Docking with a spring line

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by dmksails

I've rigged a spring line from my shrouds and have led it back to the cockpit. I need to get the line over the end cleat in order to stop and control the boat.

If this is your own permanent slip, you might experiment with leaving a pre-adjusted spring line on the dock cleat. As you leave, stage it so you can pick it up easily with a boathook or whatever when you return.

-Chris

[wrwakefield]

Oh, if only we had cleats on our docks...

The docks and marinas in the Inside Passage of Alaska have bull rails instead since they cater to most any sized fishing and recreational vessel. This necessitates someone being on or stepping onto the dock to slip the breast line around the bull rail- which can be a dangerous maneuver in itself depending upon conditions and whether one is single handing.

We leave a short line round the bull rail of our own slip and can usually grab it with a boat hook without stepping off the boat. However, when we visit other docks and floats we don't have that luxury...

We are leaning toward buying an EZ Docker [video below] which purportedly also lends itself to cleats, rings, etc. It is a padded, specially designed ss hook that won't mar the docks or rails, yet is effective [albeit seemingly pricy...]

EZ Docker demonstration

It may also worth noting I learned many years ago to only toss a midship breast line to any willing hands on the dock to make sure they cannot over-wrench either end of the vessel while I'm trying to dock- especially in tight spaces... [e.g., With a left hand prop, I will often nose in bow first for a starboard tie, then hit a blast of reverse to walk the stern over to the dock. When an inexperienced bow line handler hears the engine rev, they yank it in tight in anticipation of the boat getting away from them, pulling the bow tight to the dock causing the boat to pivot amidships and swinging the stern wide away...]

I should also say for us the breastline is just for initial docking and is removed once the spring, bow, and stern lines are all in place and adjusted.

It is great learning how you all deal with these issues common to us all...

Cheers! Bill

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by wrwakefield

Oh, if only we had cleats on our docks...

The docks and marinas in the Inside Passage of Alaska have bull rails instead since they cater to most any sized fishing and recreational vessel. This necessitates someone being on or stepping onto the dock to slip the breast line around the bull rail- which can be a dangerous maneuver in itself depending upon conditions and whether one is single handing.

We leave a short line round the bull rail of our own slip and can usually grab it with a boat hook without stepping off the boat. However, when we visit other docks and floats we don't have that luxury...

We are leaning toward buying an [video below] which purportedly also lends itself to cleats, rings, etc. It is a padded, specially designed ss hook that won't mar the docks or rails, yet is effective [albeit seemingly pricy...]



It may also worth noting I learned many years ago to only toss a midship breast line to any willing hands on the dock to make sure they cannot over-wrench either end of the vessel while I'm trying to dock- especially in tight spaces... [e.g., With a left hand prop, I will often nose in bow first for a starboard tie, then hit a blast of reverse to walk the stern over to the dock. When an inexperienced bow line handler hears the engine rev, they yank it in tight in anticipation of the boat getting away from them, pulling the bow tight to the dock causing the boat to pivot amidships and swinging the stern wide away...]

I should also say for us the breastline is just for initial docking and is removed once the spring, bow, and stern lines are all in place and adjusted.

It is great learning how you all deal with these issues common to us all...

Cheers! Bill

In the Baltic, there are few cleats, and mostly RINGS. Ack!

I have a special Swedish boothook with a clever rotating hook, which lets your thread a rope through such a ring, but it's very fiddly, nothing like simply lassoing a cleat.

I guess these guys never heard of short handed sailing

Perhaps because it is nearly impossible to get a line through a ring without stepping off, there is a wonderful tradition in the Baltic that people from other boats come running to take your lines. You can just about rely on it. Even non-sailors in places like Sweden know to come running to help you.

[zeehag]

we get much help here docking boats..i try to give midships line first to control my boat-they want bow or stern first, which isnt gonna control my boat in a breeze...when there are no dockline receivers, i step off with 3 lines available , one in my hands--midships line in hand. i can control my boat and have her tied off proper in less than 5 min with use of that line. takes much fuss n feathers when only using bow and stern line--i almost dragged my dad into water with that method of docking, err securing boat to dock in a breeze. (that was the day i changed my tactics with docking my boats.)

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by wrwakefield

The docks and marinas in the Inside Passage of Alaska have bull rails instead since they cater to most any sized fishing and recreational vessel. This necessitates someone being on or stepping onto the dock to slip the breast line around the bull rail- which can be a dangerous maneuver in itself depending upon conditions and whether one is single handing.

