Single handed docking help

[SV Aquavit]

Before you leave, rig a landing spring from the cleat at the middle of the dock. This is a long line led forward to the end of the dock by the pole and made fast there. Don't cleat it off at the pole, just place it so it remains available there while your away. Your sketch says you can hang lines on the pole so that may be a good option. Just make sure the landing spring ends up in a position where you can easily reach it leaning to port near the helm.

When you come in, take an angle that brings your port midship next to the pole and the stored landing spring. Depending on your speed and the wind/current conditions, shift to neutral or reverse to slow the boat. Leave the helm, grab the line, and pull as you walk to your port midship cleat.

You should be able to walk the boat to the exact position you want, controlling both bow and stern by where you stand as you take in the line. When you're close to final position, make the line short and fast to the midship cleat.

Once you have made the remaining bow and stern lines fast, remove the landing spring and reset it. Then make your normal springs.

[waterman46]

The initial connection to the dock needs to be from the cleat in corner of L to your port midship cleat. Establish the length of line needed, and have an eye splice or bowline in one end that will fit over your midship cleat. Lay the line out on the dock from the corner L cleat to the leeward end of the dock with a few feet of extra slack. Approach the dock end very closely on your port and just as the bow passes the end of dock, move amidships with short boathook, pick up rope eye and place over midship cleat. Back to helm, power forward with right rudder as stern clears end of dock and as mid line tightens it will bring boat to dock

[deblen]

Originally Posted by paulg222

I would love some advice on single handed docking my sailboat.

See the attached image as a reference.

I've shown the boat as we currently park it, stern to, and with the lines leading to the various cleats on the dock. Our slip is at the end of the pier.

As you can see the prevailing wind is generally not helpful and will be pushing the boat away from the dock most of the time. When it is mild this is not an much of an issue, but in stronger winds it presents some challenges.

My current technique, is to approach from the left in the channel, coming in at maybe an angle of 30deg to the long part of the dock, and then as stern passes the end of the small outcropping, throw it in hard reverse (also turning a bit so bow doesn't clip end of dock), so that the prop walk moves the stern to port and close to the rear dock cleat, where if done perfectly, I can toss a looped dock line (connected to my port stern cleat and rear port jib winch which is set pretty far back) over that rear dock cleat (near corner of the "L" shaped dock) from my position at near the helm. In light winds, then I can power forward and try to bring in the bow a bit, when boat is stable in forward, jump off boat and attach other lines.

Problems: Getting stern of boat close to that rear dock cleat (so that I can toss a looped line over it) is a bit hard even in light winds. In stronger winds, even if successful, the bow is pushed off so that I can't reasonably depart the boat.

Note: generally If there is a way to get that forward spring line (from my midship cleat going forward), attached, then I can power the boat in reverse and even in most winds that will bring entire boat pretty close to the pier. When crew is aboard, we can hang that spring line on pole at end of dock and as I come in a person on our bow can typically grab that (as well as hanging bow lines) and attach. But doing solo, I can't quite figure out.

Your technique in coming in at an agressive enough speed to overcome the wind sounds perfect.
What may help you to attach quickly to the dock before the wind/current moves you away is a mid ship spring line. I see you have a cleat about midship(doesn't have to be exact).It is more important the cleat & the permanent line that you are going to loop thru it are reachable from the cockpit.
Forget about bow & stern lines & concentrate on sliding up to the dock,dropping a loop of the midship spring over that mid cleat on the dock,bringing the end of the midship line back to your midshipcleat & tying it off.You are now docked. Heave a sigh & when you feel up to it put your bow,stern & springs out in the normal manner.
You can cut down the walking,if you prepare before entering harbour.Put 2 fenders-one fore & one aft-of the midship cleat.Space them about 2-3 ft apart. Run your bowline out thru chock & back to the cockpit rail area & slip hitch it to rail,etc. Same with stern if you wish.


Always bring your lines around the dock cleat & tie them at the boat cleat if you are single handing.


