Everett Fuel Dock

[colb218]

Hello All-

I know there are some Everett Marina neighbors here so I am hoping for some help. This is our second full season on our boat. I admit we are still learning the art of docking and undocking, but for the most part we have avoided mishaps. We have visited numerous marinas and I have not had much issue docking in any of them except at Everett's fuel dock. The first instance that sticks out I got essentially pined on the west side of the fuel dock. Fortunately, the attendant was able to help us off the dock and ensure we swung out without hitting the dock. Then, a few weeks ago I attempted to pull up on the east side of the dock to the pump out. I backed in and my wife got off the boat holding onto the bow line as I planned to secure the stern line when I stepped off. Almost as soon as she was off the boat the stern swung out. We spent a good 10 minutes figuring out what to do next. I do not have a mid-ship cleat so idling into the dock while steering away did not pull us in. I eventually was able to pull a line already attached to the dock on to the boat to pull the stern in but it was considerable strain.

I am now a bit gun shy visiting the fuel dock at my home marina. I know currents can be rough in Everett, but should I really anticipate timing my visits to the fuel dock around slack tide? I feel silly asking all of this, but I really need to figure out what I am doing wrong here.

 

[jssailem]

A good question. You are correct about the cause. The river currents and tidal currents expose the fuel dock to the forces you identify in your challenge.

My solution would be to use a docking approach that does not require your crew to be agile (jump to the dock) or have the strength of Hercules to hold the boat against the tide.

Yes if you time your visit during the slack window it is fairly easy. Or you can use a docking technique that uses the power of your engine and leverage to get you safely against the east side of the dock when water if flowing into the marina and west side when water if flowing out of the marina.

I use the Stern Bridle mentioned in the video at this link. Winter Cruising Question
It is a simple technique using a mid spring line to secure the boat to the dock and hold it there while you (if solo sailing) or your crew can STEP off the boat onto the dock and with out fear, attach a fore and stern line.

 

[jssailem]

If you choose your side of the dock to approach, the current will help you get off the dock when you have filled your tanks.

 

[JoeWhite]

I use a dock line attached to my stern cleat. As I approach the dock , I hook the line around the dock cleat and tie to the stern cleat. Then revv up the engine while turn away the steering wheel from the dock. This brings the bow close to the dock. I slow down the engine and shift to neutral and the bow dock line in hand and step down and tie to the dock.

 

[Terry Cox]

I do not have a mid-ship cleat so idling into the dock while steering away did not pull us in.

Time to add midship cleats! Our boat did not have them when we purchased her in 2002. After several monkey drills docking her, even with crew, I added them myself and now solo docking is a breeze in most all conditions. Here is an article I wrote about it. Hunter 42 Owner Modifications and Upgrades

In some cases wind/current conditions present docking challenges, but I learned a few maneuvers that seem to work quite well as long as the prop is in front of the rudder. These are here. Hunter 42 Owner Modifications and Upgrades

 

[Stu Jackson]

Until you install those cleats, consider:

1) using your winches for a short term interim solution

2) buying slide-on track mounted cleats in lieu of installing separate deck mounted cleats if your track works for you (mine do/does)

 

[All U Get]

Until you install those cleats, consider:

1) using your winches for a short term interim solution

2) buying slide-on track mounted cleats in lieu of installing separate deck mounted cleats if your track works for you (mine do/does)

Funny how we forget about the winch sitting there doing nothing. Have your wife take a smaller line to the dock and secure it to a cleat. Then you can winch the boat at your leisure.

 

[colb218]

Holy smokes the Stern Bridle worked great today. We made our way to the fuel dock about an hour before slack tide so getting on the dock there was no issue at all... getting off the dock would have been a pain and we wanted to get to the pump out so we filled up diesel and water and then waited until slack tide to move to the pump out.

From there we made our way out with hopes of seeing some whales. I have been running my Yanmar 3HM35F at roughly 2200 RPM as the throttle seemed to slip back to that range on its own. After doing some more reading we spent some time closer to 2800 RPM. I believe we could/should even be closer to 3200 RPM, but it was nice making 6.5+ knots rather than our normal ~6 knots and hopefully better for our motor too! After hopefully cleaning out our exhaust elbow a bit I managed to convince my wife that we should at least unfurl the head sail to drift along in the 4-6 knots of wind for a couple hours with kiddos asleep down below. No whales but a great afternoon!

When we came back in we set up the stern bridle and tested it out on the guest dock. I attached my spinnaker sheet to my forward winch then ran it forward to my genoa car then back to my aft winch. With the nice day we had two different groups of dock walkers offer to catch lines, but we were able to let them know we where practicing. It worked great! I had planned to practice a couple more times, but my wife felt comfortable with the system so we headed in to the berth. Easiest docking so far. My wife loved it.

The fuel dock at Everett is still a pain. I will plan on only visiting around slack tide in the future. Also, with the small minus tide today we were at 1' on my depth finder tied up to the dock and even saw the sounder hit 0 on the way out, but all in all today was a great day!