Single Handed Docking

[Don Guillette]

I saw a topic Stu J started on one of the other forums on the above subject. It's not really sail trim but originally single handed docking for me was a pain. To set the scene, I had an upwind dock and I was 4 slips from the entrance end of the slipway. After a lot of trial & error - entering slip under power, throwing the engine into reverse and flooring it while I banged the bow into the dock -, I worked out a way that worked for me. I'd approach the slipway and as I entered it I shifted to neutral. I had enough headway that I could drift into my slip. The trick was how to stop the boat once I entered the slip. I've watched a lot of sailors make a mess of this situation.

My solution was to prepare for docking before I entered the slip way. I tied a dock line over the winch and opened the safety line. I had the dock line coiled over the safety line post. As soon as I entered the slip, I left the helm and picked up the coiled line as I stepped onto the dock. I installed a cleat near the end of the dock and all I had to do was snub the dock line and the boat stopped "nice as you please". Then I slipped the bow and stern line on the boat and then had a "tinney" (Aussie for beer). It all took about 30 seconds.

We chartered a number of times in FL and I never did figure out their system with the short docks and pilings!!

 

[kappykaplan]

Don, as I've gotten more experienced with single handing, I found I'm doing many of the things you describe. I reverse into my slip, and there is no one prevailing wind. I open the safety gate as I come up the creek.

I've learned how to get just enough speed to keep the boat moving (and the rudder biting) so I can step away from the helm and grab the forward spring line. Once getting that made up to the mid-ship cleat, it's back to the safety gate to wait for the boat's stern to swing to port (always does as the forward spring snugs up) so I can grab the after spring from the finger pier.

A couple of years ago, I'd step off boat to grab the spring, but after the boat got away from me, just once, I don't do that any more! If the wind is carrying me back out of the slip, I use the engine to overcome the wind and just wait for the stern to drift to port. Patience!

All my dock lines are marked with white tape to show everyone where to make the cleat hitches. This is especially useful with the spring lines. Once they're made up, I shut the engine down and get the other dock lines in slow time.

 

[Brian D]

I too use the backing method when entering my slip. I carry just enough speed to get 1/3 of the boat into the slip then put the motor in reverse. If the speed is correct the boat will start to slow and stall. However, there have been time that I have had to come in a little hot. Once I came in too hot and slammed the motor in reverse but it just shut down. Nothing I could do at that time but let the dock stop me. No damage to the boat but I killed a dock box.

My biggest concern is coming into an unfamiliar slip. I am afraid that I might overshoot the slip and have to approach it again. Too many eyes are always watching be behind hidden places.

For the most part, I have learned my boats movements at various speeds and I think I can maneuver her with skill.

 

[Don Guillette]

On the subject of docking, which is a form of amusement for most dock residents who gather to watch and sometimes help -- one other interesting element was to watch folks toss a dock line. Most make a mess of it. Most of the time they toss the line directly at the person receiving the line instead of telling the receiver to extend his arm to the side as a target. One dock neighbor I knew threw the line all bunched up!! A sailor can practise tossing a line in his garage. After a couple of tries he should be pretty good at it.

When I had a second home at Lake Havasu, AZ (on the Colorado River) the afternoon entertainment was to visit the launch ramp with a beach chair and a few drinks and watch folks pull out their boats -- watching them launch was no fun!! After a day of boating in the sun and a few drinks, that combination provided something to watch. At one point we even flashed cards to score the boaters but sometime that got dangerous as some boater didn't see the humor. Many times I felt bad for some of the folks trying to back up a trailer and I'd volunteer to do it for them. Some times the husband said NO but the wife stepped in and said "let the guy help you" and they relented.

 

[flynhi4u]

There are some great Youtube videos of what goes on the boat ramps in Havasu!
As far as docking goes I have learned through the years that the best plan is a flexible plan. Every dock is different and even the conditions you dock at your own slip are probably different each time. I have learned the key is to have a plan for tying up but be prepared to change it if need be. We might enter and tie up the same way tens time in a row only to have something go amiss on the 1th try and have to total regroup.
Sometimes you just have to give up and start over. Just like making a go around in a plane, if you wait till you should, it is probably too late.

Sam in IN

 

[Old Timer]

There is something to be said for a boat hook. I came in a little fast on Saturday and could grab the end of the dock end and slow her down enough to come in soft. It also is good if you are coming in in neutral and downwind so before you float away from the dock you can hook a cleat and pull her in. A telescoping boat hook is best so you can adjust it to the need. At our marina, everyone offers to lend a hand, especially with someone single handing a boat. once you have a bow line on, the rest is easy, but when no one is around, like I had, the boat hooked was a blessing.

