I forgot it was a "sail" boat

[dgz3]

Hope you didn't mind me poking a little fun at you. It's easy to become so accustomed to luxuries that they become indispensable.
All that stuff you learned on still works exactly the same way. And if you screw up? So what! You'll figure it out.

[ohdrinkboy]

get a trolling motor off ebay and a group 27 battery. move on a calm day.

[The Garbone]

Watched 2 guys skull a 20 something boat out of the marina once. They did it early in the morning, just put up the main and sheet midship and rocked her, they moved pretty good one knot or so.

[kerrydeare]

Originally Posted by StPeteRob

It's strange... my first decade of sailing, I never had an engine ... If my father were still around he'd whoop me for this ...

I have been in St. Pete a number of times over the years, and this prompts me to ask: where are you parked, and where are you trying to get to? Makes a lot of difference.

[StPeteRob]

She's sitting next to Jungle Prada boat ramp at the moment, and I'm heading over to the Gulfport anchorage by the casino. My only real concern about actually sailing her there is that there are only two routes I can take.

The direct route is inland, but there's sparse maneuvering room and I worry about the bridges... both traffic and wind. I can shoot out John's Pass and head down to the Skyway, but it's a much longer trip and it has some choke points I don't like without an engine.

The good news is that the prevailing winds tend to put me on a beam reach for most of the trip.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[KJThomas]

Sailed for years with no motors.
Only started getting into problems when I got a boat with a motor.

[Mithril Bham]

Practice makes perfect. Find an end dock. Learn how far your boat glides. Weigh on. I used to dock a 43' boat under sail by myself. To be honest I usually left the engine running but didn't use it. Of course current and wind are serious considerations.
Otherwise towing with a dinghy is a good idea. Get someone to help at first. Have fun with it.

[Blue Stocking]

Find, borrow a 12 or 14 ft sweep oar. Tie a clove hitch with 4 ft tails a comfortable distance from the grip, and centre it across your pushpit uprights. Or lash it loosely to the stbd upright if you are right-handed. Scull the boat.

[knockabout]

ramp your dingy to your yacht and motor it in

[TurninTurtle]

There's a lot of 28 ft and under sailboats without motorized dingys...

[kerrydeare]

Originally Posted by StPeteRob

She's sitting next to Jungle Prada boat ramp ... and I'm heading over to the Gulfport anchorage by the casino ...

This should not be too bad unless you try in a heavy norther or a heavy thermal southwest wind. You will need a friend who is aware of boats, but otherwise you will be OK. Just remember that anchors (and often more than one) are your friends. The problem may be that the bridges are timed (not been there recently so I do not know). If that's the case, you simply anchor and wait.

The easiest way is to either tow with a dink (powered, of course), or just hitch a ride from a friendly (and decidedly aware) individual. I know that if I had a bit of time on my hands, a small powered skiff, and a friendly request, I'd certainly help out. Of course afterwards the drinks at Don Caesar would be on you.

Good luck.

[JPA Cate]

If you can arrange for a dinghy with a motor to help you dock, it often works best with the dinghy hip tied on the quarter, has to be easy to cast off, 'cause you want to glide into the slip alone. It is very easy to move a boat with even a small dinghy motor, and you use your rudder to steer where you want to go.

Think all of it through, remember if you have too much drive, you can go on just the headsail, which you can cast loose at the last moment. You can do this, you're only out of practice, and you know it can be done.

Do not allow yourself to worry about it--that would be a total waste of your energy. This is one of those "just do it" times.

Ann

[charliehows]

One of the great things about furling headsails is that, in the right conditions, you can gradually furl the sail as you approach your objective and, with a little practice, control the boats headway with a surprising degree of accuracy. I've been doing this lately picking up my mooring – not so good when the wind is up, but in quieter conditions even with a large unwieldy boat, quite effective.

[CarolinaCalm]

Great food for thought. We focus on on docking techniques but should also be ready to deal with docking under sail.
I only observed this maneuver once with a small sailboat (<28ft). Favorable condititions, low winds, no current. Captain used the headsail only and was able to come into the marina seaway and enter the slip. Slow and easy. Trimmed and released the sail to keep steerage. I was in school to watch slow, calm actions.
Current and wind could make dropping an anchor much more attractive

[JPA Cate]

You never know how re-reading an old thread will spark a different thought. I'm gonna pop up here on one of my old bandwagons, and say, to each and every one of you sailors and wannabe sailors, please do practice sailing on and off the hook.

It is a useful skill to have, another arrow in your quiver, and certainly has saved us much embarrassment.

As suggested above, skills require practice to be kept sharp, as well as to acquire.

Have a good day, guys,

Ann