Challenge: How to Leave this Dock ?

[theway]

I'm the blue boat. A 32ft Pearson, the beam is about 10ft. Does one back out or try to turn the boat around before exiting? I am fairly new to this type of situation, so any help would be nice.

I understand wind and current are part of the equation, but in general what is a good way to exit. It would be nice to be able to leave single handed, but helping hands could be found at the marina.

( I'm not sure the front end would have enough room to swing around, as the illustration proportions me be a bit off )



Thanks
austin

[CDunc]

My vote goes for a line from your aft port cleat looped around the dock cleat then back to you,give a series of forward then neutral and hard to port, spring the boat around then let loose the line and away you go

[Bergovoy]

if your not comfortable backing out, I would suggest 'hand turning' her 180degrees then motoring out forwards gear...

[atoll]

spring off,with line from the bow to a bollard on the dock near the stern.

motor fwd with helm over to stb till arse pointing in right direction.

put in reverse and go like hell till you get steerage in reverse,then slow the revs down till you clear the end of the dock,hard over to stb,stop engine,hard over port

then full speed ahead captain..........thats how id'e do it any way......

[SteveA]

And next time you tie up, come in backwards

[theway]

ok, thats 2 for turning around and 1 for reverse...

thank you

[atoll]

could allways cast off the stern lines and walk the bow up the dock,till she is pointing in the right direction,but that is not half as exciting.......

[Bergovoy]

kinda, im suggesting turning the boat while still moored. untie the bow, and drape the bow line on the port side safety rail so you can grab it when she swings around, *(your on the dock)

then untie the aft line, and hang on to it then walk back to the bow and shover her off, while pulling on the aft line so she spins clockwise and turns 180 degrees.

kinda of a chicken sh!t way of turning around while still in control of the lines... you might need to tie/splice another rope onto the aft line so you have a long enough run to get to the bow while still holding on...

[Bergovoy]

Originally Posted by atoll

could allways cast off the stern lines and walk the bow up the dock,till she is pointing in the right direction,but that is not half as exciting.......

this is what i am suggesting except I described walking the aft end over...

[beetle]

Just back out, assuming that the boat will go backwards under power without pulling too had to port or starboard.

If the boat won't back up, then rotate the boat from the dock and motor out nose-first.

When returning to the slip, return going in backwards if you don't like motoring out backwards.

I'm constantly amazed at how many people insist upon doing 180 pivot turns in narrow channels/fairways when all they would have to do otherwise is motor backwards for a hundred feet or so. On the other hand, I have a boat with a large spade rudder and deep fin keel that offers excellent control in reverse - many full keel boats with barn-door rudders won't offer that level of control.

- rob/beetle

[David M]

With a right hand prop going astern, this will kick your stern to port. Let the wash from your right hand prop going astern kick your stern out some before letting go of your bow line. With the big rudder that sailboats typically have, put your rudder to port while backing. When you get some way on, and this will also help push your stern to port.

Remember, boats steer from the back, not the pointy end.

[daddle]

Ideas above are reasonable. However it depends entirely on the wind and current. Plus how easily is she controlled while backing?

Atoll's #4 technique above holds the most promise. A line from the stern is apt to press you into the dock pretty hard, depending on it's angle.

[David M]

Originally Posted by daddle

Ideas above are reasonable. However it depends entirely on the wind and current. Plus how easily is she controlled while backing?

Atoll's #4 technique above holds the most promise. A line from the stern is apt to press you into the dock pretty hard, depending on it's angle.

I have to respectfully disagree daddle.

I have been handling many kinds of boats and small ships for a long long time. Trust me, let the wash push you away from the dock if you have that option. And in this situation, that advantage exists. Doing it as I described gives you complete control through the whole process regardless of the wind direction and eliminates the chance of hitting the boat forward or aft....so long as your line handler at the bow knows what they are doing in not letting go too early in the pivot.

[CDunc]

I just looked up the pearson 32 and it has a nice spade rudder with a fin so I agree backing would be just fine, My boat has a nice barn door with a skeg and a cutaway keel, so not so good backing, it may be chicken sht to use the lines to turn but I dont want to pay for a new awl-grip job on someone elses boat if I can help it.

[David M]

It's not chicken...it's intelligent.

Use the astern wash to kick your stern out and when your stern is sticking out a good ways into the fairway, have you line handler let go of the bow line. Before getting underway, lead the bow line down and around the dock cleat and back onto the boat. Secure that line to with a turn or two to the bow cleat or the capstan head with your line handler holding onto it to keep it from slipping. When your stern is sticking out far enough all you have to do is give the command to let go of the bow line and it should slip right around the dock cleat.

It will look slicker than snot to your neighbors with their expensive Awlgrip paint jobs. They might even ask if you used to run a tugboat.