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Single handed docking puzzle

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kevinmac
Admiral

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USA
732 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/13/2006 : 00:18:58

My new C250 is ready to go. I had a rigger out today to show me how to properly tension the standing rigging (dealer did not do it correctly, was obvious to me). Now that I have seen proper tension, I can keep it that way myself.

The outboard dealer came out and looking into my idle problem, described in another thread. The idle stop was set too low, and there may have been oil on the plugs.

So, ready to go, only one problem. How the heck am I going to get into and out of my slip by myself? I am going to describe the situation, and hope that you experienced folks can describe how you would go about it. As I said in a previous thread, sailing seems easy to me (at least easy to do minimally, it will take the rest of my life to learn to do well, if I live that long), but motoring and docking a keelboat is a challenge for me.

While considering this, please also take into account that I am not in very good physical condition, and have some physical problems that make leaping from the boat to the dock a no no, and makes getting on and off the boat a slow process for me. So whatever I do, I have to do from the cockpit.

I have a 30' slip that is about 16' wide. There are no other boats in the slip with me, i.e. I tie up to both sides. The fairway (I think you call it) in front of my slip is about 25' - 30' wide.

The hard part is that the river current is across my slip, and it is usually strong. Today the river is approaching flood stage, and the current in the river may be as high as 4 knots. I am estimating the current in my slip at 1 to 2 knots. It is strong enough that if the boat is in the middle of the slip, I cannot just untie the upcurrent line, because the boat will literally slam into the downcurrent side of the slip.

I can imagine how to get out of the slip. If I am coordinated and compentent, I can push the boat away from the downcurrent side of the slip, and apply just the right amount of throttle with motor angled upcurrent and in reverse, and back out out of the slip just quickly enough to get out of the slip before the current catches the bow, then use forward to stop my progress toward the other side of the fairway and turn the boat down current to exit down the fairway. Ya, right...

That procedure would work for someone else, but I am sure I would screw it up. Without suggestions from all you folks, I would double up a spring line from the upcurrent winch to a center dock cleat, and another one from the upcurrent stern cleat to a stern cleat on the dock. I would back the boat slowly, manipulating the boat with the two lines until I get out of slip. Is there a better way?

Getting back in seems much harder to me. All I can think to do is to point the boat upcurrent as I turn into the slip, doing my best to keep a bit of speed going and to keep a point about 1/3 back from the bow moving toward the upwind finger of the slip until the last moment when I turn the boat parallel to the slip, apply reverse, and do my best to fend the boat off the downwind finger with a boat hook as we arrive with a bang. The fenders will help with this, but I wonder if I can time it right at my experience level, and I wonder if there is a better way.

Your advice would be much appreciated.

Kevin Mackenzie
Former Association Secretary and Commodore
"Dogs Allowed"
'06 C250WK #881
and
"Jasmine"
'01 Maine Cat 30 #34

Edited by - on

Russ.Johnson
Commodore

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USA
856 Posts

Response Posted - 01/13/2006 : 01:14:15

Kevin,
I've been to the Portland marinas near the airport, but never sailed there.
They are definitely designed for power boats.
There are some tricks for leaving a dock with 2 people in the cockpit.
If you're single-handed with a tiller and outboard that doesn't leave much for spring lines.
Have you tried the local Catalina associations?
They might have better ideas for your local conditions.

Columbia River All Catalina Association
www.columbiarivercatalina.org
Catalina-22 Fleet-20 Portland OR
www.c22pdx.org

Russ Johnson

Edited by - Russ.Johnson on 01/13/2006 01:22:49

coldducks
Captain

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USA
342 Posts

Response Posted - 01/13/2006 : 07:24:48

backing out of the slip is tricky.
we installed arlyn's softlink, which makes backing out so much easier. you have much more control.
have you looked into a little device called a "dock catcher". it is a thin flexible pole (much like fishng pole material) that attaches to the dock, stands about 4 ft. and has a flexible hook on the top. you hang a dock line on it and when entering the slip you reach out and grab the line and toss it over the winch. be sure the line is just long enough so the bow can not hit the front of the dock. the boat will fetch itself to the dock and you can step off with you lines in hand.

Edited by - on

bear
Admiral

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USA
909 Posts

Response Posted - 01/13/2006 : 08:21:02

Kevin, I too can not jump off my C250 on to the dock. I purchased a dock catcher three years ago and it helps out greatly. I single-handle 90% of the time. What I also do when wind is trying to blow me into the C-25 next to me is to back in. It allows you to grab the line on the dock catcher earlier and also lets you go out of your slip going forward when leaving. Generally the bow will follow the stern when backing up. Once the dock catcher line is around the winch
you just winch the boat alongside the dock. At times I use the boat hook to snag the line on the dock catcher. "Just my two cents worth"

Edited by - on

tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts

Response Posted - 01/13/2006 : 09:10:46

Hi Kevin,

I think I can help you with half of your problem, getting into the slip. My slip has a finger walk on one side and a boat on the other and is only 9' wide. The bow faces the dock that has two cleats there and the stern is secured to two poles. I run the line from the starboard pole to the port bow/dock cleat and the port pole to the starboard bow dock cleat. They form a rather large X shaped tether across the slip. Where the two lines cross I secure them, a simple square knot will do. So what you have is my famous "CATCHER IN THE RYE-VER" ( sorry I couldn't help my self)

. All you have to do is motor right in and the lines will catch and hold you. If you have this working for you you may at a later time add two large (20")loops at the cross in the lines to secure to the boats forward cleats. That's how I do it. Backing isn't a problem for me unless the wind is too strong in which case I don't sail.