 

[flynhi4u]

How long is our boat when it is collapsed and opened? I have thought several times about getting one and never even thought about using it for docking. That would be handy.

Sam in IN

 

[Brian D]

A boat hook is a good tool, until the hook breaks off leaving you with a very long pole in your hand. I have thought of using a 1/2" line with a 12" eye and a snubber that is attached to a bow cleat. When the boat enters the slip, use the boat hook to place the eye of the line over the nearest cleat. At least the boat will eventually stop before killing a dock box. LOL

 

[Stu Jackson]

Brian's right. My experience, especially with the telescoping boat hooks, is that they do NOT work if you're either pushing or pulling on them. ONLY a SOLID boat hook will work.

We use a telescoping boat hook to pick up our dock lines once in the slip. While we may be fortunate that we have full fingers on both sides of the boat in a protected marina, I've sailed into a variety of other marinas and slip conditions. The trick is getting the boat where you want it to be. And yes, when it's windy it's a challenge.

As Don mentioned, I've covered this a lot in previous posts. Here's one, that includes a link to the Dock-O-Matic, from a C25 skipper, kinda an extension of the idea that Brian suggested.

HOPPING OFF THE BOAT IS UNNECESSARY

In the April issue, Mark Johnston asked about dealing with aging knees and boat docking in “Senior Sailors and High Freeboard.” He expressed his concern about docking (his Catalina 34!!!) with a potential future bigger boat, noting “…it’s not so easy…for my wife and me to jump down to the dock with lines in our hands.” We’ve had our Catalina 34 for the past 10 years, with a C22 for two and a C25 for twelve before that, sailing all over the Bay, the Delta and up & down the coast. We employ what we believe is the most useful and safe technique for docking that still seems to be a mystery to most sailors. It’s called the midships spring line. Our older Catalina 34s did not come with a midships cleat, so we added one on each side at the forward end of the jib fairlead track. Many newer boats come with them. There really is no reason to ever have to jump off a boat to dock it properly. I recommend that Mark Google “midships springline” – there is a wealth of information available, one of which is: http://www.cruising.sailingcourse.com/docking.htm.

The maneuver is simple: attach the springline to the midships cleat, run it fair outside the lifelines, as you approach the dock loop the springline over the aft dock cleat and bring it back to the winch. Snug it up and keep the boat in low throttle forward and the boat will sidle right up to the dock, no jumping is EVER required. A friend developed an enhanced springline arrangement with a prefixed length of line with a hose holding a lower loop of line open to assure that it catches the cleat on the dock, so that no line needs to be returned to the winch. ***

I do a lot of single-handed sailing and have found this invaluable in docking in all conditions. I’m sure that once this “trick” is learned and mastered it can be used in a wide variety of docking situations with all manner of wind and currents.

It’s not only safer, it’s a sure knee and back saver. The only drawback is when docks don’t have cleats, but have those nutty rings or the wooden raised runners so prevalent in the Pacific Northwest. I think that’s one reason they invented grapnel hooks!

*** Nautiduck, Randy Kolb's, "Dock O Matic" is described in the C25 Forum here: http://www.catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=15645 I am sure it could be applied to our boats as well if you tried; I've thought about it, but am still using our 40 foot long 1/2 inch dockline for that purpose without the nifty "loop in hose" idea. Whatever works for you.

 

[salemsailor1219]

what is deserved

he who refuses help gets just what he deserves.......so does the guy who takes it. what's a person to do?

 

[rickbogh]

May I suggest this for single handers on an unfamilar dock. I approach with a "rodeo" line tied to the front and rear cleats on the boat. This is a continuous single line approx 2 times the boat length. For my Beneteau 411 that's 80' of 1/2 inch line. As you approach the dock, apply a little reverse -then neutral, and step off the boat (if you're jumping you need some practice in boat control) Now you have the front and back of the boat in your hands with that one line-tie off the boat to a mid-dock cleat, so that the front of the boat won't hit the dock head, and now with the remaining line, prevent the stern from spinning away and tie off to the tail cleat on the dock. Works for the gas dock too if there are no lines prepared, or the dock attendant is not savvy. The beauty of a single line is that it's always at hand, can still be thrown a short distance, and the person receiving the line now has complete control of the boat-once they realize that they have just one line and it's connected to both fore and aft of the boat. Try it.

