Backing a sailboat into a slip

[Dave602]

Ed we just got our 29.5 this year and our slip has a short finger pier. If I didn't back in I would have to lug all our stuff from the bow back to the cock pit or lower down a hatch. It was a big step up from our little 22 with an outboard and tiller. The first couple of week ends it was like Crque du Soleil. We caused quite a commotion. But we have very friendly folks at the marina that only offered encouragement and help with lines, catching etc. Main thing you will notice in the posts above is "PRACTICE". Don't get discouraged. I found a Chapman's Piloting book and found a great hint. Using full starboard rudder will counter act the prop walk some. I have gotten pretty proficient in all but high cross winds that blow the bow around. But using prop walk to port and having the wheel full starboard will help control the bow with forward and reverse thrust. We have a port side approach so prop walks works to my advantage most of the time. On more that one occasion we have pulled up and walked it around the piling to get in the slip beating up the rub rails a little but she got in. Don't get discouraged above all the more you do it the better you will understand how she will react and it will get easier and easier. We get more comments now from others who won't even try what we do.

Good Luck!

 

[Stu Jackson]

Maybe we need to define "PRACTICE."

Yup, it's all well and good to learn how your boat move in open water. That's the place to start.

But most people only go out of and back into their slips ONCE an outing.

By practice, I believe we all mean this: take a day, or at least an hour, and do it, then do it over, then do it over and over again.

The repetition won't hurt, you'll probably get pretty good at it, too.

Yeah, so you miss a day or a half a day sailing.

What's it worth to you?

 

[dparilla]

Tons of Advice:

Here is a list of tips that I use:

First off fenders are your friends. Use them to save the gel coat when the inevitable botched approach occurs to late for a graceful waveoff. If you always approach the dock no faster than you want to hit it, you will be fine.

Next, get in open water and experiment with how the boat reacts in reverse. I routinely teach by backing to a float.

Anytime in close quarters, live in neutral using thrust to adjust, then back to neutral.
Most boats will walk to port in reverse, so use this to your advantage and back with a port turn required.

Sometimes, you may be unable to swing the bow into the wind unless you have sufficient speed on and that may be too much speed for the approach. Until you are comfortable with your boat's backing characteristics, try to back into the wind. If the wind is blowing you into the slip it will take a bit more effort to swing or center the bow.

If you have to, turn around in the open water and then back down the fairway. It may look funny, but you will have time to get a feel for the winds.

Don't second guess the boat, if it wants to do a 270 to get in, sometimes you have to go with it.

Turn in forward gear using your rudder as a deflector... When backing to starboard, put the rudder hard to port and give a pulse of forward gear to start the bow moving to port as the stern pivots to starboard. As soon as it responds (only a second of thrust) go to idle then reverse and shift the rudder hard to starboard. Count to 3 and return to neutral. Repeat slowly gaining momentum in reverse. (Reverse the directions for a turn to port, but remember the stern will swing to port quickly so you will need forward and port to check the swing.)

Until the boat is moving, the rudder only works as a deflector, by leaving it amidships and giving little pulses of reverse followed by neutral, you can increase your sternway while using rudder and forward gear to check the swing.

Putting the rudder hard to starboard to stop a port walk will not have the desired effect in reverse until you have some way on. A few seconds reverse thrust, then neutral and right rudder will help you get going aft. With enough speed, the rudder will turn you, and if you need a last second twist, use forward gear.

Try to use the wind to turn the bow. If, as I back down the fairway, the wind is off the bow, I can use it to help swing the bow to align with the slip. If the winds are blowing out the fairway, I will drive in bow first and again use the winds to swing the bow into alignment.

Finally, don't over-anticipate. Wait until the stern quarter is in line with where you want to stop before you turn. Too often I see people start the turn early and overswing the bow ending up a bit short of the slip. I wait until my stern quarter is past the piling or finger pier of my slip to make my cut, and usually I use a few pulses of forward against the rudder to make the turn. This has the added benefit of stopping me in the slip so I can grab the stern line on the dock or my wife can hook the forward spring line.

Relax and approach slowly, and don't be afraid to wave off and try again. A repeat performance accompanied by a few laughs is much better than the all too frequent "shout and crash (dinner and a show??)" that I see in alot of marinas. And remember, we have all gooned it up on at least one...or in my case many occasions.

