Can I move my 38-foot boat with an outboard?

[Boatyarddog]

We all know sailing into slips IS Possible.
Timing has a lot to do with its success rate.
And a good insurance Policy, doesn't hurt.
SV Cloud Duster

[GrowleyMonster]

Originally Posted by Boatyarddog

We all know sailing into slips IS Possible.
Timing has a lot to do with its success rate.
And a good insurance Policy, doesn't hurt.
SV Cloud Duster

At my marina, sailing in and out of the slip is a lease violation.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by GrowleyMonster

At my marina, sailing in and out of the slip is a lease violation.

At my marina we probably have a rule aginst it also, but they are so lax they can't even provide a copy of the rules so I don't know.

And anyhow, they don't enforce any rules, even ones I wish they would enforce.

So we sail into the marina on a regular basis, just because we like to, and we either coast or turn on the motor for the last 200ft.

When you've been sailing in to the marina in all kinds of weather for 5-6 years it is not so intimidating any more.

[JPA Cate]

It isn't that one cannot sail into slips, whether or not it is allowed by management--although you risk not being allowed back in if you throw their rules in their face. It is more that some marinas (usually ones located along tidal rivers) will have unseen currents waiting to grab your keel. You can see how the wind is striking the water, and account for what it is doing and adjust for it. You can come afoul getting into the slip if the unseen current suddenly moves your boat off the dock. With this scenario, Buenosermlvr would probably have contact with the other boat in the slip. The unseen current can push you into the forward or side ends of the slip, or out of it. It is probably most convenient at slack water. So, check what the tides are doing at your location. Mostly, be aware your "landing" may wind up embarrassing you, regardless of your source of propulsion.

Often, one does not have double finger slips to deal with, and sometimes you can't figure out what will be there till you get there. Unless you're quite well insured, you surely don't want to scratch a gold plater. Even then, your pride might not want to let you.

While we have sailed on and off the anchor a lot, we have not often sailed into the fingers in the marina....of course, we don't use marinas often, either. When it is of your choice, and you can make time for it, it can be a very worthwhile thing to practice. The "it" I have in mind is twofold: sailing on and off the hook, and sailing into the slip. It is best if the skipper talks the crew through the whole procedure beforehand. And if you're singlehanding, no one will mind if you talk yourself through it all, and consider what you may have missed. And afterwards, you will have something to put in your boat log.



Ann

[seandepagnier]

I try to approach at a low speed when sailing into marinas. So, using reefs in the sail and small headsail to give lower boat speed especially if there is a lot of wind.

Sometimes I had to use a large genoa to have enough power to sail against a 3 knot current flowing through the marina. In this case it is better to sail against the current if possible and ensure the boat speed relative to the marina is 2 knots or less. I have not damaged other boats, but few times scratched my own but never needed to do repairs. I have however seen a lot of times people using engines in and around marinas damaging other boats then complaining that they couldn't help it.

It is very easy for me as I can fend off anything no matter what direction at speeds of 2 knots or less because the boat weight is not much. I can simply sail straight at a dock from any direction and just jump off the boat and stop it.

I also stopped a 20 ton boat once and I barely was able to. Completely different from a 4 ton boat.
It would have crashed into the cement as everyone else just jumped back but I used my legs sitting on the corner of the cement quay braced with my body pushing the boat with both legs stopped it within an inch. I suggest having 1 crew per 4 tons of boat weight. If your boat weights more than this, just add as many crew as you need to be able to properly manage the vessel, or re-evaluate why you need to live in excess.

Perhaps using engines in marinas should be prohibited. I dont think it's really responsible, sensible or just to have huge boats relying on polluting engines. If the boat is too big with not enough crew to ensure it can sail in, it should be prohibited from entering the marina. Those boats can just sail on to anchor instead, and if they need to dock, there are ways to bring any size boat to a dock using just 1 person in a row dingy with anchors and lines etc.

[Don C L]

What?? All these posts and no one has yet mentioned the virtues of oars?
...or yulohs?

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

[Mickeyrouse]

Originally Posted by seandepagnier

I also stopped a 20 ton boat once and I barely was able to. Completely different from a 4 ton boat.
It would have crashed into the cement as everyone else just jumped back but I used my legs sitting on the corner of the cement quay braced with my body pushing the boat with both legs stopped it within an inch.

You describe a situation almost identical to one my brother witnessed some years back. The result: severe double hip injury requiring multiple surgeries and months of re-hab. Let the boat hit. Being able to walk is more important.
Event #2: A friend of mine invested 20+ years building a John Alden Malabar schooner. On the day of launch and christening, he tried to fend the boat off the dock. His foot was crushed, and he lost it. Again, let the boat hit the dock. His boat was not worth his foot.

[Cadence]

sh2ts

Originally Posted by GrowleyMonster

At my marina, sailing in and out of the slip is a lease violation.

I've done it once. The people on the fuel dock looked like they thought i was crazy as a sh@t house rat. They may have been right. It was prior to BOAT US or Tow Boat

[Dave9111]

Originally Posted by Don C L

What?? All these posts and no one has yet mentioned the virtues of oars?
...or yulohs?

That's about as fast as I come into the dock with the engine idling.
The problem with oars is that they don't brake the boat well at all.

And you are limited to likely less than .5 hp unless you are about to hit a concrete wall... then horsepower might peak at 1.00hp just prior to gouging the hull ! :-)

Most marinas are not setup for sailing into the slip. If your engine is operable, its really pretty reckless. I was on a boat once when I was young and the guy sailed his boat into a slip. I was in my teens I thought it was nuts since we had to turn into a blind canal and there was insufficient time to start the engine if there was a boat behind the seawall. He didn't care. Fortunately no one was there and we got to the slip without incidence. Even so, as a teen I thought it was crazy!

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by surf_km55

We got to this point in this very thread because of people entertaining a really bad idea... moving a 38' boat with a 6hp outboard. This was literally begging for a squabble; ergo, I beg to differ.

Search "best anchor" or "real blue water boat," then get back to me. There are many participants on this forum whose only purpose in being here is to squabble. It's literally part of the fabric that makes up this place. Sit back and enjoy! I find it massively entertaining even when I don't participate...as witnessed by my very low post count vs date subscribed.

Rude? Nahhhhh. Just playin'.

Some people are rude because they don't know any better, others of us are just doing it by mistake, we don't mean it.

But if you are doing to play around? Go play in the freeway for awhile, we don't need intentional rudeness by anyone, especially someone who thinks it's funny.

About the OP's idea to move his boat by 6hp outboard, I don't think it's a great idea and I've made that clear without resorting to rudeness.

As to whether it ia a "really bad idea" or not, I guess that is subject to people's opinions. I wouldn't think it justifies being rude.