Backing into a slip while singlehanding a C30T

[longterm]

I just recently moved from a mooring to a slip in our yacht club; the improvement is tremendous--no more dinghies for me, easy access, 24/7 electric...

At any rate...

I would like to be able to back into my slip while singlehanding; I've watched the Maryland School of Sailing video on docking (it's available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoGMAEjiHmU), and while I did find it thorough and helpful, it didn't really address the inherent issues when singlehanding a 30' boat into a slip.

I've docked bow-in without too much trouble, but am hesitant to try to back into the slip without someone else either onboard or on the dock. Most of the time there's no one out on the dock to help, and I certainly can't count on having help.

Second, there are no pilings on these new docks; I tie up on my port side (a 2nd sailboat is beside me to my starboard side) and have 3 cleats on the dock, plus another on the dock's main runway that I use to tie up my starboard bow.

Does anyone have any wisdom on singlehanding into a slip like this? I have to be cautious of the boat next to me, naturally, and the current is almost always pushing me to starboard, so I've learned to come into the slip upwind a little, which usually gets me easily alongside my dock, but am wondering about how this will be when I start learning to back in (which is what I would prefer to do).

Wisdom appreciated; thanks,

Bob

 

[mortyd]

i wish you the best of luck. for me, getting into and out of a slip, especially in windy weather, was like hitting a major league curve ball. the instruction and the execution ain't the same. now i'm happlily back on a mooring, into the wind, tips for the launch boys, no ac current, and delighted.

 

[Rocket1]

I've had moderate success....

...backing our 340 into our slip when single-handing with the following procedure:

Prior to getting to our slip, I'll prep the bow and stern lines so that they are easy to grab once I'm standing on the dock. When I've got the boat about 1/2 way into our slip, I'll jump off and get the forward spring line cleated on the mid-ship cleat. This will stop my reverse momentum, and keep the stern from slamming into the dock. At the same time, I'll grab the bow line, which I have looped over the lifeline at the same location as the cleat where I just attached the spring line. Once I have the bow line cleated, I can exhale. Then I'll walk back and attach the stern spring line and both stern lines. Sounds like a lot, but when it works correctly the whole show only lasts about 30 seconds.

Now, I should qualify all of this by saying that I have yet to do this in the face of a significant cross wind or any other wildly adverse conditions. Our winds around here are fairly predictable during the summer, typically calming to less than 5 kts by early evening when I'm usually returning to the marina after an afternoon of sailing. In the event of snotty conditions, I have often thought that I could utilize the guest dock, which is wide open and would be very easy to moor up to single-handed - even in a strong wind. Then I could move back to my own slip when conditions improved. It's a nice option to have, one that I realize not everyone has.

As with anything related to docking, the advice that has been repeated on this forum many times will always hold true -

Practice, practice, practice. And then practice some more.

Cheers!

 

[kappykaplan]

Re: I've had moderate success....

I do much the same as Rocket1 when single handing. Forward spring is always the first line on my Pearson 37. I place a bit of white tape on the line - goes just forward of the mid-ship cleat, then tie a cleat hitch. Next line on is the aft spring. With those two lines on, I can secure the engine and get the rest of the lines in slow time. Last season (2013), I came in solo in a 15+ knot cross wind. No damage to me or the boat. And as Bob says, practice, practice, practice.

 

[sailorhokie]

Kappa hit the nail on the head, it's key to have midship cleat installed and ready with a quickly accessible break line. The ones that install on the genoa track work very well

Backing in is great but if the wind dictates go bow in

Grab a friend and practice it 20-50 times over and over

Josh

 

[boblufkin]

I had a 5' arm on the dock with a hook on it that held the bow, stern and spring lines. When pulling into the slip i just reached over and grabed what ever line in needed. The arm folds flat on the dock when not used. No jumping off a moving boat etc. Defender or West Marine should have them. I single handed my C 30 all the time this way.

 

[longterm]

Thanks for the comments; I've managed to dock bow-in by myself, just haven't tried to back in yet.

I'm going to get out there one morning when it's really calm, with no one around to watch me, and run some practice dockings. Unfortunately, in the afternoons we seem to get some current that pushes me away from the dock, towards the boat next to me, so I have to be really careful about drifting into that boat.

The video was helpful, but makes 2 assumptions that aren't useful at all to me: 1) we don't have pilings, and 2) I singlehand quite a bit.

I've got my lines set now so I can dock really fast--I leave the lines on the dock when I go out--but that's not going to help so much for singlehanded backing-in...

...backing our 340 into our slip when single-handing with the following procedure:

Prior to getting to our slip, I'll prep the bow and stern lines so that they are easy to grab once I'm standing on the dock. When I've got the boat about 1/2 way into our slip, I'll jump off and get the forward spring line cleated on the mid-ship cleat. This will stop my reverse momentum, and keep the stern from slamming into the dock. At the same time, I'll grab the bow line, which I have looped over the lifeline at the same location as the cleat where I just attached the spring line. Once I have the bow line cleated, I can exhale. Then I'll walk back and attach the stern spring line and both stern lines. Sounds like a lot, but when it works correctly the whole show only lasts about 30 seconds.

Now, I should qualify all of this by saying that I have yet to do this in the face of a significant cross wind or any other wildly adverse conditions. Our winds around here are fairly predictable during the summer, typically calming to less than 5 kts by early evening when I'm usually returning to the marina after an afternoon of sailing. In the event of snotty conditions, I have often thought that I could utilize the guest dock, which is wide open and would be very easy to moor up to single-handed - even in a strong wind. Then I could move back to my own slip when conditions improved. It's a nice option to have, one that I realize not everyone has.

As with anything related to docking, the advice that has been repeated on this forum many times will always hold true -

Practice, practice, practice. And then practice some more.

Cheers!