Tie up to dock: loose or tight?

[TonyInNewportOregon]

I have a 29 footer and would like some advice on whether to tie up to the slip tightly or loosely to minimize the constant rocking. I expected rocking, of course: I may be new to sailboats, but I was on a Naval vessel long enough to know about rocking. I'm just looking for any little trick -- if their is such a thing -- to minimize it.

Mother Nature always wins.

TonyInNewportOregon

[chucklesR]

You leave enough slack to ride up and down on the tide - failing to do so can put severe stress on the cleats by literally hanging the boat from the cleat at low tide, or sinking the boat down into the water (and over the scupper holes) at high tide. The boat must be allowed to float with the tide.

One never ties a boat to dock so hard and so tight as to prevent the boat from rocking. You either get used to it or move off. That rocking is the boat dissipating the energy of the water /waves rather than absorbing that energy.

[WanderingStar]

If you're at a floating dock you can tie as tightly as you wish. Some additional ballast might steady her. I once hung a bucket off the boom, below the surface, swung out to limit rolling. It helped some. That was at anchor.

[Capnblu]

If your boat rocking is too much, go for a higher displacement boat next time. Depending on your location, the displacement needed to prevent an unacceptable amount of rocking will increase to the point where you will find yourself in a special kind of boat equipped with a foundation, and a mailbox. Occasionally even these "BOATS" will rock. Sorry Tony, perhaps you need to get into outer space.

[craigtoo]

Related Discussion Here...

Technique for Tying Boat to Dock in Surgy Conditions?

[jjablonowski]

You might try these: Davis - Marine - Rocker Stopper®

[camaraderie]

You might also try the solution used by the Catalina 400 technical editor. He uses Mas Epoxy to secure the boat to the dock and recommends it due to lack of amine blush!

[gypsywomen]

In a week or 2 you wont even realize it. Trust me.
I find keeping your swing line on the tight side helps. Then you only sway side to side instead of all directions.

[kjango]

I must be an idiot . I love the gentle rocking at the dock . I did have one person get sea sick right at the dock though . It was too funny . I guess I won't see her again . hahahhahahha

[CaptainForce]

Make sure you use something with stretch like three-strand nylon docklines. Sometimes people mistakenly use old dacron sheets, etc... and get jerked about. If your rock is due to waves produced from a long fetch with wind, you may want to have two dock lines at each quarter. One to be left at a looser point and one for a marked tighter point to windward as needed. This photo shows the fetch to the SSE at my current slip, so I must be prepared.

However, If your rocking is wake related I realize you need to be ready for an event at any time. A good set of fenders and fender boards can allow you to position yourself more firmly in the slip too. 'take care and joy, Aythya crew