Single-Handed Docking Help

[omgitsgela]

I have a line always on my midship cleats, When I approach the dock under motor, I impulse back to stop moving, get up and make the midship line off on a cleat on the dock, then I go reverse on the motor, which swings the stern towards the dock. You can do this if you are stopping somewhere temporarily easily. Next, you'd make off the stern leading aft, and the bow leading forward. Fairly straightforward under motor. Sailing onto the dock, well that's a different story...

[K_V_B]

Robship has a cool gadget that might be usefull to shorthanded sailors:

Hook & Moor

I've tried it myself, and it does work.

[OldFrog75]

Any chance you can trade positions with the owner of the power boat? Maybe he and his boat are set up to better handle the windward side of the slip.

[rtbates]

If it were me I'd run a line or two all the way along the side of the starboard dock. Use it as a grab hold, loop a spring line around it to keep your bow from blowing off while backing out, etc. As for your neighbor, encourage him to hang lots of fenders off his starboard side.

best of luck

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by rtbates

If it were me I'd run a line or two all the way along the side of the starboard dock. Use it as a grab hold, loop a spring line around it to keep your bow from blowing off while backing out, etc. As for your neighbor, encourage him to hang lots of fenders off his starboard side.

best of luck

I agree with you except I don't expect my neighbors to have to protect themselves from my boat. I have two pilings along my slip; my stern can swing between the two of them enough to hit the boat to my starboard. So I have a stout line between those two pilings to keep that from happening. Then from the most forward piling, I have a stout line going to a cleat on the main dock. That goes off at about a 45º angle and keeps my bow from swinging into my neighbor's boat.

[AbaftAndBaffled]

We took our Northstar 80/20 out for the first time yesterday. It wasn't quite single-handed, but given our lack of experience with a boat that size it may as well have been. I've gotta admit, I'm not as worried about docking as I am about getting out. We've got a less-than-ideal slip for getting in and out, and the boat seems to want to go all over the place when it's trying to reverse. At least going in, we can make sure we hit the dock. >_>