Hope this helps/ Len

[Handsoff]

Hello, I have exactly the same problem as you. And I admit, in advance, to still not being able to back the boat in easily. Solo, it is almost impossible for me. Usually, someone hears me struggling on the dock and comes out to help. The following points make sense to me:

1. My boat is a full keel Island Packet 32, with horrendous prop wash. Backing straight up is very difficult because of the PW. I have watched Catalinas and Hunters and Beneteau's back straight in without any difficulty. So, it depends to some extent on your boat.
2. If possible, go bow in. Day and night for ease in docking. I will no longer accept a slip if I can't go bow in.
3. In high winds I could never make alone and would not go out.
4. For my boat, the magic word is SLOW. Going any faster than 1 mph made it impossible.
5. I always left the 2 stern lines on the dock. That was if I got close someone could throw me a line and we could muscle the boat in.
6. I very much used that pole that you show in your diagram. I cut a big fender in half and attached it to the pole at the level with top of my hull (must be a nautical term for that) so I would rub up against that.
7. I attached 2 lines permanently to that pole - 1 measured for the mid ship cleat to stop boat from going all the way into the dock and one measured for the bow cleat. When I left the slip I pulled boat forward to attach these lines to the pole with bow line first and midship line on top.
8. To dock, I would come up on the port side of the pole, at mid ship cleat, and stop with the bow facing out towards channel. I would attach mid-ship line to the mid-ship cleat and throw bow line on board but not attach yet.
9. I could then almost muscle the boat around that pole (using pole as a pivot point) to line up with the slip. The mid ship line would insure that I could not back into the dock. This line had a bowline knot measured to the right distance.
10. Alternately, I would tie an additional spring line around the pole and the mid ship cleat to act as a pivot point. But the boat in reverse, Hit the throttle for a quick burst, turn wheel to port and that would help align boat into slip. Then just, SLOWELY, back up using quick bursts of motor and then going to neutral.

It takes lots of practice and after 3 years I just barely was able to do it on calm days.

Good luck
Marshall

[Mithril Bham]

Originally Posted by Handsoff

Hello, I have exactly the same problem as you. And I admit, in advance, to still not being able to back the boat in easily. Solo, it is almost impossible for me. Usually, someone hears me struggling on the dock and comes out to help. The following points make sense to me:

1. My boat is a full keel Island Packet 32, with horrendous prop wash. Backing straight up is very difficult because of the PW. I have watched Catalinas and Hunters and Beneteau's back straight in without any difficulty. So, it depends to some extent on your boat.
2. If possible, go bow in. Day and night for ease in docking. I will no longer accept a slip if I can't go bow in.
3. In high winds I could never make alone and would not go out.
4. For my boat, the magic word is SLOW. Going any faster than 1 mph made it impossible.
5. I always left the 2 stern lines on the dock. That was if I got close someone could throw me a line and we could muscle the boat in.
6. I very much used that pole that you show in your diagram. I cut a big fender in half and attached it to the pole at the level with top of my hull (must be a nautical term for that) so I would rub up against that.
7. I attached 2 lines permanently to that pole - 1 measured for the mid ship cleat to stop boat from going all the way into the dock and one measured for the bow cleat. When I left the slip I pulled boat forward to attach these lines to the pole with bow line first and midship line on top.
8. To dock, I would come up on the port side of the pole, at mid ship cleat, and stop with the bow facing out towards channel. I would attach mid-ship line to the mid-ship cleat and throw bow line on board but not attach yet.
9. I could then almost muscle the boat around that pole (using pole as a pivot point) to line up with the slip. The mid ship line would insure that I could not back into the dock. This line had a bowline knot measured to the right distance.
10. Alternately, I would tie an additional spring line around the pole and the mid ship cleat to act as a pivot point. But the boat in reverse, Hit the throttle for a quick burst, turn wheel to port and that would help align boat into slip. Then just, SLOWELY, back up using quick bursts of motor and then going to neutral.

It takes lots of practice and after 3 years I just barely was able to do it on calm days.

Good luck
Marshall

Not an easy thing. I taught docking, both power & sail for over a decade and owned full keel boats with wicked pw. All I can say is that backing into the wind, the more the better up to a point, can counteract the PW. Learning to turn the boat in a circle helps although can be hard on the reduction gear. Good luck. Even the best occasionally make fools of themselves. Never be afraid to ask for help. Never be afraid to laugh at yourself. Good for the soul.

[Pete17C]

Just another take, maybe it works for you..depends if you can get a good angle to bring the stern to the B cleat.

