best practice docking procedure?

[bellnier]

After decades of sailing an O’Day Widgeon, I’m learning to sail my O’Day 22. Things like docking are much more complex. With the Widgeon I used to just reach out and flip a stern line around the dock cleat. My wife and I have had several very poorly executed dockings with her with the bow line and me with the stern line. If she hooks’ up the bow too quickly the stern moves away from the dock and I can’t reach my cleat. When I attempt to cleat the stern first the bow can move away from the dock. It’s embarrassing! We obviously need a better docking procedure. We’re now thinking that we should get close enough to the dock to have her step onto the dock with two spring lines in hand (one from the bow & one from the stern). It should be easier to work from the dock than the boat. How do you guys do it? What’s the best practice docking procedure?

 

[RECESS]

My wife is on the bow. I take it 90 degrees to the dock and turn right at the dock. She comes off the bow, in no big hurry, the stern slowly moves to the dock from the last second turn. She has enough time to cleat the bow and then move to the stern. I think when you come at the dock parallel is when the boats moves away too fast.

 

[Joe11688]

After decades of sailing an O’Day Widgeon, I’m learning to sail my O’Day 22. Things like docking are much more complex. With the Widgeon I used to just reach out and flip a stern line around the dock cleat. My wife and I have had several very poorly executed dockings with her with the bow line and me with the stern line. If she hooks’ up the bow too quickly the stern moves away from the dock and I can’t reach my cleat. When I attempt to cleat the stern first the bow can move away from the dock. It’s embarrassing! We obviously need a better docking procedure. We’re now thinking that we should get close enough to the dock to have her step onto the dock with two spring lines in hand (one from the bow & one from the stern). It should be easier to work from the dock than the boat. How do you guys do it? What’s the best practice docking procedure?

It's very tough to dock an O'Day 25 because of the high free board on those boats. Our boats are quite a bit easier to dock because they aren't too high off the water. For me personally, I find it easier to pull up to our dock under sail, step right off with the two lines and tie them off than motoring up to the dock. I'm by myself most of the time, so I have to do it alone regardless. My two braid dock lines are 24' long each. What I do is tie my bow line to the bow cleat and run the line outside of the lifeline rails to my stern rail and attach it to the rail with the "Highwayman's Hitch." I attach the stern line to the stern cleat on that side, and unhook the pelican hook for the life line so that I can step out of the cockpit and on to the dock with both lines in my hands. Usually, the wind is out of the Southwest when I am heading North toward our "T" dock which runs parallel with the river. I'm on a run with just the mainsail up and no Gennie. When I get to the dock, I turn her to Port and pull up along side of the dock with the bow headed into the wind and the sail luffing. This works for me. It takes some practice but after you have done it a lot, it becomes easy. My boat handles like a small day sailer, anyway. If you're not up to this right now, you should just take the sails down and motor to the dock into the wind or the current which ever is the strongest. The same way with shooting your mooring under sail or power. Approach it from into the wind. I use a 12' telescopic boat pole to pick up my mooring pendant line. I don't use a pickup stick because I don't like them. I have about four Styrofoam floats on my mooring pendant line and it's always floating. l run toward the mooring ball with my mainsail up, go past it a little and head up into the wind and coast to the mooring ball and pick up the line with the boat pole. If I miss, I try it again. I have more of a problem trying to motor up to the dock or the mooring ball on an extremely windy day. Such is life. I keep practicing every chance I get. It's good to be able to do that just in case your motor ever conks out and you have to do it. Here's a picture of the "Highwayman's Hitch." I use it to hold my swim ladder too.
Joe

 

[olsalt]

Give her a boathook (or use one yourself!) and go slowly.

 

[bellnier]

We don’t have a slip or mooring and keep our boat on the trailer at the pier parking lot with the mast stepped. We are getting lots of experience launching and docking. We did it much better yesterday. We drop the sails out in the harbor and motored up to the dock and went into reverse and stopped the boat along side the dock My wife stepped off with the two lines in hand and easily tied them first stern and then bow. My wife wasn’t too keen on jumping off the bow cause of the height and the rail. My real problem was going too fast. There are always people waiting to use the ramp so I tended to rush things. Now I completely stop the boat short of the dock and with idling motor bump it up to the dock. I have a lot to learn before I attempt to sail up to the dock. I’ll have to try that Highwayman's Hitch to tie off the bow line at the cockpit. I’m having a problem getting my boat positioned on the trailer properly but that’s another post

 

[OdayDave]

A couple of tips you may want to consider. If you have a side wind and are putting the boat on a trailer, dock so that the wind pushes the boat away from the dock. That way, it is easier to center the boat on the trailer by just easing the lines from the dock. Second, get trailer guides. These are relatively inexpensive and they work like a charm.

