Singlehanding

[dleathem]

I’ve owned a Cooper 416 pilothouse cutter for about 18 months now. I live on-board, but had very little experience sailing her. Unfortunately my buddies who I would normally sail with have other distractions, so I’m faced with the prospect of singlehanding “Molly Rose” if I wish to get away from the dock. I have sailed for many years, but this boat is definitely a step up for me. I’m looking for any words of wisdom from experienced singlehanded res, especially in regards to docking, picking up a buoy, anchoring etc. by oneself. Any specific pieces of advice? I’m really longing to get off the dock, but a little freaked out.
Looking forward to hearing your experiences.

[jmorrison146]

Getting away from the dock usually will be easier than mooring. It would help to see your dock situation but in general you've got to use what you've got available, think things out, organize the steps into a logical order, and take your time. Anything that must be done quickly, like scurrying from one end of the boat to the other, should be avoided.

Hard to help without a diagram of your mooring but get organized, have a buddy observe but not help unless things are going badly, and try your plan on a calm day.

[Dogscout]

Look at Patrick Laine videos on youtube. Keep Calm and Carry On

[fragglerock]

I found this book full of good advice
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stress-free.../dp/1472907434

If you want to get a bit more racy then this has interesting things to say

https://www.sfbaysss.org/resource/do...rdEdition2.pdf

[tkeithlu]

Docking is the biggest challenge, and unfortunately, it happens after you have committed yourself and have to dock, or become the Ancient Mariner. One way to protect yourself is to call your marina on VHF when approaching and ask for line help. After all, they really don't want you to mess it up and hit other boats. When I've had to do it by myself, fortunately rarely, I've held in mind stopping, absolutely still, in the position that allows me to get a prepared line around a piling. Then, the engine becomes a friend, holding the boat for the next line. Good luck with it.

[Pendragon35]

Originally Posted by dleathem

I’ve owned a Cooper 416 pilothouse cutter for about 18 months now. I live on-board, but had very little experience sailing her. Unfortunately my buddies who I would normally sail with have other distractions, so I’m faced with the prospect of singlehanding “Molly Rose” if I wish to get away from the dock. I have sailed for many years, but this boat is definitely a step up for me. I’m looking for any words of wisdom from experienced singlehanded res, especially in regards to docking, picking up a buoy, anchoring etc. by oneself. Any specific pieces of advice? I’m really longing to get off the dock, but a little freaked out.
Looking forward to hearing your experiences.

I started single handing my Alberg 35 about three years ago. I’ve been sailing over 50 years, mostly on smaller keel boats, but never alone. What I’ve found is that SH requires you to think everything out several steps in advance because you have to set up in advance.

Undocking - I back out with a into a fairway and have to turn 90 deg starboard to get out. I have prop walk that takes the stern to port. When things are calm, it’s fine. When the wind is toward the dock, I use a long floating line set up to a cleat on the end of the finger so that as the boat goes out it will turn. Also, I’ve give up the pride of doing it all myself and freely ask/accept help to get the boat out.

Sailing - I kept my main halyard at the mast because I have to go up there to reef. I use a jackline and and tie to it, also use a short line to the past. EVERYTHING is done slow and low—the biggest issue is STAY ABOARD. That said, gettiing the main up is an issue because it can take a few minutes. Things sometimes jam, and I go slowly. But it gets there. My jib is on a roller furler, so that is a little easier.

I have charts on an iPad for reference, also a paper chart with a plot going. Before I go, I set up the cockpit with everything needed.

The biggest thing I’ve learned is drink and eat. I sail on the Chesapeake, it gets hot. I need water constantly and it’s easy to forget because singlehanding is busy. Also, my first times singlehanding I was exhausted by not having any food to hand.

Docking - I have a finger pier set up and call for assistance when I come in. Usually this is surprisingly easy.

I have found singlehanding a wonderful challenge and, as you say, it frees you from depending on others to go out! Good luck— post your early experiences I’m sure we could all learn from you.

[Don C L]

Well, I used to charter a Downeast 38 and a Peterson 44 for Boy Scout trips many years ago, and when I started with them I thought they were aircraft carriers. I practiced a lot until I had a really good gut feeling for their momentum and the response I could count on in forward and reverse from the engine and prop. I can only offer you a couple tips from those days pertaining to docking, since I'd have to move the boats at times alone. I singlehand my own boat too, but it is considerably smaller. Your boat, which I am not familiar with it so I had to look it up, appears to have a good deal of freeboard, so you probably won't be running around and jumping off to dock it. Not many folks are singlehanding a boat of that size. The boats I sailed did not reverse well so there was inevitably some jockeying around in narrow fairways. Just don't practice if there is ANY breeze or current. Everything must be planned ahead with an eye to being ready for whatever may go wrong. And take everything very slow. If the boat is moving faster than you can crawl, it's going too fast. And if you have any doubts, stop, back up and do it all over; no shame in that! Something you probably know already, from docking, is how to kick the stern around just by giving one second forward blasts of forward thrust against the rudder that is hard over. So, for example, in my case I'd approach a dock at a slight angle, drifting in, and then goose it to bring the stern around, and then reverse to stop forward momentum and if all goes well I'd drift right against the dock coming to a stop hitting all 10 fenders ( buy more fenders!) simultaneously and then I could calmly step off and stroll to tea at the yacht club.
About asking for help... yes and no. I have had folks want to help at times, on the dock, and I have had to yell at them to NOT help out of concern for their safety. Of course you'll have your dock lines all at the ready, but personally I wouldn't ask anyone to help until the boat has come to a complete stop against the dock. I am probably saying things you already know.
Anchoring can be a challenge when weighing anchor if there is a breeze or current. You may find yourself wanting to run back and forth, even if you can weigh anchor from the cockpit, to check how the anchor is coming up and that running stuff is when, well, it's when I get hurt or do something dumb. Plan everything in advance and as Jim on Pendragon said, do everything low and slow. Personally I'd also have a second anchor that is ready to go in a second in case there is any problem with the bow anchor and/or the engine.
I'm sure there are others here who have even better tips than those, but those have worked for me.

[GrowleyMonster]

Usually for a singlehander it is easiest to dock bow in. Returning to your own slip gives you some advantages. Leave your mooring lines. You got to nail it on the slip entry, at low speed, remembering that if you have to back hard, your stern will walk to port (or starboard if you have a left hand wheel). You have a much bigger rudder than a powerboat. You can come in at very low speed with the engine out of gear, and still be able to steer effectively. You can even sort of scull with the rudder, if you have tiller steering. Anyway set up your stern lines as you leave the slip by hanging them on the pilings in such a way that you can easily grab them with your boathook from the cockpit, make them fast, and then idle forward against them. Now your boat is under three point control and you can leisurely go forward and retrieve your headlines and make fast. Now kill the engine and set whatever springlines or other lines you desire, rig shore power, water, internet, etc. Practice this in calm conditions first, where you have plenty of time to make decisions and adapt to the situation as it changes. For backing out, again, remember that your stern will want to go to port (or starboard) as you back your engine, at least until you have enough sternway to give you steerage. Easier to set up what I call a slingshot spring. Works best on the side to which the stern backs, but not a big deal, if you only have a finger pier on the other side. Anyway take a long line, and an old halyard works well for this, and splice a small eye in the end, too small to go over a dock cleat but big enough to slip over one horn. You need a cleat on your finger pier, of course, near your stern. Run the eye out a bow chock and catch the aft pointing horn of the cleat. The bitter end goes back to the cockpit. Let go all lines, tossing them on the dock and looping your stern lines where you can easily catch them and they can't get in your wheel. Haul in on the slingshot line, which will pull your boat aft. This will pull the bow to that side, so have your rudder hard over to that side. If it is on the proper side then you can use your engine astern to compensate, IF NEEDED. You can also put the rudder hard over and give it just a tiny kick ahead, not enough to stop your sternway. As the boat backs out of the slip and the bow chock passes the stern cleat, the eye will slip off that aft pointed cleat horn, and you are out in the fairway. Hard rudder will get the boat turning while you have sternway and the prop is not turning. Before you back into anything, shift your rudder and put engine in gear and off you go. Lines are all set up for your return. Using TWO slingshot lines works if you have a crewman, and gives the boat a more centered exit from the slip. For a small boat, I just give a good push to back out of the slip. We don't need no steenking engine! Well, sometimes.


If you will singlehand often, and you don't have lazy jacks, then rig some. Near the harbor entrance is no place to diddle around for 15 minutes furling your main. A roller furled headsail is another fine thing to have when you are sailing alone. If you will be tacking a big genoa, rig a forehaul line to pull the clew forward as you come around, then let it back out and sheet the jib home on the new tack. Sometimes it is easier to wear around, that is, turn downwind and jibe, to get onto the other tack, when you are by yourself. Especially if the boat doesn't tack easily in the first place.



Picking up a mooring can be done from the stern, you know. Shift it to the bow after you have things under control. You may need a line led through a bow chock and back to a winch in a stiff breeze or with a bigger boat.



Learn how to balance your sails so that on at least some points of sail, the boat will happily steer itself. If you have to go forward to straighten something out, the boat should automatically hold its course in relation to the wind direction. Try to have everything you will need in the cockpit ahead of time... snacks, drink, horn, pee jug, smokes, spare hat, jacket, handheld VHF or the mic, smartphone (in zip lock bag), binoculars, etc. If you do have to go below, make sure the boat can tend itself and don't stay down there.



Learn and practice how to heave to. This is an incredibly useful skill when sailing solo.



Alone? Even more reason to wear a harness, even in fine weather, and stay clipped in to jacklines, not just the lifelines, which won't stop you from going over the side. It would suck to be bobbing in the water and sadly watching your boat sail away from you. Sucks almost as bad to be in the water tethered to a lifeline, banging against the boat, trying to clamber back aboard, sometimes, I suppose. Far better to be tethered to a jackline running down the centerline of the deck, with enough slack to reach the lifelines but not tumble over them.


