[Rhodes22-list] Combination Of Sharp Turn To Port + Single HandedDocking

[David Keyes]

Roger, I will try your single dock line.  But the challenge with a brisk
wind astern has been even to get that far (to where one is entering the slip
between the finger piers), where you could get to the dock line.  I have to
think about coming in close on my port side to the sterns of the upwind,
docked boats just before my slip and fetching the dock line for a pivot into
the dock, but this couldn't work single-handed due to the protruding
outboard motors of the other boats.  I have been coming down the "alley"
between the adjacent piers with my boat about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way towards
the opposite pier to allow for turning room but without my stern getting too
close the the sterns of the boats to starboard as I make my turn to port.

As to your question:  Of course the wind is not always that strong.  I have
since found out, talking to the marina personnel and some other boat owners,
that (virtually) no one goes out on days where there is a strong onshore
wind (northerly wind--we are on a southern shore), which would be rare in
the summer but is common in the winter.  They don't go out because of the
same problem of returning to docks.  But I am going to ask a few of the
owners who seem to use their boats frequently, year around.

Even on the November day of my docking accident when mine may have been the
only boat out, I and my crew of two thought we were successfully turning
into the slip without incident after a great sail when at the last instant I
decided that the wind had caught the bow so that it was going to be pushed
too hard into the entering edge of the starboard finger pier.  I hit reverse
on the engine to soften the blow (and one crew member jumped onto the pier
at that point) to try to push the boat off, when my motor jammed in reverse
and we went rocketing back into the boats in their slips behind me.  (It was
when I forced the gear shift into forward just missing a collision with
those boats but permanently jamming  the gear into forward).

 Interestingly, much larger sailboats in the larger slips opposite me (the
ones I back toward as I back out of my slip) seem to have no problem, at
least when I seen them come and go on normal days.  One skipper with two
small sons repeatedly brings his 35-foot sailboat to a dead stop centered in
his slip with no lines whatsoever.  The only differences I can see are (i)
they are headed towards a larger opening, (ii) they are turning to starboard
if that makes any difference--is that what people talk about when they refer
to a right-hand prop?, and (iii) their prop is inboard and at the center
line of their boat, giving better steering control.

Lastly, even on relatively calm days, the approach to the slip requires
skill, paying complete attention, good anticipation and decisions and
sometimes a little luck.  Many years ago, I had boats at marinas in lakes
and bays where this was not the case, within the limits of prudent
seamanship.  For five years at one lake, I just sailed to the dock with no
motor at all (boats of 17 and 19 feet).  In Biscayne Bay in Miami, I docked
regularly a 34-foot motor sailer in many kinds of weather and never any
problem.  However, in the present case, for one thing, I usually have to
start my hard turn to port as if I were going to head into the (already
occupied) third slip out from me.  If one were driving a car doing this on
dry land, one would crash into the motor at the back of that boat.  I have
to "slide" out to starboard during the turn to actually come in, hopefully,
right in the middle of my slip without touching anything.  Surprisingly,
this works at least half the time, and over the past 1-1/2 years until
November, the rest of the time involved a bump into a fender or the like, so
no big deal--at worst a rubbing of the gel coat alongside the white rubber
strip at the edge of the finger pier, or against the small turning wheel at
the entrance to the port finger pier.  But there should be a way to make
this virtually 100% successful in all but emergency weather conditions and
where you could even explain to a guest skipper what he or she needs to do
as the best technique for this particular slip.  My success rate had gone up
significantly after the first few months of owning the boat when I started
the practice of, if needed,  momentarily engaging the engine in forward
during the turn, with the motor linked to the tiller.  Then, if I weren't
going to complete the turn in time (i.e., coming in too far too starboard),
I would change the tiller/linked motor  steering direction bringing the
tiller hard to port and momentarily hitting reverse to straighten the boat
out before proceeding (hopefully) straight into the slip.  This appears to
have been hard on the engine, as you said in an earlier email.

Roger, I really like your earlier suggestions, which I quote below:

"You might consider finding a different slip for next season. For example, a

slip right across from you would be better. A tight turn to starboard in

this situation is much easier than to port.