 

[kenackerman]

One of my earlier boats was a San Juan 26 that had a Seagull outboard for auxiliary propulsion. It turns out that the seagull had a habit of not wanting to start when it was desired, at the lake we sailed on.

This precipitated getting used to docking (and sometimes undocking) without aux power. With out aux power, the only means of propulsion was via the sails. We got quite good at docking and departing (while looking for an alternate aux power engine which turned out to be a Honda about a year later).

As I progressed to larger vessels I continued practicing docking without aux power just to be sure I could do it if the engine would't start for some reason. It does get harder with larger boats, but it can be done in reasonable conditions with enough practice.

 

[salemsailor1219]

good idea, thanks

 

[njlarry]

Hey guys how about making a you tube video?

 

[Don Guillette]

When docking away from my slip I use another method. I run the bow line and the stern line to the opening in the safety line. When I step off the boat I have both lines in my hands and am in control of the boat.

While docking in FL at the short slips and poles I never got the hang of it. I'm curious as to what method is used in that situation?

 

[Stu Jackson]

Hey guys how about making a you tube video?

Do an internet search for Captain Jack Klang, he's made some.

 

[Worldwalker88]

I always used the just enough power to steer and then back the engine to glide into the slip with no problems - until about a month ago.
I was rudely introduced to the effects of a seiche on Lake Michigan.
I saw my slip neighbor yelling as I came in but I couldn't hear him over the outboard.
My son (on the bow with a boathook, thankfully) told me "He said something about a cuurent?"
When I made the turn into the slip, I realized real quick what current he meant, as it grabbed us and pushed us sidways. That little 9.9 Nissan just didn't have enough butt to pull us out of it. We hit the piling (no damage) and it took quite a bit of muscle to get us tied up correctly.
I really watch the water for signs of flow from the harbor mouth all the way to the turn, sometimes we have to just wait it out until it shifts back, usually a 17-20 minute cycle.

One of my other slip neighbors uses this:
http://www.landingloop.com/loop-dts.htm

and he seems to have very few issues with his 33'.
I am thinking seriously of investing in both the loop and this:
http://www.easymoor.com/

Just to have them around.

WW

 

[Sublime]

I have a line across the slip that will stop the boat if I happen to miss on my usual method which is this:

Fasten a line amidship. Bring the line back to you and place it where you can grab it easily from the helm (my slip usually has a cross wind so I have the line on what will be the windward side. Make sure the line is already past life lines and around shrouds. Make sure you have fenders over the side the line is on if you need them.
When you get to your slip, loop the line over the first dock cleat or pylon you pass. Keep ahold of the end of that line. If your boat is small enough, pull it tight and use it to stop it. If it's a bigger boat, go under a cleat to give you more purchase. Once she's stopped, tie it off on an aft cleat. Put the engine in forward at an idle. She'll cozy up to that side and remain until you take her out of forward. This lets you put on the rest of the lines.

If the aft cleat extends past the end of the dock, find a winch or somewhere else to put the line around.

I put mine in neutral several slips away and coast in. I prefer to dock at a speed I'm comfortable hitting something with. I've had engines fail so I don't trust them to stop me.


I've drawn a diagram to help illustrate.

 

[sailingseadragon]

My singlehanded docking hero.... Some day I too will be this good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qHdPhkSSNQ

Garner

 

[Daveinet]

One issue that I end up in is that I never know which launch ramp/dock side is going to free up first. My winches are on back of the cabin. I have the line ready to throw either side. When I see which side is going to open up, I cleat the line in my jib cam cleat, loop it once around the winch, and its ready to go. This is my midship line. As I ease up to the dock, its just a matter of stepping off with the line in hand and looping it around the dock pole. I can hop back on the boat and pull the line tighter to bring the boat tight to the dock. This single line method works very well for casting off too. The dock I use has tall polls as well as cleats. Throwing the line around one poll and back to the cam cleat makes it super easy to uncleat, flip it off the poll and back up, before the boat has time to drift into other boats.

The second trick is using a trolling motor. It is so much easier to sneak up on the dock. No need to worry about the outboard dying from idling too long waiting for a ramp to open up. The last time out, the wind kept blowing me in to the dock, so I kept having to reverse the motor to keep from being blown into other boats. Easy to do with the bump of a switch. You just can't beat the control one has with electric. It also means I get a lot of blank stares as I come in dead quiet.