That dreaded phone call...

[rgranger]

I had a gut clenching moment this weekend.

I took a mini-vacation this weekend and drove south to do some tourist type things in a neighboring state with my wife. Saturday night we had some really strong winds blow through our region and Sunday morning I get a call from a friend who lives near where I keep my boat tied up...

He tells me that his wife is looking at my boat through binoculars, the bow line is broken and the stern is smashing into the dock...

He can't help because he is also traveling....

...and I'm 5 hours away. Oh man! Panic time!

So I call another guy I know and beg a favor, he ties off my boat for me and I leave for the lake.

All in all I got rather lucky. The only damage was to the outboard motor. The cowling got knocked off but did not go in the water, the cowling clasp got bent and one of the spark plugs hit the edge of the dock and got snapped in half. I'll need a new ignition wire and plugs, and a new cowling clasp but it could have been much worse.

The boat itself did not get damaged. After I type this I'm on my way to my O.B. guy to let him get started on finding the parts I need and let him take a "once-over" look at the motor.

Whew! I'm feeling rather lucky today.

 

[Rich Stidger]

Glad to learn that you got off easy. You must live right......

 

[BudGates]

OMG! I was fretting for you as I read this until I saw how little damage you had suffered. So glad it's not a lot worse. My heart is still pounding.....

 

[weinie]

Can't give you much sympathy as I've dodged close calls both at my mooring and dock by kamikaze boats that were not secured properly.

 

[rgranger]

Can't give you much sympathy as I've dodged close calls both at my mooring and dock by kamikaze boats that were not secured properly.

Weinie

I had two lines on both the bow and stern... and I was in a very well protected cove... unless the wind happens to come straight out of the north. Which it did this particular day... We had gusts up over 60 mph.... So.... I'm not accepting that I didn't secure correctly. I didn't prepare for a hurricane but it would have been strange to do so. One thing I am going to change is to add a snubber. My guess is that as the wind came into the cove... my boat started oscillating in a jerking motion side-to-side and that would have put most of the shock load on the bow lines.

 

[Benny17441]

Sorry about that. I don't know how strong them winds were but it would concern me the reason why the bow dock line snapped. Was the line chaffed or was it's breaking strength exceeded? We frequently inspect our dock lines and replace those that might be suspect. We use heavier lines than those recommended and when we anticipate leaving the boat unattended for more than a few days we will double up on them lines.

 

[rgranger]

Sorry about that. I don't know how strong them winds were but it would concern me the reason why the bow dock line snapped. Was the line chaffed or was it's breaking strength exceeded? We frequently inspect our dock lines and replace those that might be suspect. We use heavier lines than those recommended and when we anticipate leaving the boat unattended for more than a few days we will double up on them lines.

Good point!

I have not seen the line yet. I got down to the boat right at dusk last night and mostly concerned myself with making sure the boat was secure and not in jeopardy ...and my friend who tied it up used some of his line and took my old lines in. I'm heading down Wednesday and I will see if he still has my old line and maybe an inspection will tell me more.

Another strange thing is that the sunbrella cover I have over the boom seemed fine. It was only held in place with bungee cords so I would think those would wear out before a couple of dock lines. Maybe there is a barb on one of my cleats? I'll have to really inspect thing and try to figure this out. You can see my boat in its current location in my Avatar. The wind was at 45 right on its port-side nose.

 

[Benny17441]

I had two lines on both the bow and stern...... I didn't prepare for a hurricane but..... side-to-side and that would have put most of the shock load on the bow lines.

Our regular dock lines are the same size as those we use when preparing for a hurricane with the exception that we double up on them upon an advancing storm. (4 lines 2 to a side at the bow and same at the stern) It is important to keep both lines at the same length as if not their ability to withstand shock would only be that of a single line at a time. A snubber will indeed help but I would revisit the size of lines being used and perhaps upgrade to a larger size. We enter hurricane season from June to November so when we travel we prepare the boat in anticipation of a storm and line up a backup person in advance to check and tend to boat.

 

[rgranger]

This is an inland lake so I might have undersized my lines. You don't really expect Hurricane strength winds here for any sustained about of time. The wind blew all night Saturday and for a good amount of time Sunday. I'll chalk this one up as a relatively inexpensive education experience.

Larger lines and a snubber are in my future. And I'm going to really look at my dock area for any barbs or anything that might have added excess chafe to the equation.

 

[Benny17441]

Sounds like a good plan.

 

[Johnb]

You don't say whether you have spring lines but if not consider adding them. Because the forces generated by fore and aft movement of the boat are hugely less when resisted by spring lines that is much easier on the lines and the dock and boat cleats.