Dave
O'Day 222

 

[JonnyQuest]

My real problem was going too fast.... Now I completely stop the boat short of the dock and with idling motor bump it up to the dock.

Yep. First time back sailing after 20 years, I was told to dock slowly and THOUGHT I was going slow. Pretty hefty sideglancing crunch along the port side rubrail as I came into the slip. No damage but it was certainly a big wake up too. From now on I will come to a kreeping crawl so that the boat can be handled and guided in by the crew.

I like how Belnier describes his docking techniques.

 

[Indysailor]

Yep. First time back sailing after 20 years, I was told to dock slowly and THOUGHT I was going slow. Pretty hefty sideglancing crunch along the port side rubrail as I came into the slip. No damage but it was certainly a big wake up too. From now on I will come to a kreeping crawl so that the boat can be handled and guided in by the crew.

I like how Belnier describes his docking techniques.

I was taught that you can't go too slow and it really simplifies things. My wife and I have a pretty good routine of coming up to the dock at about 20 degrees, then swinging the stern around to bring the boat parallel to the dock. She steps off when we are within about a foot of the dock, wraps the bow line around a forward cleat, then walks the stern line to an aft cleat and snugs us up. Sometimes I step off and handle the stern line. It's a little game for us to see if we can actually get the boat to stop at the dock and it was initially very surprising how far the boat coasts. If we stop short of the dock, I usually scull forward, or I'll engage the outboard in forward to give it a goose.

There are lots of variations on this, depending on wind direction (no current here on an inland lake), so I would say we have about 3-4 different approaches. The key for us is to talk it out ahead of time and have everything ready- plan, dock lines, fenders- well before we are on our approach.

We rarely dock in a slip because our boat is on a ball, but when we do, we always try to find a place to go in forward because prop walk seems beyond my IQ to comprehend. The tricky part for me is making the turn to get the boat headed into the slip. We don't have a lot of room at our marina and it's basically a sharp turn to get parallel with the slip. Still, I try to do it without needing a nudge from the motor, but it usually requires a touch of reverse...or a much stronger spouse.

 

[bellnier]

The key for us is to talk it out ahead of time and have everything ready- plan, dock lines, fenders- well before we are on our approach.

Amen to that

 

[RECESS]

If it is not that windy out, I sail close to the dock and wag the rest of the way with the rudder. If we ran out of wind and motor in with no wind on the boat, I stop the motor so the boat will stop short of the dock and wag it in the last 20 feet with the rudder. My wife likes it much better. When it is windy, you have to have enough speed to cut through the wind pushing the boat.

 

[dparilla]

Spring Lines Rock!

If you go bow in first, Use a line run from the bow and hook the first cleat (outermost) on your slip as you enter. The line should be the length of the boat at least. Once, about 3/4 of the way in the slip, have her take a turn on your bow cleat and check the line there. keep a little way on and the boat will come to a stop with the stern slightly away from the dock. Turn your tiller hard away from the dock (as though you want to turn the bow away from the dock.) and give it a little (a touch) of gas. The stern will walk in to the pier slowly. If you enter stern first, rig the line stern and hook it to the outermost cleat on the dock. Back in slowly and then again, steer it way from the dock to swing the bow in. Works like a champ for us, even in tricky winds and current. anything under 15 knots and I can step out of the cockpit to the dock with the boat held fast at a stand still and single up the stern line, then walk forward and take the bow line from my wife. Otherwise, look at defender.com for a "dock catcher" it is a look that will keep your spring line tied to the dock but easy to grab with a boat hook. We used one on several different docks and it helped us get used to "lassoing the dock."

 

[bellnier]

Otherwise, look at defender.com for a "dock catcher" it is a look that will keep your spring line tied to the dock but easy to grab with a boat hook. We used one on several different docks and it helped us get used to "lassoing the dock."

I see the picture of 'the dock catcher' on the defender.com but I don't get it. It looks like something you mount to the dock to hold a line. How does this help you dock?

 

[dparilla]

That's exactly what it does. I put it by the outermost cleat to which the bow spring line is tied. As I come along side, i can use the boat hook to grab the coil off the flexible hook very easily. If I am singlehanding, I back in and take the line off the catcher and place it on the stern cleat (I have the line "custom" tied at the right length for my dock.) If I have a crew, I can come in bow first and accomplish the same thing. The dock catcher is flexible which makes it easy to grab the line off of it. Of course this is only good on my home dock, but it made for easy practice so that now going to other marinas, our confidence is way up. My wife is awesome using a boat pole to hook the dock cleat or a piling.