Proper docking techniques (under power)

[patrscoe]

Been sailing off and on for over 20 years and had small 16' to racing 22 to Pearson 26 to Oday cruisers to our current sailboat, Pearson 35. Love the science and process of trimming and always had no problem sailing anything from a 16' to 35' but docking under power.... always, I mean always had problems, especially with additional conditions like strong currents, strong winds or / and combination of a tight marina. I have put my wife in so many awlful conditions while docking that I'm lucky she doesn't request to be dropped off at the fuel dock slip while I enter into the slip. It feels like golf, whenever I think I have it undercontrol, my next drive I slice it right into the woods.

Any good advice besides finding a mooring lease?
My current problem is the angle or approach and controlling the speed, too slow or too fast.

Patrick

[SVCarolena]

We found the best trick for docking our Pearson 303 is to keep long lines hanging from the pilings at the end of our slip. If current and/or wind make it difficult to just pull in, we grab one or both of those lines and use them to control the boat into the slip. For example, we pull up alongside the end of our slip and grab the upwind line. We then back up a bit and get the nose between the pilings. We then proceed forward very slowly while using the line to keep us centered. We do use our rubrails and will pivot off the pilings if necessary. Once we are docked, we put on the regular lines and return the ones on the pilings to their holders. Before they redid our marina and extended the finger docks, we used the same lines from the pilings as spring lines. Every slip is going to be different, of course. We also switched to pulling in bow first, which is much easier than trying to back in. The other key aspect is no more speed than necessary to keep steerage, and use propwalk to your advantage (think of propwalk as a stern thruster for the boat). Finally, never dock any faster than you are willing to hit something.

[NCC320]

You might find some useful info on this current SailNet post:

Single Handing Made Easy - What Are Your Techniques?

[IslanderGuy]

A few more specifics to your particular docking situation might help, but here are a few general things I do that help...

1. Stop outside the marina and get a feel for what the tides and winds are doing and how they will effect the boat. Sometimes if going into a difficult situation I'll stop a few times, and different angles and see how the current and wind will move or turn my boat before heading in to the tight spots.

2. Pre-plan for the current and wind, is the bow going to blow off in the direction you are turning? Let it, rather then steering into the turn and having the wind blow you too far. You may end up steering a little in the wrong direction to slow the turn to the right speed. Is the current going to push you on past your slip? If so, turn early and get pointed in the right direction, and let the current push you into position.

3. Take the long way if needed. getting into some spots can be tricky coming straight down the fairway if the wind and current will sweep you right on by. It may be better to go past your slip, turn around and come back from the other direction so you are powering into the wind and current rather then with it. It can be much easier to control the turn this way. We had to do this a lot in our last marina.

4. Talk it out first. Going over the plan with my wife first does a few things.
A) She knows what to expect, although she knows the plans WILL change once we get started.
B) I talk through several options "If the bow blows off to fast, we will have to go down and come back around.." Lets her know again that things may not work out as planned.
C) She often sees potential issues I did not and has good idea.
D) If things go way wrong, it's not all my fault as she had as much chance as I did to foresee the issue and plan for it. We both missed it, that happens.
Of course the down side is if she says we should do X and I say, no lets try Y, and Y does not work, then it's REALLY all my fault

Not sure if any of this is new or helpful to you, but it might help someone.

[tomandchris]

Patrick, the two biggest helps in docking a larger boat are practice and spring lines. Sounds like you and your wife have had lots of practice, so try some more with spring lines.

I have long been a big fan of Capt. Jack Klang. He visits many boat shows for Quantum Sails and his clinics are great. You can find information by a simple search or go to Quantum Sales website and there is a link to Jack. He also sells instruction booklets and DVD's as well.

The most important thing I ever learned from Jack, and an instructor that Jack taught, was the use of a spring line when docking. I sail my C34 single handed more than with crew. A mid ships cleat and a spring line make it a simple, and usually very uneventful, return to my dock. I use the same spring line when visiting different ports and the fuel dock. This works in forward or reverse, dependent on landing. Obviously, it works even better with crew that knows what you want to accomplish. Careful with anyone else.