What does a bull rail look like?

-Chris

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

In the Baltic, there are few cleats, and mostly RINGS. Ack!

I have a special Swedish boothook with a clever rotating hook, which lets your thread a rope through such a ring, but it's very fiddly, nothing like simply lassoing a cleat.

I guess these guys never heard of short handed sailing

Perhaps because it is nearly impossible to get a line through a ring without stepping off, there is a wonderful tradition in the Baltic that people from other boats come running to take your lines. You can just about rely on it. Even non-sailors in places like Sweden know to come running to help you.

DH,

I have only run into rings on a dock a few times, and never understood why they use them...

What a great tradition you all share helping with docking. We see that further south where the ratio of recreational to commercial vessels is higher. But as you go north, that ration inverts, and while the commercial fishermen are usually more than happy to assist, I suspect they either assume our sailboat handles like their fishing boats, or are showing respect by not offering... Ask and they will come running, however.

Thinking of rings, we do have some float plane docks which typically sit very low to the water and have small diameter [~3"] lightweight rings every 5 ft or so- each with a short [~6 ft] piece of 3-strand spliced to it. The pilots come idling in and step onto a pontoon and grab a [breast] line to tie off.

While these are designated for float planes only, it would be nice to do a stop and go to drop off passengers on occasion [e.g., The airport in Ketchikan, Alaska.] But the design of these docks make it difficult and dangerous to try and moor a boat with any freeboard. And those tiny rings with a spliced line leave little room to thread a 1" dock line...

Cheers! Bill

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

What does a bull rail look like?

-Chris

Hi Chris,

They are a horizontal timber [think 6x6 for the sake of a mental image] parallel to the dock and finger edges, elevated above the dock by spacers [pipe or timber] approximately their own thickness.

They are through bolted and very stout as a rule since they are designed to accommodate any vessel that can fit at the dock. You run your lines around them and tie off or go back to the boat.

Watch the brief video I posted above. He is demonstrating his docking device on a dock with bull rails.

And below is a photo I took last fall of the crew applying a special treatment to the wood docks and bull rails to facilitate stepping off your vessel and wrapping a line around the rail...

Cheers! Bill

[Lojanica]

Originally Posted by wrwakefield

Hi Chris,


And below is a photo I took last fall of the crew applying a special treatment to the wood docks and bull rails to facilitate stepping off your vessel and wrapping a line around the rail...

Cheers! Bill

5 minutes to dock and an hour to clean the gull droppings off you boat

Don't ask how I know.....

[Smokeys Kitchen]

And below is a photo I took last fall of the crew applying a special treatment to the wood docks and bull rails to facilitate stepping off your vessel and wrapping a line around the rail...

Cheers! Bill[/QUOTE]

Bill - the wife and I are planning on traveling up the Inside Passage next spring. Do I need to have a pressure washer at the ready for any docking manuevers?
Ron

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by Smokeys Kitchen

And below is a photo I took last fall of the crew applying a special treatment to the wood docks and bull rails to facilitate stepping off your vessel and wrapping a line around the rail...

Cheers! Bill

Bill - the wife and I are planning on traveling up the Inside Passage next spring. Do I need to have a pressure washer at the ready for any docking manuevers?
Ron[/QUOTE]

Hey Ron,

Crampons work great! [And you can climb the odd glacier if you are so inclined...]

Just be careful on your boat with them...

Cheers! Bill

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by wrwakefield

They are a horizontal timber [think 6x6 for the sake of a mental image] parallel to the dock and finger edges, elevated above the dock by spacers [pipe or timber] approximately their own thickness.

Got it, thanks.

-Chris

[ontherocks83]

DMK, I saw this at the Newport Boat show this weekend and thought of you. It might not be what you're looking for but it could be an option.

Video

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by wrwakefield

Hi Chris,

They are a horizontal timber [think 6x6 for the sake of a mental image] parallel to the dock and finger edges, elevated above the dock by spacers [pipe or timber] approximately their own thickness.

They are through bolted and very stout as a rule since they are designed to accommodate any vessel that can fit at the dock. You run your lines around them and tie off or go back to the boat.

Cheers! Bill

Just perfect for motoring up to and dropping the anchor behind using the winch control in the cockpit.