Docking

[Don Guillette]

Shipmates: I was at lake Havasu, AZ last week where I watched a sail boat dock in a double wide slip. I was sitting on the bar deck having a "tinny" (beer in Australia)when a sailboat, which is rare in a sea of power boats, approached the dock. It was a bit windy and I could just tell what was going to happen next - I told my wife to watch this - she thinks I'm a mind reader!! The sailor makes a nice landing and jumps off and starts holding on to the safety lines, while yelling at his wife to get the dock lines. Just about then a gust of wind hits the boat and he loses his hold and the boat now drifts into the middle of the slip and out of the slip. Next, the wife frantically tries to throw him a short length of what looks like clothes line. The line was all balled up and never reached him. Finally, a power boater came to the rescue and towed the boat to the slip. Probably, you have all witnessed this scene (maybe you have done that yourself once or twice - I have!!) and it so easy to avoid. Here's what you should do. When you are approaching the dock, first decide which side you are going to land on and take about 2 minutes to rig you bow and stern line. Run them back to cockpit and losely tie them to the safety line or stanchion where you are going to step off. The idea is to have them in hand when you step off the boat. That way you are in complete control of the boat instead of it controlling you. Now you can consentrate on docking. When you step off the boat the first thing you want to do is "snub" (take one lose wrap) the bow line on the dock cleat. That snub will allow you to stop the boat very easily. Now you can leisurely secure the boat and look very nautical in the process.

 

[Steve O.]

oh yeah

One of our favorite pastimes at our marina is to sit at the launch ramp and watch the circus. Too many stories to tell here, but how anybody can launch or dock a boat without dock lines is beyond me, but I see it happen everyday. (We call these people "pier huggers") It's always funny when somebody goes in the drink, and usually no one gets hurt, but the potential hazard is great. BTW, the technique you describe using the bow line is called a "spring line."

 

[Debra B]

easier to get a breast line on first

Tie a line from a mid-ship cleat to the dock.if you rig lines ahead of time make damn sure they don't end up in the water - to foul your prop.Real lines should be available before you are in the marina. make sure they aren't tangled.

 

[Franklin]

30 kts beam

My dock neighbor has told me of a story about a time he had to dock alone his 34' Freedom. He has his lines all ready but one time he got hit with 30+ kts from his port side and he was trying to hold onto both the stern line and the bow line and he couldn't....was too strong. He says that in those cases, you gotta tie the closest one first and then do the other. If only all docks had a mid-ship cleat.

 

[Rick Webb]

How I've Done It

My bow sping line stays on the boat in fact on the bow cleat. I pull it snug to the aft cleat and tie it off. When I pull into a slip I can secure the bow and the stern without even standing up.

 

[Andy]

Spring not bow for me

DonI like your story and have seen some poor seamanship myself. I do not agree with your plan of bow line first, I have a 33 (so a medium size) but I swear by a spring line first, followed by stern and bow. I have a tight slip (2 feet not including fenders between me and my neighbor) and I have not had any problems.Just a thought.

 

[Mark7500]

Docking a C400 singlehanded

I thought I'd put in my 2 cents worth as I certainly have struggled with this problem. I have a beamy C400 which has generous freeboard to catch the wind at the wrong time. In Corpus, the average afternoon wind is 15 to 20, so I have had ample opportunity to come up with docking solutions, prompted by the fact that I often sail alone.My first slip was upwind of the main dock and downwind of the finger so I would get blown away from the cleats quite rapidly. My solution was to stop the boat with a midship line around the first cleat. The forward motion would bring the boat in parallel to the dock by making the midship line act like an aft spring line, then I would tie off the aft line and bow line, then finally adjust the boat position by hand. I would have all the lines led outside the lifelines and coiled at the open gate way ahead of time. I tried backing in but the wind would blow the bow around faster than going in forwards. My current slip is at the end of a floating dock and also downwind (wind blowing me away from the dock). Here, however, I have room to simply back into the slip crossways, tie off the stern, then bring the bow around by putting the motor in forward and helm into the slip. At this point I can cut the engine and get the bow tied off. At the first slip, if the wind was simply too much to handle I figured out a simple solution. Remember that the wind blows across the slip. So, I would bring the boat alongside the two outside pylons and stall the boat so that it would gently rest again both pylons pointed into the wind. To hold the boat in position, I would tie a line from the inside (on the side of the slip) midship cleat to the pylon. Then, I would tie a line around the pylon which was already secured to the opposite bow cleat and led around outside the bow roller. I would also tie a separate line to the same upwind pylon and lead it outside around the bow back to the outside aft cleat and then to the winch on that side. I would then ease off on the midship line gradually until the bow cleared the pylon (fending the pylon off the bow roller if necessary). Then I would either put the boat in forward gear or usually I would just winch the boat gradually in by the stern line as I let out the bow line. Once the boat was about a third of the way in the slip, I would jump off the boat with a second bow line and tie it to a cleat farther up the dock. I could then get back on the boat, ease the first bow line and take up on the stern line and new bow line as the boat eased forwards. Once the boat was in proper position, I'd adjust the lines as necessary. It probably sounds a bit complicated but if you think it through it's quite straightforward and I could dock this beamy 40 ft boat in 25 to 30 knot winds by myself in complete control. It certainly is slower--it takes about 20 minutes to do--but it's safe. It helps to have padding on the pylons as well; I also had smaller boats on either side which didn't stick out as far as the my slip's pylons.Necessity is the mother of invention as Edison once said--this hand-docking with multiple lines works for me.Cheers

