SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

Learning to dock shorthanded

14K views 65 replies 33 participants last post by  Delezynski 
#1 ·
My wife and I have been struggling to find a good docking strategy when it's just the two of us. I'm at the helm and feel comfortable using the motor to control forward / aft movement, but there is a moment when we always lose control of either the bow or stern. Right as we lose forward momentum one of the ends of the boat tends to drift perpendicularly to the dock. I have no idea how people single-hand docking.

Anyway, what are the best strategies for docking short handed? We've been tying a line to the shrouds and using that as a beam line, but it hasn't been very smooth...
 
#41 ·
Maybe I just have an easy slip. I just got my first bigger boat this year and was nervous about docking. I have to say that I find there is nothing to it. I tried it once with the wife onboard but told her to let me do everything. Was a piece of cake. I have since gone out singlehand several times and never have an issue docking. I am the clinton river and the slips are right on the river. I just drive up the river and make a left turn into the slip. I bring the boat to a stop, kill the engine and grab the boat hook. Snag my two back lines, then hop off and grap my bow lines off the wall and tie up. Just for the hell of it I tried backing in and had no issue at all. Just backed right in. Although I could not tie off that way because the slip is not rigged for it and I think I was bottoming out because I could not get less than about two or three feet from the seawall. And its a tartan 30 which I have always heard was a pain to back up. I found no issue at all. Not sure what gives but I never even think/worry about docking. Was/is way easier than I was thinking.
 
#45 ·
We, my wife and I, are both in our mid 60's and had to struggle with docking. She just didn't have the arm strength, and I didn't have the skill, to stop our boat, 36', dead in the water at a dock. We switched roles and with the aid of a "Docking Stick" and our center cleat we now have no problems docking. We have found out that she has a much 'softer' touch at the helm than I. Hope this helps.
 
  • Like
Reactions: davidpm
#47 ·
Something that was drilled into me was
1.rudder only steers when water moving across it.
2.only get prop walk when prop is spinning
3. when bow goes to right stern goes to the left( and vise a versus) e.g. boats especially fin keel boats pivot

therefore when docking and want boat to steer not walk use very brief but strong bursts of engine with neutral in between
Use the pivot to your advantage.
use the wind to aid docking. if wind pushing you into slip and docking bow first ghost using bursts of reverse to position boat
go as slow as you can.
don't stand behind the wheel constantly or be stuck on side where throttle is -move around to see where you really are.
my 2 cents
 
#48 ·
I never leave the dock alone. The problem is that I just can't predict what conditions will be when I return. The wind can be on the nose, to port, to starboard, or behind me. Currents run parallel with my slip. The exit to the marina is to the left in the pic below.

Here is my situation;


I'm in the slip occupied by the boat in yellow. You can see that the fairway is tight, and there is usually a SeaRay 340 in the slip next to me...

My boat is 35' long, and I believe that the distance from the piling to the end of the slip is about 33'.

Here is another view;


What I do when leaving is; Double the green line on the bow. Start the motor, cast off all lines except the green bow line, put the boat into reverse. Because prop walk will push my bow to starboard, I do not let the crew on the bow release the green line until the bow swings to port (or is next to the finger pier). I even encourage them to give a tug on the line to help pivot the bow to starboard.

If the crew on the bow releases the line early, and the bow does not swing to port, I will back down the fairwary.

When returning;

I have fenders out, and bow, stern and spring lines rigged before I enter the fairway. When I enter the fairway, I have crew go up to the shrouds (the red arrow), with the spring line (red) in hand, and prepare to step onto the dock. As soon as they can, I have them step onto the dock, and secure the spring line first. I then put the boat into reverse to stop any forward momentum, and prop walk pushes the stern to snuggle against the dock. I then tell them to QUICKLY go forward, and grab the port bow line (green) to keep me from swinging into my neighbor's SeaRay. As they do this, I step off and secure the stern line.

I am open to suggestions, but I can't imagine doing this single handed.
 
#50 ·
My dock set up is almost identical to yours. True, you will never be able to predict what the wind will be doing later, but it should be able to be handled. My boat is a C34, so 35' LOA, and I single hand 90% of the time and dock without help almost 100% of the time.

