A close-quarters handling technique to assist approaching a
dock or slip in nasty conditions. Works for all size vessels, under
power anyway - don't try this while sailing to the
dock
Place your bow
anchor 'underfoot' - meaning lower it down to where it just rests on the bottom. Use NO
scope or no more than 3 - 4 feet at most. The
anchor now controls your bow and the boat's pivot point has moved from its normal point (roughly 1/3
boat length from the bow) to the bow itself.
As you slowly
power into the slip, the anchor drags along the bottom and controls the bow movement.
Rudder inputs can now precisely control the position and direction of the
boat. You are also much more stable against the
wind. With the bow lined up on the slip you can, for example, counter a
wind on the port beam by using stbd
rudder to force the stern up into the wind. The anchor holds the bow up into the wind for you.
If you have 2 anchors on the bow, use the windward unit. If you fall off the wind the
rode will not cross over the stem (bow). If you have an all-chain anchor
rode and a plum bow exercise caution as you may chafe the chain around the stem. Sometimes using a snubber to change the chain's angle of
water entry is a good idea. For example, run the snubber through the first
mooring line chock on the bow, then take a strain on the chain from there to keep the chain off of the stem.
All-rope anchor rodes should be fine. And of course those on
steel boats will have fewer worries about this.
Don't try this where underwater
cables are known to exist. Or maybe next to a slip that's had liveaboards for the past 15 years....
I've personally used this on 600ft ships and on 30ft boats. Try it - you'll LIKE it!! With a little practice you can impress your friends .... and save the wine bribes for other circumstances.