Advice for docking a boat that doesn't maneuver very well

[dakno]

Watch The Maryland School of Sailing docking video on You Tube and buy their booklet.

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by Terra Nova

For everyone who does not know, when coming in to a dock (end tie or slip), get the center spring line on (tight) immediately. Now the boat is under complete control and cannot go anywhere. Then you can take your time dealing with all other lines.

Unless your boat does not have a center cleat, like the vega's and old islanders.

[TrentePieds]

Here is an amusing little clip I have found useful for instructional purposes :-)

While amusing, in retrospect, since all is well that ends well, the clip is fraught with potentially deadly dangers. I think it is valuable, therefore, for those new to the game to try to make a list of ALL the errors, of judgement and of practical boat handling, that both skipper and crew made in this episode.

While few of us handle this much tonnage, the principles we need to have command of are the same in this vessel and in smaller ones.

TP

[TrentePieds]

alright- let's try it again :-)!

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

Unless your boat does not have a center cleat, like the vega's and old islanders.

This is a very simple fix.

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by markpierce

Hmmm. Need more practice? Never had a problem berthing my cutter Blackwatch with outboard behind the rudder. Extremely easy if berth was upwind when I often sailed into the berth, singlehanded.

I'm sure if the op could turn his fixed propeller like you could turn your outboard, he would find it easier to

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

Here is an amusing little clip I have found useful for instructional purposes :-)

While amusing, in retrospect, since all is well that ends well, the clip is fraught with potentially deadly dangers. I think it is valuable, therefore, for those new to the game to try to make a list of ALL the errors, of judgement and of practical boat handling, that both skipper and crew made in this episode.

While few of us handle this much tonnage, the principles we need to have command of are the same in this vessel and in smaller ones.

TP

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

alright- let's try it again :-)!

Clip no workee for me

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by Terra Nova

This is a very simple fix.

Oddly never had the need for one....

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

Oddly never had the need for one....

Actually you always had the need for one. You were just clever enough to work around the shortcoming.

[GTom]

Originally Posted by Terra Nova

When a collision is unavoidable, aim for something cheap.

A fuel berth is cheap, consequences though...

[TrentePieds]

If it won't that way, mebbe it will this way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s_H-FhEvAc

TP

[TrentePieds]

All right people :-0) I don't know how to post videos. I DO know how to dock a boat boat. Honest, I do :-)!

So one more thing, just to augment what Sailorchick sez: MY objective when docking is to STOP THE BOAT, dead in the water, preferably parallel to the pontoon or quay and 6 inches off. I DO use my fenders, but TP is a baby boat, and the step ashore from the position of the gates is easy even with the fenders out because the "drop" from deck to pontoon is only 18 inches or so.

I do NOT stop TP or any other boat with the lines. I stop the boat with the engine, as you do with real ships, THEN, and only then, I (or the crew) step(s) ashore, belay the lines and tidy up. Again as Sailorchick sez, things are easiest if you have a crosswind so you get blown onto the pontoon.

Now, my home slip has an effective length of 38 feet, so I CANNOT come parallel to the pontoon 6 inches off on engine and rudder alone. Because I have a right hand prop, routine is to come portside to. I tuck my snout in so I lie DEAD IN THE WATER, snout 6 inches from the pontoon and my centreline at an angle of about 45º to it. I'm ready to back out if things go awry. If I do that, thrust and prop walk with helm midships brings me outboard of the boat aft of me and parallel to it about 2 feet from it. TP is high forward so crew steps off onto the pontoon BACKWARDS, line in hand, while holding on to the pulpit. The line the crew takes ashore is a temporary purpose specific line, and has its bitter end belayed on the boat's rail opposite her pivot point. There is no cleat there, but the foot of a stanchion does the job. The crew walks the line aft and belays it on the bullrail on the pontoon a foot aft of the main bulkhead ensuring that the standing part is taut. THEN, after I receive a thumbs up as a signal that that job is done, I lay the helm astarboard, hard over, and go slow ahead. As if by magic the stern comes in thanks to the propwash on the rudder, and when the boat is hard against the pontoon the crew sets the permanent mooring lines and stows the temporary line.

For the benefit of newbs who may still be struggling with these things: routine in TP is that because we have plenty of time while the temporary line I've just described will, in combination with rudder and thrust, hold 'er where she's s'posed to be, we set the dedicated (and so marked) fore and after breasts and fore and after springs with the bitter end ON THE BULLRAIL so nothing needs to lie about on the pontoon. The running parts are taken aboard and belayed on the relevant cleats and the surplus line is flemished down. Doing things this way means that you never have to struggle with tying anything "on the bight" which always causes problems for newbs. There are only two "knots" to learn: The "round turn with two half hitches" (for the bullrail) and the "cleat hitch". Both are dead easy to learn, and I tell my crew that they must be able to tie them "with one hand. In the dark. While being dragged under water".

You will see that if that trawler in Arbroath had followed that procedure there wouldn't have been a hassle.

TP

[robert sailor]

Just don't make the mistake of coming in at a pace that allows you real good steering unless that pace is dead slow. It's hard to hurt anything in a marina if your ghosting along plus in Santa Marta there are skilled dock hands to help and a call on the vhf will have a larger RIB that can give you a gentle push here and there as needed. The biggest screwup I've ever seen in a marina are those that are throttle hungry, just take it nice and slow, you'll be fine there. R

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

If it won't that way, mebbe it will this way:

TP

That worked ok

....but it's fairly obvious he has no stern propulsion available, they did pretty well to pull it up although the deck hand on the fore-deck seemed a little lost lol...

Witnessed a similar situation at Darwin’s fisherman’s wharf one night a few years ago. A sizeable (100ft) steel fishing boat came in and was intending to raft up on the outside of a Customs vessel, they had a wee bit too much way on and came in at a deepish angle, the skipper realised so gave it a belly full astern to pull it up but it was still going to hit with a bang! then It all went from bad to worse when the idiot on the bridge of the Customs vessel started shouting out "fend off" cue the 2 crew on the foredeck of the Customs vessel who immediately reached over the side to try and fend off about 250t of steel, SNAP! and much screaming….

They where lucky to get away with just the one broken arm between them, from where we where we only heard the screaming then both guys dropped out of sight behind the bulwarks, we had visions of some armless individual thrashing around on the foredeck, luckily it was only the one broken forearm….

Seen the above situation play out many times

[Don C L]

again I would say, we're talking Vega here, 27 foot boat, small boat, and thrust, both forward and backward, is not the problem. Pivoting the boat is the problem. I stand by the oar, somewhat literally and mostly figuratively.
With a small boat you can certainly get by sculling the rudder in a way and that can pivot the stern around when you get the hang of it. In my old C24, I used to do it, and to a lesser degree in the 29 it works, to sweet talk my way into a slip, when it is calm. But the oar is better. And you'll be the talk of the harbor, not the harbor master. But, granted, the technology is fairly new...

The Vega has a big reputation but, really, it's still a small boat.

https://proafile.com/multihull-boats...e-steering-oar