 

[rgranger]

You don't say whether you have spring lines but if not consider adding them. Because the forces generated by fore and aft movement of the boat are hugely less when resisted by spring lines that is much easier on the lines and the dock and boat cleats.

That could have been a contributing factor. The stern was tied as a spring line because I needed to bring the line forward to the floating dock. But I did not have the bow tied off with spring lines. I had the bow cleat tied directly to the dock cleat at the front of the floating dock. That would also shorten the total line and made it less able to stretch. I can visualize a bunch of short sharp jerks on the bow lines as the nose oscillated back and forth all night. And once the first one broke the second did not last too long.

The cove I tie up in is often sheet-of-glass smooth even when the bigger body of water has white caps. I grew complacent me thinks.....Looks like I'm going to have to rethink my entire docking protocols. Assume and prepare for the worst scenario. After 7 years I've never had any trouble and I guess relatively speaking I still have not had much... but this could have been a much worse scene. My boat would have certainly hit a few others on its way on to the rocks at the end of the cove. My summer and my bank account would have been decimated.

 

[NotCook]

Well done! Quick and decisive action saved the day. It can make all the difference between minor damage and a catastrophe. Now, the post mortem to understand why your line parted so it won't happen again...

 

[rfrye1]

Good thing you had someone close by. My Hunter is 375 miles away in San Diego. 2 months ago a rare "blow" came thru with 50 kts. Of course its Sunday. My headsail unfurled. I get a call from Marriott Marina. I'm in Kauai visiting G-Kids. Marina or Hotel wont lift a finger for "Liability" reasons.... By the time I get someone there, my sail is shreaded.

 

[Boomer54]

Good thing you had someone close by. My Hunter is 375 miles away in San Diego. 2 months ago a rare "blow" came thru with 50 kts. Of course its Sunday. My headsail unfurled. I get a call from Marriott Marina. I'm in Kauai visiting G-Kids. Marina or Hotel wont lift a finger for "Liability" reasons.... By the time I get someone there, my sail is shreaded.

One of the things I always do when I leave the boat for any amount of time is to take a short line and take a couple tight wraps around the head sail and tie it off

 

[druid]

I got that "dreaded phone call" some years ago - turned out the finger my boat (Crown 28 "Green Lady") was attached to broke away completely and my boat, still attached to the finger, was wandering around the Marina. She ended up bouncing against a rock wall. But tough boat! No damage at all that I could see.

druid

 

[rgranger]

Marina or Hotel wont lift a finger for "Liability" reasons.... By the time I get someone there, my sail is shreaded.

I'm pissed and it isn't even my boat. You probably wish you could take your business someplace else but they don't care... they have a waiting list a mile long and you have no other place to go. I guess you could write a negative review on some sites but... Uhg.

 

[rgranger]

I got that "dreaded phone call" some years ago - turned out the finger my boat (Crown 28 "Green Lady") was attached to broke away completely and my boat, still attached to the finger, was wandering around the Marina. She ended up bouncing against a rock wall. But tough boat! No damage at all that I could see.

druid

I hope you got pictures. That sounds almost humorous.

Many years ago, I had a situation where the plank to which the dock cleat was bolted tore off the dock (the entire plank) but the boat didn't suffer any damage either. When I recovered the boat, the plank was still attached to the boat.

 

[capta]

An old salt once said to me, "Any idiot can make a boat go. It takes a sailor to stop one."

 

[BigEasy]

Glad that the damage was minimal.
Don't know exactly what your dock configuration is; however, I don't think that the absence of snubbers was the problem.
If you are on a finger pier and can only tie to one side; definitely use two bow & two stern lines while you are away. Also definitely need fore & aft spring lines. If you are on a dock with pilings on both sides, use Stb & Port bow lines & stern lines (total 4) as well as fore & aft spring lines on both sides (total 4). Wouldn't use anything less than 1/2" nylon for your boat. The reason that I doubt if the lack of snubbers was the problem is because nylon stretches approximately 30% under load. That should compensate for the shock loads in 60mph winds. Were the lines in good shape or were they several years old? Not bragging here, just trying to make a point, but my previous boat (33 ft) remained tied to my finger pier in Hurricane Katrina in winds over 125 mph with approximately 15 foot tidal surge & wave action. I used 5/8" lines bow, stern , & springs all doubled on one side of a floating finger pier with NO snubbers. Of course the finger piers broke up and totaled the boat; however, it remained tied to the pier!! One final recommendation is to purchase a good set of chafe guards and use one on each line where it runs through the deck chock. I like a brand called "Chafe-Pro Yacht Grade" in a 14 inch length. The manufacturer claims that the Coast Guard uses the commercial grade Chafe-Pro on their boats. The Yacht Grade is good for recreational boats. Again, glad that everything worked out.