Hope this helps.

Val on the hard DAGNABIT # 3936....Patchogue, N.Y.

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5908 Posts

Response Posted - 01/13/2006 : 09:30:22

Your situation is fairly unique, and I don't think we can give you a definitive answer. We can only give suggestions. First, the fact that everyone else gets in and out of their slips tells you that it can be done. There's a way to do it. You just have to figure out how. Secondly, the current is probably its strongest now. It'll probably be much slower in the dry summer months, and easier to cope with.

Talk to the others, especially other sailors, and ask how they get in and out. Watch them go in and out. Do they go in bow first or stern first? In what sequence do they untie their dock lines? When do they start the motor? When do they step aboard, and on which side? There's a way to deal with the current, and the local sailors have figured out the method.

When you have a difficult docking situation like that, the first thing you should do is protect the boat. Use big, soft fenders on the boat, and install rubber dock pads on the dock fingers, especially on the downstream side. A dock catcher would also be very helpful.

You have lots of options that you should consider. You need to decide whether it's easier to back into the slip, or pull into it bow-first. One of those choices might be easier going in and more difficult coming out, or vice versa, but you should choose the one that works best overall.

If you're leaving a slip with a strong cross wind or cross current, it helps to have the motor running in neutral, untie the downstream lines first, then untie the upstream lines and hold the boat alongside the upstream finger dock before boarding it.

When you leave the slip, you can either drive it out using the motor, or you can push it out by hand, while holding a line in your hand that's attached to a bow or stern cleat. If you push it out, the boat will vane into the current. Then, you might be able to push the boat further out into the fairway, stepping aboard as you do so.

One reason why it might be easier to push the boat out, rather than driving it out with the motor, is that you have very little directional control of a sailboat until it gets up enough speed to have steerageway, and it won't gain steerageway before it gets out of the slip.

It may be that, in this season, the current is just too strong for you to be able to take the boat out single handed. When the current is running strong, you might only be able to take her out when you have crew, or can round up someone on the docks to help you get out. The skipper always has to make a decision whether the best choice, under the conditions, is to stay safely in the slip until the conditions improve.

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 01/13/2006 : 10:50:33

As Steve said "If you're leaving a slip with a strong cross wind or cross current, it helps to have the motor running in neutral, untie the downstream lines first, then untie the upstream lines and hold the boat alongside the upstream finger dock before boarding it." I untie all of my lines except one from the weather side at the stern. I put one wrap around my winch and cleat it, (most often to Port). I start my motor and wait until it is happy. I toss off the dockline and exit rapidly for the sake of stearage. Remember that sailboats pivot at the keel, exiting straight back followed with a sharp turn is way better than trying to gentle make your turn. When I come in I usually can pick up the tossed dockline from my cockpit seat, as I gun it in reverse to stop the propwalk takes me to the port dockline.

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 01/13/2006 : 11:11:31

Kevin,

Being a singlehanded sailor myself, I know of the difficulties of which you speak. So far, a lot of helpful advice has been given, especially Val's <i>Catcher in the Rye-ver</i> idea (funny!

).

Something that may help you in the future with your cross current docking problem is something I do every year before I put my boat in for the season...choosing the best slip. Most of the sailors at my marina choose a slip based on location after their boat is docked..ie, closer to parking, amenities, friend's boat...etc, but I choose a slip based on ease of docking for the singlehanded sailor. Even though I have to do more manuevering to get to my slip, once there, my choice of slip helps me dock my boat which is important at my marina since I share a slip with another boat and we have nothing between us but 2-3 feet of air (no pilings).

My choice of slip gives me a couple of advantages when docking...

1. Having the prevailing wind (or current as in your case) on my nose when coming in to the slip. Having the wind primarily on the bow slows me down as I come in, which means I generally might use the motor to add more speed, but I never use it for a brake.

More importantly, heading into the wind keeps the bow from being blown to port or starboard. (Growing up, the dock at the family cottage was in a river with a good current and having the docks built according to the direction of the current was paramount to ease of docking.)

2. My slip is such that when I make my tight 90 degree arc into the slip, my finger dock is on the outboard side of the arc. This allows me to drift into my finger dock (Kind of like Captain Ron's docking manuever when he pulled into the yacht club!

