All this sounds great but… I have no cleats on my slip ☹ I am newbie but will be going out alone often. I dock bow in, port side to short Finger pier which when I am all the way in boarding Gate just barley passes midship piling! Same reason as stated earlier (Privacy/View) for the bow in but may try to back in as I don’t generally hang around to enjoy view. Wind 90% of SW over Port side, Luckily I have 2 pilings rear (out in open water) and Midships which I have padded 😊 that I can Bounce off before taking out the IP38 next door. So I just noticed last weekend my neighbor rigged a very cool Bow Catch system for when he pulls bow in like me . It’s a V formed looks like 3/8 or 1/2 “ at most so has some give, from the 2 Midship pilings and held up mid slip from main dock which when he pulls in sends him right into the pocket. Hooks up spring and he’s done, leave in fwd gear then off to adjust everything else Very slick ! Has anyone else seen or used this set up ?
________________________________ From: CnC-List <cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com> on behalf of robert via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Sent: Wednesday, August 1, 2018 10:14:21 AM To: Dennis C. via CnC-List Cc: robert Subject: Stus-List Docking seamanship Dennis: I spent 20 years on a mooring so I could come and go single handed without any stress associated with docking and/or leaving a slip. Last year, a slip at my club became available similar to yours in Pensacola....bow in, starboard side finger pier with a Nonsuch 36 as my port neighbor...at most, 3' separating the boats when both docked. However, my finger is 35' and AZURA is 32' so I have a bit of leeway when docking. With some hesitation, I decided to give it a try. At first, I found docking harder than leaving especially single handed. Now I find leaving with a starboard wind more challenging. For docking, I rigged a line with a 3/8" snubber which I carry in a locker and take out just before docking and place the inboard loop over the starboard main winch and tuck under the lifeline(s) and bring outside and hang the end loop on the aft gate stantion....open the gate, of course, to hang the out end loop. I approach the finger pier at approx. 1 to 1.5 knots.....I find it best when I have headway.....I have steerage.....hardly ever use reverse unless the approach to too fast....when the starboard gate reaches the pier I step off the boat.....take the end loop and drop it over the first or outermost cleat.....when the line comes tight and cushioned by the snubber, the boat glides to a stop without the bow touching the main pier. Now, I am off the boat which is in neutral.....two spring lines stay on the dock and attach to my SS toe rail cleat with carabiners....usually the last lines to get attached. I take both my bow line and stern line with me.....stern line never gets adjusted....when sailing it is just folded on the deck between the toe rail and bimini frame...it is set for the correct length and I simply drop the outer loop over the outermost cleat, the same one with the snubber which I will remove and take aboard and store. I also take my bow line with me.....when sailing, it stretches back from the bow outside the stantions/toe rail and I tie it to the mid-ship SS toe rail cleat. The bow line becomes very useful this way as when docking, as I do, as soon as I drop the snubber line I walk forward and grab the bow line......I now have control of the boat......I can reach down and attach a spring line.....untie my bow line and tie the inner most cleat......the excess bow line I just bring back to the first stantion when docked. When leaving the dock, the bow line is the last to get released and I bring it back to the mid ship SS toe rail cleat and tie it off there. I can control the boat with it. I also found prop walk a nuisance, especially leaving the pier as the boat has no momentum to gain steerage. To address that, I have a short piece of rope, doubled up with a knot in the end looped in the toe rail just forward of the starboard gate........I pull on it (parallel to the pier) to get the boat moving backwards.....jump aboard and hit reverse....that little bit of momentum going backwards allows the rudder to get some water flowing over it and you have the start of steerage. Over the past 2 seasons, there have been a few days when the wind was just too much for me to attempt leaving single handed.....if there was a person on the dock helping, no problem. A club mate has a big centre cockpit boat that he finds difficult leaving the dock when the wind is blowing him off the pier....he usually has his wife with him but in no way could she/he man-handle this vessel......so here is how they do it.... he rigged a line on the pier from the two outter most cleats.....put a snatch block on the pier line and attached another line to the snatch block.......when leaving the pier, his wife holds the line attached to the snatch block which rolls along the pier line holding the boat in place......when cleared, she is close to the bow and drops/throws the line to the pier. He uses a system similar to mine when docking. Trusting this is helpful. Rob Abbott AZURA C&C 32- 84 Halifax, N.S. On 2018-07-31 12:58 PM, Dennis C. via CnC-List wrote: OK, after 20 years of ownership, I'm pretty good at driving Touche'. Touche's "home" slip in Louisiana is in a fairly protected bayou, has both outboard and midships pilings on either side and a port side finger pier. I can competently back Touche' in using propwalk, etc. without touching any pilings. Whoopee. However, the "temporary" slip I use in Pensacola is a whole different scenario. First, it has a starboard side finger pier which extends to just short of full boat length. Second, it is a double slip with NO pilings between Touche' and my neighbor, an IP 37. Third, the prevailing wind is from the starboard side. In Pensacola, I dock Touche' bow in for privacy and scenic view issues. Docking stern in isn't a desirable option because the bow will fall off towards my neighbor while docking and looking at a scenic bayou is preferable to looking at a working boatyard. So, docking bow in with a wind from starboard and prop walk which pulls the boat to port is a challenge. The wind pushes the boat dramatically to port when docking. The prop walk exacerbates the movement to port. The wind and prop walk both working against the boat sucks. I've tried several techniques with limited to moderate success. The best the Admiral and I have come up with is to approach at a slight upwind angle to the finger pier, have a spring/warp line attached a bit forward of midships, have crew leap off the boat and secure the spring to the outermost cleat on the finger pier to stop forward motion. Once the line is secure, we warp the stern in with forward propulsion and left rudder and secure a stern line. The stern still tries to swing to port midway through this process but we manage it. Now for my main issue. Docking single handed. I can't see myself approaching the pier, putting the boat in reverse, scrambling out of the steering station past the Bimini bows, securing the spring line, jumping back on the boat, warping the stern in and then securing the stern line by myself. Any secret tricks I haven't explored? Dennis C. Touche' 35-1 #83 Mandeville, LA _______________________________________________ Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray<https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paypal.me%2Fstumurray&data=02%7C01%7C%7C35348eae72a64004b9f708d5f7b92b05%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636687297010379977&sdata=2JU9PyLVMEpFMTpFJs08fOhf%2B%2BRoD9wNAyZIRM5SDOw%3D&reserved=0>
_______________________________________________ Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray
