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.