Prop Walk (RH prop) ALL add together to pull me hard to port when exiting my mooring, or slowing down when entering.

This is totally managable with myself and the admiral when we have at least one boat on either side of us (preferrably my PORT side neighbor).

HOWEVER - when both neighbors are out sailing, my return can be a nightmare - the admiral works the bow, but I have trouble tending the helm to apply "reverse" , AND grab the Starboard messenger line out of the water with the boat hook.....if I miss grabbing that line, our boat makes leeway to Port within about 3 seconds - and then I am hard against the Port messenger line - which means no power or I might suck those lines into the prop. No power means man-handling an 11,000 pound boat into position against wind and current....not fun.

We are thinking of a new approach when there is no boat to Port when returning:
- one person @ helm to stop the boat
- other person at midships ready to grab Starboard messenger line and hook it over the mid-ship cleat.
- once that is secured (preventing the dreaded drift to port over the neighbor's messenger lne) , then move boat forward to final position and deal with bow and stern lines.

What to you guys think ? Alternate suggestions are most welcome !

Plumper II · Jul 19, 2010

Of course it can be done, but it is a "hero to zero" type of situation. You sure don't want anything to go wrong. If it is really blowing you are always gonna need help from the dock. I am speaking of the original question here.

druid · Jul 19, 2010

Piece-o-cake! My marina operator doesn't understand trigonometry: he says there's 22 ft between the fingers. But the fingers are angled at 30 degrees, so the ACTUAL distance is about 19 ft. My boat is 9ft 3in wide, my neighbour is about 9ft or so. Yes, that means there's about 6 in TOTAL divided between my finger-to-my-boat, my-boat-to-his-boat, and his-boat-to-finger.

AND there's up to 2 knots of current AWAY from my finger. Last time I tried to get the boat stopped SOG with 2 knots of reverse, then swing her in before the current took over. That didn't work. I tried spinning the boat so my bow was pointing at my finger, but the current took over and pushed my bow into the other boat. Fortunately we hang gobs of bumpers...

Backing down the "aisle" and pointing at my finger won't work because there's usually about 10 knots of wind blowing down the aisle, and I couldn't keep it from pushing my bow off.

IF my other neighbour is gone (we all stick out from the finger), I might be able to "dock" on the end of the finger, perpendicular to it, then use the lines to swing her in.

Welcome to moorage in Vancouver!

druid