Docking monohull sideways advice wanted

[markpierce]

Mid-hull cleats are your friend.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by taxwizz

Two words....

"Bow thruster"

Thank you.

Bow thruster -- and I have a 10 horsepower one -- is not actually of much help coming into a berth like this.



Best advice so far is from El Pinguino. Pretty much a comprehensive one page handbook of how to do it.



Another piece of advice I would give is to watch Captain Ron, the famous docking scene. This actually illustrates, in an exaggerated way, the main principle to use in a situation like this -- when you turn a boat, it will continue on sideways after the turn. I think it's called "displacement" on big ships.



So the basic principle is aim the bow at an appropriate angle -- maybe 20 or 30 degrees on average, but more if you are being blown off the dock and less if being blown on, more if you have little room -- at a point which is a couple meters aft of where you want the bow to end up. Get the speed right -- and you'll need to practice to know how your boat handles -- on mine it's 1 knot if I'm not dealing with adverse wind, or any current, but might be two or three -- put the helm over when the bow is quite near the dock, and give a good kick of astern, just enough to almost kill the forward motion of the boat.


With forward motion killed, the interesting thing is that the rotation caused by putting the helm over, and sideways displacement, will continue unabated. So you'll slide sideways into your berth Once you get the hang of it, you'll find that 13 meters for a 10 meter boat is comfortably plenty -- I do this with my 16.4 meter boat in probably 18 meter spaces, and I can't remember the last time I scratched anybody. This force is strong enough that it can work to some extent even against a wind blowing you off. Up to a certain wind force of course.



A great tip from Ping is also having the spring lines on the dock. That greatly simplifies getting into your own berth.



To get out, now a bow thruster is a great thing, but without a bow thruster, you just use a spring line to get the bow or stern out clear of the boat ahead or behind, and Bob's your uncle.


As Ping said, always berth on the side opposite the side your prop kicks towards, so that prop walk is helping and not hurting you getting out. Always approach the berth powering against the current; you will crash if you try to come it with the current, because you lose steerage when you try to stop.



If the wind is blowing you onto the dock, take a shallower angle coming in and go slower, and let the wind blow you on. If the wind if blowing you off, this is much harder -- take a steeper angle and go in faster, and get that midships spring on ASAP. When I do this maneuver single handed, and when there is limited space, I lasso a cleat or bollard with a line led through a midships cleat to an electric cockpit winch, and winch the boat in. If there's room to power ahead, then once a midships spring is on, you can power against it to pull you onto the dock, and use the rudder to straighten the boat out, then put on the other lines at your leisure.




Another thing to keep in mind -- as a first principle -- be keenly aware of wind and current, even very small amounts of them. When you get close to the dock and start to lose way, wind and current takes over your boat, even if it's a small say 0.5 knot tide. For current, make a pass by your berth and look carefully to see how particles in the water are moving. If you have the luxury to approach your berth from either direction, then ALWAYS approach against the current. If you can approach from only one direction, then you may need to wait for the current to change. A current against you is a great luxury which greatly simplifies all docking maneuvers, because you have steerage and control even with all way off.


Good luck, and practice practice practice. Practice using spring lines in both directions, practice moving the boat sideways -- and do this on a piece of dock with no boats on it, putting buckets up where you imagine boats would be. Keep plenty of fenders out, and don't freak yourself out about it -- gel coat repairs are not actually all that expensive. Eventually you will get pleasure from berthing maneuvers -- they are an interesting challenge.

[Kenomac]

Watch this video and learn... it works. We’ve been using this method for over ten years, several years before I saw the video. Come in with confidence and momentum at 90 degrees, don’t concern yourself with the dockside people looking a little freaked out, crank it in reverse and spin the wheel, have a margarita after you secure the midship sping line loop.

The people on the dock are always impressed. I’m dead serious... it works every time.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8alNxLjCBJc

[jmh2002]

@Kenomac, is this you in a former life?
'Come in with confidence' takes on a whole new meaning
(turn up the volume and take in good humour please...)

Big black cloud comin' from the smoke stack
Bi-bi-big black cloud comin' from the smoke stack
Big black cloud comin' from the smoke stack
Push the gas, haul ass, make 'em make 'em all get back

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNNwTC2oxsI

Original song lyrics by The Lacs - Keep It Redneck Album
https://genius.com/The-lacs-smoke-stack-lyrics

[Kenomac]

Amateurs.

