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



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