 

[Franklin]

Don

Your funny and creative. Wish you docked at my marina

 

[BarryL]

Stu - more details please

Hi Stu,Can you please give more details about using a midships spring line and not getting off the boat?I don't have a cleat amidships. I don't mind adding one if it would help.My current technique is the one Don recommends. Before I get to the dock I have fenders rigged, and bow and stern lines tied on, with the lines led to the cockpit and in my hand.With a midship line, how do you put the line on the cleat without getting off the boat? Do you have a line with a loop on it, and you just drop the loop over the cleat? If so, does that mean you have the line cleated on the boat, with the approximate length, and when you get to the dock you pick up the loop and drop it over the cleat? Then, with that line holding the boat against the dock you step off and tie the bow, stern lines?More details please.Thanks,Barry

 

[Stu Jackson]

Thought you'd never ask

USING THE MIDSHIPS SPRING LINE FOR DOCKING1. Install midships cleat on either your jib fairlead track or somewhere on deck.2. Purchase or build a LONG spring line, best about one and a quarter to one and a half times the length of your boat. I've got a 48 foot line on our C34 with a bowline induced loop in one end that goes over the midships cleat.3. Setting up the spring line: attach the loop to the midships cleat by running the loop under the lowest lifeline from the outside of the boat. You could also attach the loop to the cleat and then hand the big coil of line under the lifeline, but it's easier the first way. Run the line back to your cockpit outside the lifelines for a fair lead. You can choose to drop your cockpit lifelines or keep them up, but just position the spring line to assure it is clear to do the next step.4. Making it work: The idea is to drop the spring line on the AFT cleat of your dock, or on a chosen cleat on a side tie. Then you need to continue to have the boat moving (slowly) forward. This is the hardest part for folks to understand: keep the boat in forward gear, or put it back in gear after you've "lassoed" the cleat. As you move slowly past the dock cleat, simply drop the spring line over the aft horn of the cleat. It's easier to do than describe. If you use a reasonably heavy line, like 1/2 inch, just drop the line on the dock and your forward motion will bring the line under the cleat's horn. Here's the TRICK: Bring the springlike back around your winch and snug the spring line up with your winch in this position: get the aft cleat on the dock even with the aft cleat on your boat. Thus, the spring line will run from your midships cleat back to the dock cleat and up forward to your winch. The point of balance is when the dock cleat and your boat's aft cleat are pretty well lined up. With the engine in forward low idle, the boat, with the spring line snug on the winch and the cleats lined up, will simply snug up to the dock. It will STAY there. 5. Fine Tuning: you can use a combination of your rudder (wheel or stick) and engine RPMs to keep the boat parallel to the dock. You can do this ALL DAY WITHOUT EVER TOUCHING ANOTHER LINE! At this or any other time, you can step off the boat, tie up the stern line, and then meander up to the bow to tie that one off. There is no need for a fire drill, no pushing stanchions, no yelling or screaming. It can be done by a single hander or by two people. Any more people just get in the way. Once your bow and stern lines are tied up, turn off the engine and you're done.There are better explanations of this than I've managed here, and I'll go look in my library and find a better reference.Try it, it works. The very best way to try this is to practice, practice, practice on a wide open single side tie dock with cleats. Do it later in your slip.All the best,StuPS - At the risk of repeating myself, there's no reason not to leave your own dock lines on the cleats on your slip. Makes daily docking a lot easier. If you use the method described above, it also makes it a lot easier to tie up to an unfamiliar dock when you have to use your own bow and stern lines. My dock lines are also long to always be doubled back to th boat, so there is no need for anyone to ever be on the dock when we cast off. Everyone on board? Let the lines off the dock and go. No hopping, no fire drill when leaving either.

 

[BarryL]

Stu - Thanks

I'll give it a try.Barry

 

[Stu Jackson]

Midships Spring Line References

BarryThe sketch on the lower left hand corner of Page 284 of Calder's Cruising Handbook shows the action.It does not include my idea of doubling back the spring line to the boat and to the winch. That's my only little single handers trick, boat's motion concept is the same.Henderson's "Single Handed Sailing", in the Chapter about solo techniques, disses the concept because he claims that it is more work & more complicated. I disagree, since in reality you don't even need to get your bow and stern lines out until the spring is finished, so it's really simpler, only ONE line instead of two.Horses for courses, my boat, my choice. Happy practicing.Stu

 

[Phiggins]

Is this what you mean Stu?

I really think this is a neat idea. I've made the attached sketch to show what I think are the steps. Only the last one shows the fenders which would have been out for all of the steps. I usually back in but I think it should work just the same.