Missed opportunity or good judgement?

[kpgraci]

Motoring out just about to leave the jetty and enter the lake and the new outboard coughs and dies. Had to raise the main quickly to avoid some rocks. Right behind me was a small sailboat motoring out so I asked them for a tow back in. They were testing out their new electric outboard and I suppose my inconvenience on them ate up a good bit of their battery - I'm thinking I should have taken the opportunity to try my hand at sailing back in, but I was a bit flustered and never sailed into the harbor before. It would not have been a problem, lots of room, until I had to turn nearly upwind to get to my slip between two piers. Technically not allowed I occasionally see others sail right into their slip, but they weren't single handed. So I'm feeling like I failed the sailing gods and didn't take an opportunity when presented, not to mention inconveniencing some fellow sailors. I think next time I'm going in under sail with the motor idling just to see how it feels. My biggest concern is controlling the speed in tight quarters - needing drop sail not too soon or too late while avoiding hard things.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Good lesson, Ken. Hope you find our the culprit about your engine.

Sailing into the slip: drop your main before you get into the harbor, sail on jib alone. If you have furling gear, furl near the slip, or just dump the jib sheets.

Good idea to practice, as you suggested.

 

[LuzSD]

you are a very nice person, I am impressed with your contemplations. Not enough out there like you.

We had a similar thing happen a couple years ago and did end up turning around and sailing into our slip.... notice I say WE. I would not have done it on my own, nor would my husband ... but together we thought it through and decided with the conditions that we could do it. We did a great job of it and lots of high 5's later, we felt pretty good about ourselves. The opposite could happen too and that stays with you longer... so I think you did the right thing. The other boat probably felt very good about helping out another sailor....so think about it that way.

 

[LuzSD]

Interesting what Stu says, in our case we furled our jib about 1/2 way there and then as we approached our slip we just dropped the main. For us, that was the quicker way to douse our speed, jib would have been more difficult. Each boat presents a different set of ideals!

 

[bletso]

One thing you can count on and that is if you mess up there will be an audience. I had a 25 Catalina and had to do a complicated U into the slip. Did it better than I could with the motor, no witnesses for sure.

Then there was the time I was backing down in prep for a turn into a slip with our 38 and the gear shift let go and we had to ground her and yes the whole marina was witness!

Don't be afraid to try a sail entry, just don't go fast. There is a real feeling of satisfaction when it is accomplished.

 

[LuzSD]

One thing you can count on and that is if you mess up there will be an audience. I had a 25 Catalina and had to do a complicated U into the slip. Did it better than I could with the motor, no witnesses for sure.

Ha Ha, you are so right...... not a soul to see our spectacular docking under sail..... and we searched .
... and by now everyone has read my description of our first week with our boat.. an entire yacht club must have known our schedule , and brought chairs! ah, the good old days.

 

[Indysailor]

I practice maneuvering by picking up empty bottles college students hurl off their rented pontoon boats. You may not have this luxury, but the idea is to practice close quarter maneuvering somewhat in the abstract, where you won't actually bump into anything (i.e., away from other boats). Throw a cushion out, sail away, return and stop next to it. Practice COB drills, anything that requires you to make a few quick decisions, turn quickly, slow down, etc. I've found that by doing this, I have increased the speed at which I can decide what actions are required, given the wind, present course and objective.

My son and I sailed his sunfish backwards last week- it was a great way to learn that a buoy field is full of these big, white balls that are hard to avoid while going in reverse under sail. I'm still working on this stuff.

 

[kpgraci]

I've got the motor running - current theory is bad gas, even though its just over 30 days old, ethanol free, and tested for no water. I'm coming to understand that this carb is pretty particular about having very fresh gas - nothing older than 30 days. The PO filled the tank, he may have added new gas to old.

I've done the can drills and am pretty comfortable handling the boat in open water, wind in the harbor always challenges me - 6-8 kts blowing on my hull has quite an effect at the slow speeds of docking, but this is obviously a gap in my knowledge I need to fill.

