Docking in a slip

Stu Jackson · Sep 2, 2013

Practice, practice, practice.

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5445.15.html

Good luck.

Eddie7045 · Sep 2, 2013

Slow, slower, slowest. For maneuvering very slow

run at idle and shift in and out of gear. This method is absolutely necessary for making a slow turn with a boat that has an outdrive unit as power is essential for turning. Going in and out of gear give you a very low speed while providing bursts of power for steerage

Mike8271 · Sep 2, 2013

Maintain steerage, but go slow. Have a stern dock line set to hook, and the first couple stockings have somebody on the dock to assist stopping the boat. Once you know what to expect it is actually fun docking. Then just keep practicing.

FastOlson · Sep 2, 2013

Eddie7045 said:
run at idle and shift in and out of gear. This method is absolutely necessary for making a slow turn with a boat that has an outdrive unit as power is essential for turning. Going in and out of gear give you a very low speed while providing bursts of power for steerage

Great advice!
And then there's the old adage about never approaching the dock faster than you can *afford* to hit it....

Scotty C-M · Sep 2, 2013

Ditto all the above. Also look at YouTube. Search for docking and you will find lots of good information. One example is to use a midship cleat to spring to the back of the dock.

higgs · Sep 2, 2013

Don't get worked up over this. You will be fine. Since it is a sheltered slip where you don't have to deal with wind or current you have an easy approach that you will handle just fine. Have a couple deck hands and go slow enough that those deck hands can fend you off if you get in trouble, which probably won't happen.

sailcruiser · Sep 2, 2013

You need dock lines, fenders, and chafe protection for sure.

Suggested additions might include a fender board and a midship line to make things easier.

Take it slow and don't be afraid to stop and make another approach if you aren't comfortable. Don't have people especially you jumping off the boat to catch. If you single hand there is a way to tie a Y in the slip to help catch you as well.

SC

neilmcc · Sep 2, 2013

If it's as calm as you say then you will have a bit of time to prepare and time to recover if things go astray as long as you don't approach too fast.
It looks like you should place fenders on the dock side of your boat and also on the other side to allow for any contact with the other boat in the gap.
You will be a bit smaller than the Searay so you should have plenty space.
Try to find a similar dock space without any other boats and practice there first.
Take into account the direction of prop walk in forward and astern as small bursts of throttle cause the stern to head off in a direction of it's own.
Where you place your crew with ropes depends on how many there are and how agile they are.
Once secured initially you will have lots of time to sort out fore and aft lines and spring line to keep everything safe.

Deadline · Sep 3, 2013

About your lines

New boaters are often anxious about how tight to tie the lines. The solution is elegantly simple: Emulate the boats around you for slack. Simply observe the curve of their lines at any given tide and replicate it on your boat. Voila.

Rich (P303) · Sep 3, 2013

Good thing there is no current or wind (or tide?)! THAT IS TIGHT! If you had a cleat midship (line attached), you could make up a spring line with a loop and drop it over the rear upright on the dock when you went by... preventing the bow/anchor from crashing into the dock.

All U Get · Sep 3, 2013

Hi Richie,
I was on a delivery of a new boat and for practice the captain pulled the boat bow in to a mooring ball to within a boat length away. He then spun around so that the stern was toward the ball maintaining the same boat length from the ball. Then he turned the opposite direction until the bow was head-on to the ball.
For more practice he pulled beyond the ball on the starboard, crabbed sideways to leave the ball to port, then backed down until he could crab back to the original spot. Kinda like square dancing. This practice made docking a lot easier.

All U Get

Rob2435 · Sep 3, 2013

Go slow and don't worry if you have to abort your attempt. If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't, trying to force docking doesn't usually end up well. Nobody really cares about the number of attempts it takes to make it into the slip.

Anonymous 121765 · Sep 3, 2013

Slip

Richie,

Just my opinion, but that's not a very good slip pal. Looks as if the marina owner squeezed this closet size slip out of greed. This slip is well suited to the power boat there now. Sailboats have different limitations.

A couple problems to keep in mind:

I see by the poles you have tidal changes. I do see the slip width will have you riding bumpers. The slip width doesn't look like you have enough horizontal room for vertical up-n-down movement from tides.

No real clearance room from the neighboring boat. Never trust the line sets from neighboring boats. I will guarantee you two will bump.

As docking will be new to you, another problem I see is having to angle both your approach & backing out. Note the skiff at the dock behind you.

I don't know pal, but it just doesn't look like the right setup for you. There's got to be a better slip, it's worth it paying alittle more for a better slip & for peace of mind.

These are just my personal thoughts pal.........

CR

rgranger · Sep 3, 2013

sailcruiser said:
You need dock lines, ...

SC

Also called spring lines. Do a google search for spring lines. I found and read a very goo article a few months back... and I even used some of the advice the very next time I was out. A well trained crew with a spring line can help you maneuver around tight turns, etc. Some really neat tricks in that article.

weinie · Sep 3, 2013

captnron said:
Richie,

Just my opinion, but that's not a very good slip pal. Looks as if the marina owner squeezed this closet size slip out of greed. This slip is well suited to the power boat there now. Sailboats have different limitations.

A couple problems to keep in mind:

I see by the poles you have tidal changes. I do see the slip width will have you riding bumpers. The slip width doesn't look like you have enough horizontal room for vertical up-n-down movement from tides.

No real clearance room from the neighboring boat. Never trust the line sets from neighboring boats. I will guarantee you two will bump.

As docking will be new to you, another problem I see is having to angle both your approach & backing out. Note the skiff at the dock behind you.

I don't know pal, but it just doesn't look like the right setup for you. There's got to be a better slip, it's worth it paying alittle more for a better slip & for peace of mind.

These are just my personal thoughts pal.........

CR

yup.
your prop walks gonna pull your stern right into that skiff.

barnstormer · Sep 3, 2013

Seeing that you have a 22 ft catalina I think you can maneuver enough to get in that slip but its going to be tight. Read Chapmans chapters about docking to give you info on the physics involved to prepare yourself and practice,practice,practice.

THECUSCUS · Sep 3, 2013

Best docking advice I ever got was, "don't forget reverse is a speed too!". Don't be afraid to use it to slow down. It looks like your boat should have an outboard, dont forget you can steer with that also, both going in and coming out. Practice motoring in reverse and steering with the tiller & outboard together.

shemandr · Sep 3, 2013

I'm with Higgs on this. You'll be able to drive the boat right in. If you can pick up a mooring you can dock this boat.
Remember the sailboat has a large rudder and maintains steerage at very low speed. Put a line with a loop on the dock that you can easily reach from the port side of your boat, that to go to a midship cleat if you have one, or a primary winch or something. As you enter the slip grab that line and secure it. It will stop the boat and bring you right into the dock. You can leisurely secure the other lines.
Leaving should be matter of some reverse on the outboard (A good blast and then neutral), rudder to the right and it should easily back out. We do this on a Seafarer 23 which has a outboard without reverse. We just push it back with a good bobsled push and it easily clears the slip and then some until we can engage the outboard in forward. We do it all with the rudder. Clean bottom helps.
I love TMH!

Docking in a slip

.

Attachments

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.