I have a spring line marked for my home slip that when on the mid ships cleat, and run outside the lifelines to a stern cleat at the mark, can be dropped over the post at the end of my pier. I come in with enough way on to keep steerage, but I am also a believer in that you come in as fast as you are willing to hit the dock. I don't like hitting docks. As I am passing my post (or cleat in some cases) I drop the spring line over it and let the slack out of the line. Sometimes I am in neutral, sometimes in reverse, depentent on wind conditions and speed. As I have control of the speed I put the boat back into very slow forward and take all the slack out of the spring. That stops me one foot from the head of my slip. I leave the boat at slow forward and set the wheel so that the boat holds against the dock. Leaving the boat in slow forward, and against the dock, I then go forward, connect my bow lines, then either put the boat in slow reverse to take out the bow line slack (or pull it back if not windy) and connect the stern line. Then the boat is shut down and I can do any additional lines totally under control.

When I return to my slip my dock neighbors let me come alongside under control and then they sometimes help tie the bow lines. They know that unless something really strange happens that there will not be a show to watch.

I use the same spring line and slow forward almost everywhere I go. I find that in some ports and fuel docks the staff is sometimes very willing to help but clueless. Same with some other boaters on the dock. Therefore I prefer to control the situation and not hand out lines in the hope that they know what to do with them. Coming into most fuel docks you are coming alongside. With my spring line at mid ships I just drop the line over a post or cleat as I come in and with the line in my hand the boat with come alongside in control. Once the boat is stopped THEN I will hand them the bow or stern line to tie.

Bottom line.....spring lines, and thanks to Capt. Jack!

Just read what islanderGuy wrote. Totally agree with his thinking in advance of the situation.

[Minnewaska]

A spring line is almost always the answer. If you power against it, it should pull and hold you to the dock. Where to tie it on the boat and what to get it around on the dock will depend on what is around and the direction you are facing. If you can provide a diagram or description, we can probably be of more help.

As far as speed goes, you should never go faster than necessary to maintain directional control. Practice that away from the dock and near something visual. I think mooring balls are best. You can also test your prop walk this way, as you really need something visually nearby to fully appreciate how much you have. I will get her moving around the dock and return to neutral, then back in gear only to maintain control. When I'm about 10 feet from the stop, I put her in gear in the opposite direction, with no extra throttle. As I get very close, a quick burst to high throttle and back to neutral will stop her on a dime. This can also be tested by pulling up to or back up to a mooring ball, with little to no risk of damage as you practice.

[Minnewaska]

I did see Capt Klang at the Annapolis sailboat show about two years ago. He's very good. I've also seen his DVD, which isn't the greatest production quality, but spot on anyway. I can recall him repeatedly saying something like the "boat will stay in position until you untie it or she runs out of fuel" over and over.... He is right.

[YeahJohn]

Dock info is very important. Our marina allows boats to hang over slips up to 4 feet, so using a pivot technique is out of the question, my slip always has a wicked side wind and current, and the bow almost always tries to come back in to the slip. Something about having you boat spin on you in a tight marina with a 40 foot channel just makes you want to jump ship, I never use line assist but a few in my gangway have lines cleated off at the end of their slips for backing out, pretty much you keep a long line in hand back out and if anything happens you can pull yourself back in, and it helps you pivot from mid channel as well. Ask some friends at the marina.

[MarkSF]

It's getting so that people come and watch when we start approaching the slip. But I'm getting better.

I think the most important rule is to go really slowly, just fast enough to steer. If you loose steering way, a quick burst of power will restore steering. Going slowly means if things go wrong the worst thing that can happen is that you look daft. No damage will result to the boat.

I learnt this on a club boat a while ago. When approaching the dock, at that point when you give it a nice final burst of reverse to stop the boat, the throttle lever came clean off in my hand. We were going slowly though and the crew killed the last bit of speed nicely with the stern line.

Second rule is : when everything is going wrong, firstly kill the power and into neutral.

It got much much easier when I switched to an upwind slip.

[patrscoe]

All great advise. Our slip has two piles in front about 15' apart and 40' to the main dock. There is another pile mid way and then a 18' small finger dock.
Last weekend everything was going fine, entered into the slip and just past the first set of piles and then the bow started to drift and I immediately started to go in reverse which based on my prop walk, made it worse. At that point, the mid pile was to far away, panic set in and we quickly looked foolish.
I think setting up spring lines on the piles already will help.
We our previous sailboats, it wasn't a heartache when I slowly banged into a pile since it was a lighter and much less expensive sailboat. Now, it kills me seeing dock marks on the hull or just that noise of the hull rubbing against a pile.

I'll look into the springlines and perhaps some info on Jack's dvd.
thanks
Patrick