Problems exiting the dock, help please......

[alameda]

hi

I just bought an ericson 27.

My problems occur leaving the dock. I would like to enter the main channel bow first, however more often than not, the prevailing wind and the prop walk push my stern over to starboard (viewed from the rear) and I end up driving around backwards in the marina.

can someone please suggest to me the correct technique to leave the slip so my bow will be entering the main channel first.

SEE ATTACHED DIAGRAM.
mine is the black boat.

thanks

alameda

[TaoJones]

Have you tried Med mooring when you put her back in the slip? In other words, enter the channel into the wind, go past your berth, then back her into the slip. In doing so, the wind will be your friend as it pushes the bow around for you.

Once you're tied up stern-to, when you next leave your slip the wind will again aid your exit, pushing your bow down toward the main channel.

TaoJones

[MikeNZ]

Hi Alameda

I have exactly the same location with my boat...and the same challenge when the wind blows like you describe.

Whats works for me is to use a short spring line that I have attached to the very end of my jetty (it comes from the jetty over the port side of my boat, under the lifelinesto the cockpit). It has a loop in the end and is long enough for me to hold in the cockpit as I steer. When I'm leaving the dock I drop all the other lines and keep this in my hand under light pressure as I back out. I use it to pull/guide the stern back around as I back out and it helps me fight wind and prop walk until my speed is high enough for the rudder to bite. I chuck it onto the jetty at the last moment. Work brilliantly.

The other use for this is when I come back in. I pick it up with the boat hook as I stop alongside and then I put the loop over my primary cockpit winch. I then use it as a spring and I can move ahead on it and using the prop wash on the rudder bring the boat parallel ready to tie up. I sail on my own a lot and it makes the whole process of docking a breeze. My boat is centre cockpit so you might have to make it go from the jetty round a midship cleat on your boat then back to the cockpit when coming back into your berth.

[Zephyr's Aura]

Have you tried backing the boat in to the slip? It looks to me, from your diagram that if you were to pull slightly past your slip and then back in the prop walk would help pull you into your slip. You might need to put a line amidships and attach it to the corner of the dock or piling to guide you and stop the drift from the wind.

Tim

[Therapy]

You can have a line on the Port stern cleat run out around the end pile and back to the boat. A fender over Port side also. When you back out you will be held toward that pile. When clear, release and retrieve the line.

This is almost the same as how you get off a pier when the wind has you pinned to it.

I don't know how to draw it. Sorrry.

[alameda]

hi
I am familiar with the med mooring style, however all the boats in the marina are bow in and I would like to know how everyone else does it!

the long spring sounds smart, I might well try it.

thanks

jc

[Ex-Calif]

I am with the port stern cleat crowd. You should be able to "loop" it to a bollard or cleat on the dock and retrive it when clear. However, you must have a way to release it completely from the boat end if necessary - i.e. it hangs up on something on the jetty.

I also suggest getting to a wide, smooth area of the channel and practice doing 360 degree pirouettes using forward and aft thrust and locking the rudder in one direction. With practice you can turn the boat through 360 degrees in practically it's own legth. You will learn that the boat will do them well in one direction but probably not do them at all in the other due to prop walk in reverse.

Additionally, note your track over the ground, the current and wind will move you along. I learned this last summer when taking a boat check out in Long Beach. Great fun to practice.

Learning to handle the boat under power at low speed is a vital skill.

Later on you should also practice docking and mooring pick ups on sail alone. Another vital skill that takes practice.

[Alan Wheeler]

I am not quite sure why this is hard. I may not understand something. I would be backing out and allow the wind to swing the bow around. This is what I do with my boat. So am I not understanding something??

[George Raffa]

Take a dock line the lenth of your boat plus two feet and secure it to the port aft of your boat and secure it to the stern morning pole on the port side . Go into reverse slowly. When your bow clears the dock the dock line will become tight and pull your stern around bringing your bow in the direction you want. Make sure the dock line stays clear of your prop. When your bow is heading "out" have some one release the dock line from the dock and away you go.

