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New Marina-No Finger Piers

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Cate
Navigator

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199 Posts

Initially Posted - 02/10/2007 : 12:28:08

We are moving to a lovely, quiet, sailboat friendly, marina this spring and there are no finger piers, just two pilings and a bulk head. While I am excited about the move, I am concerned about boarding and loading the boat. We have a furler and outboard so access from either the bow or stern is going to be tricky. Does anybody have some suggestions about how we can access our boat safely and securely in this situation?

1983 C-25, Standard rig, swing keel

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existentialsailor
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1180 Posts

Response Posted - 02/10/2007 : 12:41:06

When I was on the lake, the folks next to me had a C25 and made up a little ramp to board from the stern of the boat. Worked well for them.

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Cate
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199 Posts

Response Posted - 02/10/2007 : 12:47:09

I also wanted to add the we have a stern rail and BBQ (port side).

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Dave Bristle
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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 02/10/2007 : 15:03:20

How high is the bulkhead at MLW? What is your tide range? How far out are the pilings? What does everyone else with outboards do? I can imagine a little hinged, cantilevered gangway with bungees between the end and a pair of posts, holding the gangway slightly above the transom until somebody steps on it, at which point it rests on the transom.

Once upon a time, for boarding from the stern, I cut out the center section of the sternrail and capped the two sides with little stainless inserts. I thought about adding a lower crossbar in place of that section, above the traveler, to regain some of the lost rigidity of the rail, but "never got a round tuit."

Take a look at http://www.froghooks.com/index.html --we used these at our town boat club in "slips" with no outer pilings. They're more for power boats than sailboats because power boats have wider, stronger transoms, but of the four C-25s (including ours) and a few similar sailboats I've known to use them there, none had any problems. They just require a pair of U-bolts on the transom--I positioned one inside the outboard bracket (on starboard) and the other under the swim ladder, as far to port as possible--with plenty of backing. (It took a trip into the dumpster...)

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PZell
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548 Posts

Response Posted - 02/11/2007 : 12:31:43

Stern to. Two 2x4s either side of rudder in the notch there with something on the end to keep them from sliding off. Slap a board on the 2x4s. Get fancy and put some lath for traction across the board. Tie the rudder amidships. Presto.
Gangway med style.

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Brooke Willson
Admiral

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983 Posts

Response Posted - 02/11/2007 : 12:56:14

Cate, if you're in salt water, you need to tilt your outboard out of the water, which will put your stern farther away from the bulkhead. I have a small finger pier at our slip, but I dock bow-to because of the outboard. You might build a gangway, but board by pulling the bow to one side or the other so you can place the gangway where the lifeline runs low to the pulpit, at a less acute angle than if the bow were straight on.

Either way, someone is going to have to jump from the boat to the shore when you bring her in. I find it easier to step over the pulpit, stand on the gunwale, and hold on to the forestay than to do the same at the stern.

Brooke

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Cate
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199 Posts

Response Posted - 02/11/2007 : 20:55:25

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Brooke Willson
 Cate, if you're in salt water, you need to tilt your outboard out of the water, which will put your stern farther away from the bulkhead.
Brooke
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

We are in brackish water and when the motor is raised (not tilted) the only part in the water is the prop. Would it be bad to leave it like this while in the slip?

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Cate
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199 Posts

Response Posted - 02/11/2007 : 21:05:38

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Dave Bristle
 How high is the bulkhead at MLW? What is your tide range? How far out are the pilings?
Take a look at http://www.froghooks.com/index.html
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

We have not moved our boat to the new slip yet, but it is on the same tidal river. The MTL (mean tidal level) is .25 feet, so not a lot of movement there. The pilings look like they are 25-30 feet out from the bulkhead. (we have not measured, but other boats our size seem to indicate that approximate distance)

I checked out the Froghooks and would make that my plan C or D. Cost and labor could be similar to making a short, narrow pier or gangplank.

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Brooke Willson
Admiral

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983 Posts

Response Posted - 02/12/2007 : 07:45:31

It depends on how brack the brackish is. If barnacles grow in that water (ask other people at your marina), then they will grow on your prop if left in the water. You can't paint the prop with anti-fouling paint, and barnacles on the prop and the bottom of the outboard shaft are big trouble. Among other things, your intake for engine cooling water is probably down there, and you don't want that fouled. Last Spring the marina guys forgot to tilt my motor when they put my boat back in the water, and in a couple of weeks I had a stunning and hard to remove collection of barnacles. Granted, I'm 15 miles up the river from the Chesapeake. Talk to your neighbors about fouling issues.

Brooke

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Dave Bristle
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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 02/12/2007 : 12:46:11

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Cate
 <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Brooke Willson
 Cate, if you're in salt water, you need to tilt your outboard out of the water, which will put your stern farther away from the bulkhead.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">We are in brackish water and when the motor is raised (not tilted) the only part in the water is the prop. Would it be bad to leave it like this while in the slip?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
My D.P.O. left the outboard skeg in the water, and it became quite corroded. I bought one with a longer shaft and only had to tilt it one notch to get everything out of the water. At that angle, 42" Frog Hooks worked fine, so I'd say your gangplank to the stern would not need to be more than 4' long. That makes a much friendlier boarding procedure for guests as well as you and your crew than climbing over the bow--I've done both. My bungee suggestion would leave the gangplank hanging in a way that you could easily access it when you return to the slip. With a tide range that tiny, it should work nicely.

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