I was at a public dock with major surge this weekend. My strategy with surge (and in general for that matter) is to use big
fenders, spring
lines, and give the boat lots of dock
line so she can move independently from the dock. Another boat owner saw my boat dancing around, and asked if I shouldn't pull the boat tighter to the dock. I explained my method, and he seemed to buy it.
An impressive 60-70 foot power yacht was tied to the same dock. IMO, it didn't have large enough
fenders (and possibly the wrong type), and was taking a beating from the surge (yeah...it was THAT bad). Three guys came off the yacht and started cinching down on the dock
lines, trying to make them as tight as possible, then went back aboard. I thought: "guys...you are not going to win that battle!" Five minutes later...BANG...BANG...the
lines started snapping (and they were good sized lines!). The guys came back out and started untying the Yacht. I thought "Good, they are going to take her out of here". They did, and proceeded to turn her around and tie her up in the same spot (Presumably so the new side would match the beaten up side? She HAD a lovely Navy blue hull BTW!). Seems like a classic case of more money then sense.
In any case, how do you deal with surge? Put her in bondage, or let her dance?