I think you're nice too, LuzSD

 

[tjar]

Indysailor has the right idea... practice, practice, practice. I took lessons every Saturday from the San Diego Navy Sailing Club and spent countless hours picking up bottles the instructor threw overboard and dong COB drills. We didn't even know if the outboards worked that were hanging off the stern. We got very comfortable leaving and returning to our slip under sail, but there are a few things to remember. 1. It's best to approach from downwind. It's much harder to stop a boat when the wind is pushing it into the dock. 2. Learn the fetch of your boat. That is, how far does it coast when you turn into the wind and let the sails fly? 3. Find some buoys to practice your approaches. They are more forgiving than the pier and you can quickly turn aside if you misjudge.
Good luck. It's a good skill to know and impresses the old timers who always go in and out under power.

 

[capta]

Good judgement.
I do not believe anyone should sail in or out of a marina unless there is absolutely no alternative, and then only to the closest, simplest dock you can reach. In most marinas it is not allowed and can be cause for eviction.
You are not only risking your boat, you are risking other peoples' boats and that is not acceptable. Those who do this on a regular basis are not showing their sailing skills, they are showing a total disregard for everyone else's boats and very poor judgement.
IMO you are a wise man who made the right choice.

 

[BigEasy]

Bottom line is that you got the boat back in the slip unscathed!
My "bailout" plan in the event that my auxillary dies, is to sail into the marina basin under jib alone and approach the end dock / "T" dock (not my slip). As I approach the end dock, I would dump the jib sheet and slowly come along side the dock. Attach an aft spring that is pre-rigged on the boat, as well as, bow & stern breast lines. Worse case scenario is that I overshoot the dock and go around for another try.

 

[AWalker]

I think you were wise. Much better to practice first with motor on reserve. If no other boat was close at hand and you had a decent breeze, I would have sailed back.

 

[rgranger]

kpgraci

I understand your anxiety. I had a similar experience this summer that forced me out of my comfort zone. I had sailed my boat to Tangier Island, VA and on approach to the marina my outboard decided it would stall at anything less than half throttle. Made a harder than desired landing.:cry:

Leaving for home was the real issue. To keep the outboard running I had to start it, quickly put it in gear and throttle up to about 3/4 full. Imagine releasing your dock lines in close quarters with the O.B. hammering away at 3/4 (15 hp Honda) in gear!

So instead of that insanity, I used spring lines to get out of the slip and then unrolled the head sail and sailed out. I felt salty. Since then, I have sailed in twice under jib. It is a great feeling to sail in and out and...it still makes me a bit nervous but the the more I do it the more confident I become.

Maybe you can gain some experience by starting off sailing out instead of sailing in. At least that is what worked for me.

 

[Winkfish]

I've got the motor running - current theory is bad gas, even though its just over 30 days old, ethanol free, and tested for no water. I'm coming to understand that this carb is pretty particular about having very fresh gas - nothing older than 30 days. The PO filled the tank, he may have added new gas to old.

Is it a really new motor or a "new to you" motor? You might want to run a can or two of Sea Foam through it.

 

[Bob S]

We had an engine problem about 25 miles from home. We sailed home without an engine but we're on a mooring. I was quite nervous. I did exactly what Liz did and furled the Jib when we were close and turned into the wind under main alone. Much easier on a mooring! Felt proud we did it without incident. I am still nervous powering to the fuel and pump out docks .

 

[Ray Bowles]

KP, I see that you sail a Oday22. I sail a Saun Juan 23 so the boats are simular in size. Mine is a masthead rig and I sail into and out from a slip quite often. I have found that most times the most controlable sailing rig is to just use the jib only. (A 115) There is enough power to move the boat with good steering responses and it is easy to dump the sail. A good way to drop speed is a tight 90 degree turn. Some type of tiller lock also can be a helper but not necessary. When out in the lake try a MOB drill with a float or other object and try to recover it this way with some turns etc on the way.
Ray