I have one long spring line that is measured and marked for my slip. It runs from the mid ship cleat, or a shroud on other boats I sail, outside the lifelines to the back cleat. That line is dropped over the cleat or post on the end of my pier and I control it as the boat moves forward until it stops 6" from the bow touching the dock. Nobody jumps off and does anything quickly, it is controlled and so far never an accident.
The worst winds for me are a N or NE wind on my stern as it forces me to come in a little hot. However, I have done it in above 30Kts of wind with little problem. A E wind wants to push me off the pier, but the spring controls that and snugs me in.
I use the same spring line when traveling, it is just not pre measured. Once that line is on I am comforable with a port of starboard tie.
 
#49 ·
I would want to be in the Searay's slip. That would help with your approach and launch. And if you need to dock on the Port side then get a slip on the opposite side of the main dock. Put a request into the yard to be relocated, I had to wait four years till I got what I wanted. And I have the same issue you have, my boat is longer then the dock finger making stopping the boat with the dock cleats difficult, needing to tie a dock line off up near the companionway.
 
#53 ·
Boat is a 2006, Hunter 36 for reference to my question.

It may sound like a simple question, but where should spring lines be placed when backing in? I wonder if it will work at all, given that the position of the midship cleat attached to a forward dock cleat may actually spring me off the dock.
 
#56 ·
Always works with a mid ship cleat. If you don't have one, and lots of production boats don't, add one permanently or on the genoa track. Find the place that works best for your boat, but it will be close to mid ship. If you are single handed, and want to control the line from the helm, you will need a long line or one with a loop to drop over the dock cleat or post. Just don't miss.
 
#57 ·
A quick item that you might consider is yarn.

When I am out, before I head in, I use a small amount of standard yarn to tie up my docking lines outside all gear. I run a long bow line back, secured at each Stanchion with one wrap of yarn. The same with a stern line. Once at the dock, use the midship line and the other two just fee up with a small tug. You can see a Youtube of this at;
A skeen or two - YouTube

Makes for no panic, no strain & no pain!

Greg
 
#65 · (Edited)
seems much too much fiddling around for a 27 boat. I don't know, I just don't get it. One thing no one is mentioning is establishing visual references in your approach. If you could follow the eye and 'scan' of someone who is highly competent at docking, you'd notice that they're rarely trying to look at the edge of the dock, and that they're using many more visual references on the approach. A poor docker sees the tree. A competent one sees the forrest.
Once one figures this out, it all gets much easier and the need for strings attached, etc... pretty much goes away.
 
#59 ·
Every docking procedure is different: different wind, current, swing room, cleats or pilings, etc. One of the best improvements I ever made was installing midship cleats. Singlehanding, it makes it much easier to jump off and quickly get a spring on a cleat or pile. The crucial part of the entire operation, of course, is getting the boat parallel and close to a dock in the first place. With no one to heave a line to, tying on is secondary because you're already close. Heaving a line in panic when you're too far away to someone on a dock who has no idea of where it might get attached is inviting a problem. Having the lifeline gate open and lines ready to grab quickly right there at the gate usually works.

That said, planning so you don't need to get into places with no good options is the best strategy. I would rather jerry can fuel from afar than brave a dockside feeding frenzy:) or anchor out if dock space is in a really lousy spot. Getting a keel-attached rudder sailboat into tight spots ain't like maneuvering with twin screws and a bow thruster. Gotta know your limitations.
 
  • Like
Reactions: outbound
#60 ·
I see that I need to work on right and left... While backing, I have the crew hold onto, or tug, the doubled bow line to pull the bow to PORT.:hammer
I need to back the vessel to starboard so that I can make a forward turn to port without bumping into the dock. Sorry for any confusion.:eek:

Delta-T said:
I would want to be in the Searay's slip. That would help with your approach and launch. And if you need to dock on the Port side then get a slip on the opposite side of the main dock. Put a request into the yard to be relocated, I had to wait four years till I got what I wanted. And I have the same issue you have, my boat is longer then the dock finger making stopping the boat with the dock cleats difficult, needing to tie a dock line off up near the companionway.
I like the guy in the SeaRay, and would like to stay where I am. Whenever a storm comes in, he and I lash our boats together, and reposition them so that they are in the middle of the slip. He watches over my boat, and I watch over his.

