Help Exiting Slip

[bad1129]

I dock my Sun Odyssey 42 stern in for better airflow when I'm working on it and ease of boarding for my wife. My neighbor docks his bow in which makes it a little challenging to exit, especially single handed or any wind over my starboard side. I can't start my turn until my stern is almost abreast of his due to the narrowness of the slip. By that time I'm almost touching the boats on the opposite side.


What's the best way to manage this turn, particularly single handed?


TIA!

[wholybee]

Run a long dock line from the starboard stern cleat on the boat, to the cleat on the end of the finger near the bow, and then back to the cockpit where you hold it.
As you leave the dock, pull in that line to keep it tight. It will help keep you off the boat to your port side. As the stern of the boat reaches the end of the dock, snub the line on the stern cleat (you probably won't be able to hold it otherwise) to keep the boat from going to far forward, and it will swing the bow to starboard for your corner. Once you round the corner, release the end of the line and quickly pull it in being careful to not foul your prop.

Practice that with 2 people before trying it singlehanded.

[Knotical]

I like wholybee’s idea, but whenever I have tried to use any kind of spring lines I get overwhelmed, one reason is the separate gear and throttle controls on our boat, along with the wheel and spring line I would need 4 hands to maneuver.

One thing that has worked for me in an enclosed area like yours where there is minimal wind and current effect is - I walk the boat to the end of the dock, keep the bow line in your hand and once the boat is halfway out of the slip start pulling the bow towards you, keep the stern close and then hop on. Try it on a calm day when there are no boats around, hope you have one of those roller fenders at the end of the dock.

[leecea]

...being careful to not foul your prop.

We use a floating line in the hope that it will minimize this risk (NEW ENGLAND ROPES 7/16" Dia. Floating Dinghy Tow Rope)

[HankOnthewater]

Hi Bad1129. I would have thought reversing in, is much harder compared when leaving.

I do the following when leaving my pen/slip. Due to lack of depth, my turn is nearly 180 degrees, swiveling around the pylon.
- have a line (springer) from the middle of the finger jetty, or even to the start of the jetty (north in your drawing)
- bring this line around the midships cleat/bollard, or use a turning block or snatch block (I use the latter)
- bring that line to the cockpit and wind it once or twice, depending on the forces, around a starboard sheet winch
- make that line tight, and tie off (I use the self-tailing claw)
- place fenders: one big one on the SB pylon/end of finger jetty, and at least one on the boat, its SB quarter
- put helm to port
- undo lines from the port side of the boat
- put engine in gear with the lowest RPM possible, however if there a lot of wind more revs are certainly needed
- undo all other lines from boat to the jetty, and boat should still sit there
- slowly ease the line from the winch, boat will move forward, against the finger jetty
- control boat's position how much line you let out
- control boat's heading with rudder, the boat should point straight south until the midships cleat is level with the SB pylon
- about there, put rudder more straight but still to port, this depends how much stuff you have hanging on your stern, and depending how much stuff your neighbour on your portside has on his stern, and depends on wind direction, as turning too early, these two sterns will touch
- controlling boat's position still with the line, and controlling heading with the rudder, allow bow to swing to SB slowly
- do not put rudder to midships or to SB unless you are confident your stern will not hit your neighbour's
- once your stern is level or past the pylon, the line will swivel/ go around the pylon and you still should control the boat's position and heading
- once your stern is clear of that of your neighbour's AND the heading of your boat is towards clear water, put helm in the desired direction, let the control line run out of the block, making sure there are no knots or tangle up as that would stop the boat un-controllable
- at this stage, give the engine a few more revs, to get better steering control

Anyway, that has worked for me for years, always singlehandedly, and my boat is north of 20 tonnes. BTW I do not use a floating line, but a nylon one, double braid that sinks, does not kink easily. I pick up that line on my return and no other boat can get tangled as it sits on the bottom.
Even if there are others on my boat, and still prefer to do it myself, as letting too much line out too quickly, or have the helm in wrong position, could be expensive.
If you have tiller steering as apposed to wheel, you may need to rig some lines/shockcords to keep the helm in the desired positions.

[Snore]

Not knowing prop rotation it is a challenge to help.


IF the stern walks to port when you back down, get some headway, about the time the last piling is abeam, helm hard a starboard and engine to neutral-- then if the stern walks to port when backing, give her some reverse- this will make the prop walk act like a stern thruster.

Of course if the wind is off the starboard side of the boat, you are S.O.L. and need to back out the fairway.

[grantmc]

I used to walk along the jetty to get the boat moving and that would give her enough speed that she'd have steerage and also I'd not have to worry about prop walk. Obviously jump on at an appropriate moment.

I think extra lines just cause more complexity.

But if I were in your situation I would be talking to the marina staff about getting a more suitable berth. I imagine getting your boat in to that berth is even more difficult than getting out. I sailed a Sun Odyssey for a little while and my experience with that yacht was that backing was a nightmare.

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by bad1129

What's the best way to manage this turn, particularly single handed?

looks stressful even in perfect conditions. bow thruster needed

[Corvidae]

I've used the spring line method myself in that situation. Only from the mid ship eye. Because it's midship, when I run the line forward to the piling, it's the same length to the aft. Which means when it goes tight, my aft is exactly past the piling, and I'm clear to turn, which happens very quickly. As soon as I'm pointed down the throughfare, I pull in the rope.

You can turn your boat 90 degress within the length of your boat that way, though it is a lot easier with two people.