) rather than drifting into the boat next to me. If the wind that day decides to come from the direction of my finger dock, I use a little more momentum knowing that I'm still aiming at my dock (and fenders) and not my neighbor's boat.

3. My finger dock is on the same side as my outboard. This allows me to use my outboard, if needed, for manuevering up to the last second allowing me to reach out and grab the dock without having to move.

There are other things I do to make life easier for me when docking, but selecting the right slip is first on my list. The second most important is practice. As you learn how your boat manuevers and gain experience, you'll find that docking becomes less stressful and almost instinctive.

Selecting a slip might not help you this season, but it might make life easier for you in the future.

Good Luck.

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5908 Posts

Response Posted - 01/13/2006 : 13:15:06

I know all the books on seamanship suggest using spring lines to help get away from a dock or slip against an adverse wind or current, but, if the conditions are as severe as you describe, I don’t think spring lines are the solution. Spring lines can help you overcome a moderate breeze or current coming from the direction that you want to go, but they’re usually no good for dealing with a fast current or a strong wind. If the conditions are that adverse, as soon as you let go of the spring line, the wind or current will force the boat right back where it was before you can get it moving away from the dock.

Depending on how fast the current is running, it might be easier to back into the slip. Since your slip is fairly wide, you might be able to back up until the transom is inside the slip, and then step onto one of the finger docks and “horse” the boat in by hand the rest of the way. The problem with that is, if the current is really 2 knots, some of our boats would have a hard time backing up that fast, and it’s not easy for a helmsman to control a sailboat backing that fast. Find a place away from the docks where the current is strong, and practice backing the boat against it, and see if you can make the boat go where you want. (Some people might think it odd of you to be backing your sailboat erratically around the marina, but, what do you care what they think!

)

Last summer, when I moved up to a 35' boat from the C25 that I sailed for 23 years, and started sailing out of a different dock than the one I used for 24 years, it was almost as if I had never sailed before. The first time out, I embarrassed myself, having to fend off a couple of boats on the way out of the slip. For the next two weeks, I sat in my slip and studied the prevailing wind direction, and thought about how to get a boat with an inboard diesel to go where I want it to go, and the best way to put the boat in and out, and tried to understand why I had the problems. The next time out, I still had problems, but not nearly as bad as the first time. Each time afterwards, I got a little better. Within a month, I had the puzzle solved, and was going in and out, singlehanded, as if I had been doing it all my life. But, the conditions I had to deal with were nowhere near as challenging as what you have to deal with. Be patient. If there’s an answer, you’ll figure it out.

Edited by - on

stewendkos
Navigator

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USA
109 Posts

Response Posted - 01/13/2006 : 13:47:22

Kevin,
We had similiar problems especially when we were in a leeward slip.In a wind- ward she almost backs out herself;however,THE soft-link system solved it all.Arlyn's on teck-tips.I would always have your boat facing out and never try to back out.You can turn it around at the slip.As far as docking you need to HEAD up into the current,never docking down current----no control there.It took us a while to get the hang of it,,and like Steve above says be patient.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 01/13/2006 : 16:11:27

Kevin... Thinking about the lines you proposed, I think I'd try a line from the end of the up-current finger dock to the winch on that side. With the motor turned toward the dock, I'd motor forward against that line to hold me against the dock while releasing the others, then I'd reverse and gun it to back out, letting the boat get past the end of the dock to the point where the line tightens and pulls the aft end around up-current. Then I'd turn the motor to back closer to the dock, slackening the line, unhook it from the winch and toss it on the dock. Don't know if any of that would really work, but that might be what I'd try... For coming in, I like Val's "catcher"!

Edited by - on

kevinmac
Admiral

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USA
732 Posts

Response Posted - 01/14/2006 : 01:39:50

Thanks everyone, all of that advice is very helpful. To dlucier, I'd have to add that while the advice is great, the marina where I keep the boat is very popular, and you are lucky to get a slip at all, let alone pick one. Although most marinas in this area lose boats in the winter, this one is still completely full in mid-January, I got the last slip. So I am on a waiting list for a better slip, but it will be a while...

I will try the various ideas suggested. I have also located a local boater who has to deal with this exact docking situation every time he uses his boat. He is a power boater, but I still think he can be helpful, and he has volunteered to go along with me when I take the boat out the first time. (I was hoping for that to be this weekend, but he suggests that would be unwise because our rivers are at or above flood stage, and there is a lot of HUGE crap (logs, forests, subdivisions, just kidding) coming down the river. He said if I like slalom with my new boat we could go out, but he would not take his boat out.)

He has another suggestion which mirrors some of the ones made here. He suggests we take 3 milk jugs, some line, and three bricks out to a quiet part of the river, and create a slip simulator. He believes that with an hour of practice, he can teach me to get in cross current between two of the jugs, and stop the boat with reverse before touching the third (at the bow). That actually sounds like a fun, low stress way to do this. Thanks to Steve for suggesting the same sort of thing.

Anyway, thank you all for your suggestions.

Darn, I can't wait to go out, but I have to...

Edited by - on

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