For this description, I'm labeling the cleats on the long leg of the L, A (stern) B (mid) & C (bow)

When departing, leave a line from cleat A near cleat B for pick up when coming in.

Have a line ready on the boat, from the bow, outside the lifelines, back to the cockpit, that you can drop onto B.

Approach the dock at an angle that will allow the stern to clear, with enough way to counter the wind. Turn parallel to the dock and stop the boat with the B cleat reachable from the cockpit (stopping is critical, as you'll likely lose awareness as you try to get the lines hitched, for a moment at least).

Drop the bow line onto B and grab the stern line you left attached to A. You may need a bit of forward to keep the bow in.

This should put you in good shape to slide the boat back and secure properly.

[akprb]

“Park it?”

Nails on a chalk board :-)

Am I the only one? Must be getting old.

Berth, dock, moor........anything but “park”.

[TrentePieds]

No, no. "Park it" is perfectly acceptable - the boat is wheel-steered :-)

TP

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by Dave22q

Run a line from the middle dock post to the end of the stub/finger dock. Leave it with an easy to catch loop. approach dead slow, catch the line, bring to dead stop, bring line to stbd winch and crank her in sideways. If the wind is strong just take your time. once at dock, catch your regular dock lines and secure her. Let your winch do the work

No. He wants to dock port side to the finger dock, so he needs a connection to port side . And using the winch will put the line too far aft. As he passes close by leeward end of main dock, he must leave cockpit quickly and pick up a spring line loop to drop over his port midship cleat.
Other end of spring should be previously set to the cleat in corner of the L.

This is actually as easy as normal docking to a weather dock, and it is the same operation. Perhaps easier, since the stub end of main dock will be used to hold out the spring line for easy pickup.

[kmcshane]

I've used these in any number of situations:



https://www.amazon.com/Docking-Stick.../dp/B00BK6LE4Y

[nybor]

Wow, opinions all over the place! Why not simply take spear gun and attach a Kevlar line to it. Motor by and shoot the spear into any piece of the wood dock you can. Then reel in the boat. (I know this would work because Batman does it all the time)



Ps. Make sure there are no "helpers" on the dock to help you when you do this.....


dave b. (Catalina 350 "Nybor" [Robyn spelled backwards]}

[admiral 31]

I find one of these on a 2 meter+ telescopic pole to be a great help!


Jolly Hook (Powered by CubeCart)


using one of these you can attach a rope to shore so you are not drifting further & further away from the dock

[nilespf]

If you haven't tried already, run a line up from the helm starboard side to the bow turn with a block and have enough line coiled outside on the port life line to loop around the pole. Once looped bring the line back to the helm so you can pay out as needed. Warp forward against this line with right full rudder and the stern will walk into the dock. Well placed fenders will be needed.


pn

[Happ]

A few months ago I sailed a 60’ catamaran up the east coast. There were only 2 of us. When we arrived at the slip we used the same docking method I have used for decades. I have spring line run to a winch on the boat. Knowing which way your boat will naturally move due to wind or current on that day I get the spring attached to the dock. As the boat settles the spring will tighten and the boat will be pulled towards the dock. If the boat is being blown off the dock I just tighten the spring with the winch. Once the boat is settled I can throw out my other lines and move the boat around to my optimum spot on the dock.

[Night_Sailor]

It would be helpful to know if this is a fin or full keel boat.

The first thing I’d try is approaching in forward and trying to secure a breast line and motor forward with helm to port to steer the bow into the dock. Even if you are a bit past the dock that would hold you in position. It might be hard to grab that line and require lots of back and forth. Perhaps a loop around a primary winch would work best, and then some reverse, winch, drive forward, reverse, etc to hold the boat against the dock (in forward) and winch in (in reverse).

Generally I prefer backing but that depends on the keel and backing ability of the boat. A fin keel can do amazing things in reverse while a full keel is a white knuckle nightmare, particularly on larger boats. The problem with that in this case is the bow blowing off. You might find yourself hanging from the stern off the dock. A nuisance situation.

One final thought. A floating breast line with a loop and float sized appropriately can be picked up in the water as the wind would push it off the dock and you could winch yourself in or use that in conjunction with prop walk or prop wash to take up slack. Perhaps a fiberglass pole could hold that breast line where it can be reached easily.