[MidLandOne]

With the wind in the direction shown your bow should want to blow off towards the main channel direction as you back out of the slip ie stern wants to round up towards the wind. That unless there is something very different about your boat's behaviour compared to most (all?) other sail boats.

If your prop walk effect is strong enough to defeat both the wind's ability to swing the bow towards the main channel (ie the wind is light) and the rudder's ability to turn the stern away from the main channel as you back out of the slip, just put the engine into neutral as you come out of the slip so there is no more prop walk and let your momentum carry you into the aisle. Your bow should fall off towards the main channel as you drift backwards across the aisle and you add to that by steering the stern in the desired direction with the rudder (the rudder may not make any difference though if your boat does not steer at slow speeds backwards).

To swing your bow fully round as you start to go forward, position the rudder to turn your bow towards the channel, give a sharp blast on the engine so the prop wash on the propeller helps spin the boat, then drop revs as the boat gets way on.

Unless you have only a very narrow aisle (ie not much more than a boat length) behind you then most sail boats should be able to get out easily without any warps or other help with the wind in the direction shown.

The wind in the other direction (ie blowing from the main channel) is the difficult one for you if your boat walks to starboard in reverse and wind is breezy.

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by Alan Wheeler

I am not quite sure why this is hard. I may not understand something. I would be backing out and allow the wind to swing the bow around. This is what I do with my boat. So am I not understanding something??

Alan,

If I'm not mistaken, the Ericson 27 has an offset engine to make room for a quarter berth. Having the prop located off the centerline to the port side adds a measure of torque not normally found in most boats.

[Joli]

Spot on.

Also, do walk to starboard?

Originally Posted by MikeNZ

Hi Alameda

I have exactly the same location with my boat...and the same challenge when the wind blows like you describe.

Whats works for me is to use a short spring line that I have attached to the very end of my jetty (it comes from the jetty over the port side of my boat, under the lifelinesto the cockpit). It has a loop in the end and is long enough for me to hold in the cockpit as I steer. When I'm leaving the dock I drop all the other lines and keep this in my hand under light pressure as I back out. I use it to pull/guide the stern back around as I back out and it helps me fight wind and prop walk until my speed is high enough for the rudder to bite. I chuck it onto the jetty at the last moment. Work brilliantly.

The other use for this is when I come back in. I pick it up with the boat hook as I stop alongside and then I put the loop over my primary cockpit winch. I then use it as a spring and I can move ahead on it and using the prop wash on the rudder bring the boat parallel ready to tie up. I sail on my own a lot and it makes the whole process of docking a breeze. My boat is centre cockpit so you might have to make it go from the jetty round a midship cleat on your boat then back to the cockpit when coming back into your berth.

[Ex-Calif]

I reckon that the stern gets the wind first and the stern starts falling off before the bow is even exposed to the wind.

It's hard to tell without being there.

[imagine2frolic]

I have owned my own boat since 1990, and to this day I still watch people docking. Just by watching, and not being shy to ask questions will give you tons of information.

I am with Wheeler wondering why the wind isn't blowing the bow downwind? I would think when half way out of the slip turning the rudder hard so the boat will turn to port would accomplish your goal?????????????????????

[Charlie]

We have a similar problem in Richmond CA. What we do is take a line from the midships cleat and loop it around the stern most cleat on the upwind finger. This leaves a line handler on the boat with both ends of the dockline. From there we start backing and the boat is 'kicked' to port because of the tension on the port midships line. We also walk the bow out to clear the starboard finger of the dock. It takes us three people to get out of the dock. (We are working towards less but that comes with practice.) When the boat is stern to the wind we are able to release one side of the dockline and haul it on to the boat. Because the wind has the boat we leave the engine in neutral until the midships line is pulled in all the way.