[jmh2002]

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

The answer is that you shouldn't be single handing this approach. Good seamanship is about planning and doing what needs to be done in order to execute maneuvers safely. If there's more than a 50% chance of you smashing into another boat while you practice this maneuver (which I'd say there is if you are inexperienced enough to have to ask this question.) Then don't do it. Go sailing with somebody dude.

Sorry to be a troll but seriously man.

Oh come on, if it isn’t Mr. Nanny State himself . Please see post #26 & #48, I’ve been docking this way singlehanded and with my wife for over ten years without a single mishap, first on a 45ft Hunter, Oyster 53 and now an Oyster 625. The beauty of the Captain Ron method is that a bowthruster is unnecessary.

[jmh2002]

Yeah, there are plenty of boats that make a mess of simple maneuvers even when fully crewed, so it's more about the right technique than how many crew members.

[Kenomac]

A neat trick to get off the dock when parallel parked using a bowthruster.

1. Crank the wheel all the way towards the dock.

2. Hit a sharp, short hard blast of forward throttle and at the same time, hit the bowthruster in the direction away from the dock. Short bowthruster blast to push the bow away from the dock.

3. Repeat 2-3 times... and find yourself 12-15 feet away from the dock and ready to pull away in forward gear clear of the other boats.

4. Don’t forget to recenter the helm before moving forward and watch you stern.

Basically, you’re using the prop and rudder as a stern thruster.

Warning: Will not work with twin rudders.

[akprb]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Oh come on, if it isn’t Mr. Nanny State himself . Please see post #26 & #48, I’ve been docking this way singlehanded and with my wife for over ten years without a single mishap, first on a 45ft Hunter, Oyster 53 and now an Oyster 625. The beauty of the Captain Ron method is that a bowthruster is unnecessary.

I think unbusted was not alluding to not using a specific “way” to dock singlehanded but rather do not try it at all until he has mastered it with an extra hand or two onboard.

Got me thinking of all the large vessel single handed maneuvering I’ve done over the years but I still remember the first few failed attempts. Wrote a piece about it a few years ago :-) https://www.sailblogs.com/member/sailingohana/385212

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Watch this video and learn... it works. We’ve been using this method for over ten years, several years before I saw the video. Come in with confidence and momentum at 90 degrees, don’t concern yourself with the dockside people looking a little freaked out, crank it in reverse and spin the wheel, have a margarita after you secure the midship sping line loop.

The people on the dock are always impressed. I’m dead serious... it works every time.

...make sure you know which way the prop walks on your boat too!

[Stu Jackson]

That video of the lady tying to the bull rails has been around for some time. I don't have the time to comment on how many things she did so wrong, but some are: tying over instead of under, first; no wind makes it look easy; she does much more work than necessary; her bow line is way too short; she does some lines twice - why - not because of length or final setups; she could have used a Douglas hitch (which I learned about right here).

I am a relatively new bull rail user and I had to learn a lot of new tricks. Those aren't any of them.

[jmh2002]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

A neat trick to get off the dock when parallel parked using a bowthruster.

Standard procedure in fact, as well as to walk sideways when lining for stern to in the Med, and/or move up to weather if you have wind on the beam.

[deblen]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Watch this video and learn... it works. We’ve been using this method for over ten years, several years before I saw the video. Come in with confidence and momentum at 90 degrees, don’t concern yourself with the dockside people looking a little freaked out, crank it in reverse and spin the wheel, have a margarita after you secure the midship sping line loop.

The people on the dock are always impressed. I’m dead serious... it works every time.

Seriously! This is perfect technique. A little exaggerated for drama purposes,but correct in every way IMHO. / Len


My permanent home berth. My boat at the end of red line,outside boat.Sometimes I'm the inside boat. There is no marina locally. I single hand a lot. I had no choice-stay on shore or learn-mostly from watching the fishermen. / Len



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[deblen]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

A neat trick to get off the dock when parallel parked using a bowthruster.

1. Crank the wheel all the way towards the dock.

2. Hit a sharp, short hard blast of forward throttle and at the same time, hit the bowthruster in the direction away from the dock. Short bowthruster blast to push the bow away from the dock.

3. Repeat 2-3 times... and find yourself 12-15 feet away from the dock and ready to pull away in forward gear clear of the other boats.

4. Don’t forget to recenter the helm before moving forward and watch you stern.

Basically, you’re using the prop and rudder as a stern thruster.

Warning: Will not work with twin rudders.

Just for fun-try it without the thruster,plus you must give a short blast in reverse(leaving the helm hard over) Repeat several times until you can back out.
Note: Your bow will NOT hit the dock. / Len