"If it were my boat & I were being more cautious, I think I would pull up to

the end of the finger pier, port side to the pier. I would either put out

fenders on the port side amidships or mount a suitable bumper on the corner

of my pier. I would loosely tie off amidships & use a bow line to warp the

bow around into the slip. No muss - no fuss."

There is not alot of room to do this at my slip, but it should be feasible.
The finger pier at the port is only one foot wide, and their is a long boat
with a motor protruding to port.  Likewise there is a boat and protruding
motor on the starboard side of my slip (mine being the last full one with a
finger pier on both sides to make an enclosure), and which of course one
would not want to "warp around" outside the edge of the slip and into that
motor.  The slip is 10 feet side.  So what you say should work with a
practiced technique, and I am going to try it.  Using your single dock line
idea  in your article quoted below, this could also be the line that I fetch
at the end of the port finger pier.


David Keyes



----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger Pihlaja" <cen09402@centurytel.net>
To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org>
Sent: Sunday, January 12, 2003 5:53 AM
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Combination Of Sharp Turn To Port + Single
HandedDocking


> Thank you Steve & Mark!  This was the article on single handed docking I
was
> refering to.
>
> So, David, what do you think?  Wouldn't executing a sharp 90 deg turn to
> port & throwing a single dock line over a piling or cleat on the end of
your
> finger pier be more graceful & less taxing on your equipment than what you
> do now?
>
> By the way, if your marina is so tight & the wind blows like you say, how
do
> the boats around you get into their slips?
>
> Roger Pihlaja
> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Steve Alm" <salm@mn.rr.com>
> To: <rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org>
> Sent: Friday, January 10, 2003 5:41 PM
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Single Handed Docking Article
>
>
> > Here it is:
> >
> > All boats have a point along both sides, usually just aft of amidships,
> > wherein a single dock line will cause the boat to stop parallel to a
dock.
> > To find this point, pick a place along the side.  It's helpful to use
the
> > sliding cars on the genoa tracks for this purpose.  Attach a mooring
line
> to
> > this point & pull on it from behind.  If the bow pulls towards you
faster
> > than the stern, then slide the attachment point aft.  If the stern is
> > favored, then move the attachment point forward.  When the boat crabs
> > sideways towards you, then you have found the approximate sweet spot.
The
> > actual sweet spot will shift slightly when the boat has forward
momentum.
> > However, this approximate location will be sufficiently close to allow
you
> > to go out & try to pull up to a dock with a single line.  Try to stop
the
> > boat with a single mooring line using your approximate sweet spot.  If
the
> > bow or stern tend to crab towards the dock faster, then adjust the
> position
> > of the line fore or aft as before & try again.  When you have found the
> > correct location, you should at least mark it.  You may even wish to
> install
> > permanent mooring cleats there port & starboard.
> >
> > With a single mooring line, simply motor up to the dock, slip your loop
> over
> > the piling near the end of the dock, & shift into neutral.  The mooring
> line
> > attached to the sweet spot will snub the boat's forward momentum & the
> boat
> > will almost magically "crab" sideways up against the dock.  This
sideways
> > crabbing involves a tremendous amount of drag, which uses up the boat's
> > forward momentum in a matter of inches, thus making it almost impossible
> to
> > hit the dock.  The boat will stop at a convenient distance away from the
> > dock for you to go around attaching your bow & stern lines at your
> leisure.
> > Try this technique.  I guarantee it will make you look like a boat
> handling
> > genius!
> >
> > Roger Pihlaja
> > S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> >
> > On 1/10/03 12:50 PM, "Roger Pihlaja" <cen09402@centurytel.net> wrote:
> >
> > > Hey Everyone,
> > >
> > > Did anyone happen to save a copy of an article I wrote several months
> ago re a
> > > foolproof single line docking procedure?  I can't find it in the
SailNet
> > > archives or on the FAQ page & I don't know how to search the new
> archives.
> > > I'd really rather not retype the whole thing if someone has a copy
they
> could
> > > repost.
> > >
> > > I'd like to forward it along to David Keyes.  The combination of the
> technique
> > > for making a sharp turn to port which I described in my previous post
> along
> > > with this single line docking technique might work very well in his
> situation.
> > >
> > > Roger Pihlaja
> > > S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> > > _________________________________________________
> > > Use Rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
> >
> > _________________________________________________
> > Use Rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
> >
>
> _________________________________________________
> Use Rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list