Hope this helps.I can also recommend the book "7 Steps to Successful Boat Docking" http://www.amazon.com/7-Steps-Succe...1131/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307125473&sr=8-1

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Wondering ...

how common is it that the prop shaft is off-center? Mine is set to the port side of centerline. The engine is centered but cocked just enough so that the shaft exits the hull just a few inches (or less) to the port side.

I've thought of 2 reasons for this: the shaft can be removed without pulling the rudder. It eliminates prop walk. It's true, I do not have prop walk on my boat (I often wish that I had prop walk to pull in to a dock when maneuvering).

 

[patrickfarley]

I cheat. I made my outboard mount double wide. I have a Johnson 10hp and a 52pound thrust electric motor. When I want to get somewhere I use the Johnson. When I want to back into my slip I use the electric.
With the electric I can sit in one spot, turn or move in any direction. I have total control of the boat with the electric. I don't have to keep popping in and out of gear with the electric and it is very quiet. I can talk to my girls and they don't think that I am yelling at them to tie a line. I keep it under the hatch in the cockpit with the spare anchor. I pull it out when it is too windy or there is a lot of traffic. I am putting in a trolling motor plug so I don't have to move the battery each time.
I makes backing into a slip so easy that it seems like cheating.

 

[Stu Jackson]

how common is it that the prop shaft is off-center? Mine is set to the port side of centerline. The engine is centered but cocked just enough so that the shaft exits the hull just a few inches (or less) to the port side.

Scott, pretty rare, but there are a LOT of them out there. Your advantages & disadvantages list is very appropriate.

 

[woodster]

how common is it that the prop shaft is off-center? Mine is set to the port side of centerline. The engine is centered but cocked just enough so that the shaft exits the hull just a few inches (or less) to the port side.

I've thought of 2 reasons for this: the shaft can be removed without pulling the rudder. It eliminates prop walk. It's true, I do not have prop walk on my boat (I often wish that I had prop walk to pull in to a dock when maneuvering).

dont know about the rest of the boats but my 9.2 has an offset to port as you described ...that is good info about the offset.... its very good to know

regards

woody

 

[Winkfish]

I can talk to my girls and they don't think that I am yelling at them to tie a line.

What fun is sailing if you can't maniacally yell at people??

 

[jeb21851]

You can ignore the advice about taking it slow and easy backing into the slip, but the first time that you slam into the pier with your stern and do major damage to your boat because you were going fast and something went wrong when you tried to stop or slow down, you will then recognize the wisdom of the advice. This comes from ten years as a deck officer in the merchant marines on cargo ships where we had to dock in ports without the benefit of tugs! You don't have to make a perfect "landing" just get her in there close enough to get some lines ashore to finish the job!

 

[kappykaplan]

Re: Wondering ...

The prop on my Pearson is offset to port - I believe the designer wanted us to be able to remove the prop shaft without removing the rudder.

That being said, I concur whole heartedly with the advice in this thread. I've been reversing in to my slip for more than three years now, and it took me almost that long to get really good at it. Mooring evolutions should put folks to sleep - go slow!

 

[seadaddler]

Practice

Try practicing by going in open water and backing up and getting the feel of how your boat handles in reverse,the more you do it the better you will get the feel.
I back in my 2007 H-36 always and the more I do it the better I do it,yes you do need to get the speed up to get the boat moving in reverse and being able to control the steering,and try getting the boat straight going in reverse and once you get her moving and control the steering than you can slow the movement in reverse but in wind and or current keep her moving and than use forward to stop her from hitting the dock.
I have covered the pilings with old carpet and tell my crew to keep their hands and arms in away from the poles and rather hit the boat on the poles instead of them hurting their body parts but I am pretty good at backing in and just need some one to tie off the bow.
Nick

 

[dparilla]

Fixing Fenders and gelcoat are easy...smashed fingers are another story, as are piling splinters.

 

[NY1T]

I am new. I spent a few hours practicing backing, stopping, turning. It helped. The boat will walk to port initially when backing, until you get enough speed for the rudder to overcome the walk. It doesn't take much.

You can use this to advantage to turn the boat around. If the back swings to port, the front swings to starboard. Steer to starboard, put it in reverse and bring up RPM's. The boat will swing in place. As soon as it starts backing, decrease RPM shift to forward and bring up the RPM. It will continue to swing. When it starts to move forward, repeat. You can rotate on the keel.

After practicing, I was able to back the boat down the row and turn into the slip in reverse. I got a lot of compliments. People thought I was a pro.

Also, try stopping the boat with the wind on the bow. Then try with the wind on the stern. The boat will be more stable here.

Galen S/V NoSerfing