No motor Entry/Exit Marinas

[carstenb]

I'm with boatman, although I probably would furl my genua on the way in, tack around the end of the slip with my main, and then drop the main as I slid into the slip.

This should not be a difficult maneuver, unless the wind is very heavy.

[seandepagnier]

if you reef down to 3rd reef usually can make headway in any direction nice and slow without a head sail, and be able to tack quickly. Maybe you can find use in a sculling oar. Also momentum can go a long way if timed right.

Then again, the problem is not the need to sail in tight quarters, but the fact that you are in the first place. Don't use marinas.

[Fernao]

Originally Posted by tbodine88

Every boat had a bermuda rig.

Not so all the time. I am looking to build a junk rigged boat. This way I can do all the sailhandling myself..

[RedHerring]

Let me give this a try.

1. Rig two 30 ft docking lines, one aft starboard, the other amidships port.
2. Approach slowly on stbd tack under main alone.
3. As your beam is past the end of the pier, you release the main sheet, turn into the wind, block the rudder, and graciously step off the boat, while it's still sailing by inertia.
4. You then throw the port line on a cleat - this makes sure your boat won't be hitting the wall upwind even if your approach is too fast.
5. Walk around the slip with the stbd line, pull on the line to stop the boat at just the right time, then guide the stern into the slip as the boat slowly sails backwards, then move up to the end of stbd pier and use the same line to stop the boat. If you need to apply more force than you can by simply puling on the line, jam it into a cleat and either just hold or pull the line between the cleat and the boat up, as if plucking a string.

Not sure if I'd try this circus number on anything heavier than a couple of tons... but it sure can be done on a 25-footer in light winds, after you spend enough time practising slow maneuvers on her.

[Wannabe-007]

Originally Posted by tbodine88

...but I'd like to somehow achieve the elegance of just sailing in like Captain Ron did in that movie.

You're overdue for a re-run. Captain Ron used a motor.

Captain Ron's docking manuevers - YouTube