Also, prop walk would tend to push me away from the dock if I were in his slip.

tomandschris said:
My dock set up is almost identical to yours. True, you will never be able to predict what the wind will be doing later, but it should be able to be handled. My boat is a C34, so 35' LOA, and I single hand 90% of the time and dock without help almost 100% of the time.

I have one long spring line that is measured and marked for my slip. It runs from the mid ship cleat, or a shroud on other boats I sail, outside the lifelines to the back cleat. That line is dropped over the cleat or post on the end of my pier and I control it as the boat moves forward until it stops 6" from the bow touching the dock. Nobody jumps off and does anything quickly, it is controlled and so far never an accident.
The worst winds for me are a N or NE wind on my stern as it forces me to come in a little hot. However, I have done it in above 30Kts of wind with little problem. A E wind wants to push me off the pier, but the spring controls that and snugs me in.
I use the same spring line when traveling, it is just not pre measured. Once that line is on I am comforable with a port of starboard tie.
This wont work for me for three reasons:

First, I don't have a fixed mid ship cleat, but use (Garhauer) adjustable cleats on the genoa track... thus the length of the spring line can vary with the position of the cleat on the track. Because the cleats can move in relation to the hull, marking the spring line stop point won't help me.

Second, I always take my dock lines with me. I believe that I should be always be prepared to dock anywhere, and hate to leave anything on the dock behind me. When I leave for a daysail, I leave the shore power cord on the dock, but for overnight trips I take this too.

Third, my biggest fear when returning is that the bow will drift over to the SeaRay. Propwalk and a wind from the west, both exacerbate the tendency of my bow to wander toward the SeaRay.

weinie said:
I think the reason you are having problems single handing this is because your slip is too short for your boat! If you were to try to lasso the aftmost cleat on the dock from the cockpit with a line from amidship, your bow would already be hitting the dock in front of you by the time you were next to the cleat.
I would try pulling in stern first, though I would request a slip with the finger on the other side so that you could use prop walk in reverse to snug your aft end to the dock with a line from amidship. You would still lasso the first cleat on the dock but now you have all room in the world to use that line to snug up as you reverse in.
Agreed, the slip is too short, and it would be easier if I were to back in - especially if I were to trade slips with the SeaRay. However I prefer bow in, and the privacy that it affords...

Thanks to those that commented for your suggestions:) You can see, however, that this is a difficult situation.
 
#62 ·
I picked my slip out today and while I'll only be on a C22 I'm sure it will be a tad nerve racking the first time. Although I am in a single slip and it's much wider than my little boat and I'm in a lake so no tides or currents. I think the good part is the prevailing wind will be dead behind me and the fairways are very wide. I could easily do a donut in the middle, lol...
 
#63 ·
Well, the good news is you like your neighbor and you take care of each other. That makes for a good slip no matter the problems.

As to your Garhauer cleat, why can't you use a indelible marker so that you can put it back in the same position when you return? No different than racers/cruisers that mark their genoa cars postiions for different wind speeds. Saves time and guesswork and easy to fine tune from there.

I too make sure that I have extra lines aboard in case I have to dock somewhere else in an emergency. They can be old lines, but they still work for emergencies. However, it is so much easier if you can leave lines on the dock that put your boat in the same position you like without adjustment. Quicker/easier!The only line I always take with me is the spring!

Your third reason is why a spring line works for you. It forces the boat over to your pier and keeps it away from your friend next door.

With the lenght of your slip it may be easier for the spring from your Garhauer cleat to run outside your lifelines around the end cleat/post on your dock, and loop forward over your winch.
Before you go out next time set up the spring line and snug it up to where you want the boat to end up. Start the engine, put the boat in gear, and then remove the bow and stern lines one at a time and see what happens. A little turn of the wheel will move the bow to port or starboard and you will stay against the dock at mid ship.

I had a guy with a boat similar to mine ask why I did not have problems docking when he was having a fit with his boat. I showed him Capt. Jack's system and how I used it. He told me all the reasons it would not work for him( same port tie slip, very simialar boat). I said to everyone their own....good luck. After three more outings, and two hard landings, he came back and asked if I would help him figure it out. We rigged the spring in the slip, walked him through the physics of it, and then went out and came back in 4 times. I did the first landing, he did the next three, and not once did we hit anything. The only problem now is his slip neighbors don't have the same entertainment value they once had.....but their boats are safer!:)
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top