Make up a checklist and follow it religiously before embarking. Running lights, anchor, safety equipment, radio, phone and charging device, anchor ball and other dayshapes, engine, water, bilge and bilge alarm, etc. cause you don't want to be wondering about stuff when you are needed at the helm.



I like sailing solo, especially if I am not passagemaking. If you do things right, it is actually easier and less stressful than having crew.

[Stu Jackson]

In Vancouver I'm betting you have bull rails. This makes docking and leaving a PITA compared to those places with cleats, where you could use a midship springline when solo. When I moved here three years ago from the US, after sailing singlehanded for decades, I was flummoxed by bull rails. I admit I still remain so. In my slip here, the aft end of the bull rail is not flush, it overhangs a bit, so I can use it as if it was the aft end of a cleat. You might consider buying a cleat and having the marina install it for you.

Single Handing 101.2 HOPPING OFF THE BOAT IS UNNECESSARY
Single handing & Bull Rails

With wind off the dock, I still find it very difficult to use bull rails, so I have to choose my spots wisely when traveling. I wrote that before I moved here, and still don't have a "solution."

Otherwise, like everything else: practice, practice, practice. Find a nice calm morning or evening (last might was gorgeous) and go out and come back in repeatedly. Many many times. Spend a whole day doing it. Then do it the next day.

Your goal: learn to put YOUR boat where YOU want it to be.

I found, with bull rails on docks other than your own slip, that a super long bow line is helpful (not long enough to get caught up in the prop) and a good length stern line, I do the stern line first with a Douglas hitch or a couple of half hitches, then get the bow. With that long bow line on the dock, you can stomp on it with your foot while you're doing a quickie on the stern line.

For leaving: After I get in with the bow and stern lines, I rig the midship line right away and I rig the midship springline set up to be able to be thrown off FROM the boat and returned to the boat while I'm on it after I have released the bow and stern lines from the dock. I engage the engine, lay on the midship line, take the bow & stern off the dock and flip them onto the boat, get on, slip out of gear, toss the springline onto the dock and pull it back to me, and depart.

One of these days I'll update that link!
I agree with Growley, leave your own dock lines on your dock, once in with the midship line, simply pick up the bow & stern dock lines with a boat hook.



Good luck. While practicing, remember, you're still happily on your boat!

[GrowleyMonster]

Bull rails? That does not compute.

[JPA Cate]

Stu, it would really help those who are unfamiliar with bull rails to see a video. I was wondering if you use rolling hitches?

I can see how, if the OP's rail sticks out that way, that could function as the horn of a cleat, for the midships spring line, and then the rest would work more or less normally. How far apart are the supports for the bull rails, generally?

I think it was Hop Car who published some pictures here on CF of a dock with the bull rails in Alaska, a couple of years or so ago.

Ann

[hpeer]

OR, maybe hire someone to come with you as you practice docking alone. I find it can be a big asset to have someone to talk to “How did I do?” “What can I improve?”

At first the PRO can assist you in and out and then draw back but by bit until you have it all by yourself.

Of course it has to be the right kind of person. Any schools in your area?

Just an additional thought.

[RaymondR]

I single hand all the time and have done so since 2001 and do about 2,000 nm of coastal cruising every year.

My favorite ploy when coming alongside a jetty of pontoon is to run a btaided sheet line from a cockpit winch, forward along the side deck, through a fitting I have fastened on the shear just forward of midships and back outside the life rails to adjoin the cockpit. I tie a loop in the outside end and hang it over one of the stanchions.

The idea is to motor in, stop the boat, slip the loop over a cleat on the dock or pontoon and take up the slack by hauling in on the line by hand with a couple of loops on the sheet winch. You can then kick the engine into gear and use the rudder to push the stern into the dock or pontoon.

You can also use the spring line to work the stern clear of the dock when departing. I usually tie a light line through the loop and take it back to the cockpit. You only want the loop over one horn of the cleat and after using the spring and rudder to work the stern away from the dock go astern and use the light line to pull the loop off the cleat.

For single handing without tears you must have a good autopilot which can be quickly engaged and disengaged.

One of the trickier operations for s single hander is picking up moorings in windy or strong current situations. The damned things disappear under the bow and it's hard to judge whether you are forward enough and before you make it to the bow from the wheel you've blown or washed away. I have found that sometimes it's better to back up from down wind or current and approach and catch them over the stern so that you can stay at the con whilst doing so. Of course the rain will blow into the companionway and you will brand yourself as a non conformist, but just ignore the curmudgeonly commentators.

[SV Windrush II]

Lots of great advice from above. All I can say is I own a 40' ketch I have been singlehanded sailing now for about 6 years including sailing down the west coast, entering 7 river bars, approaching at night, docking in all kinds of conditions, sailed across the pacific to Hawaii experiencing a week of serious heavy weather, then Micronesia, visiting several atolls and going through many reef passes and now sailing the Philippines.

Sailing alone takes extra care and preparation, but on the other hand, I find sailing alone I can concentrate and be more focused, not assuming someone else is doing anything for me.
Also having the right equipment and electronics, good autopilot, a GPS you can keep with you in the cabin or on the deck, (I use a Ipad with several navigation software apps) Having alarms when you are sleeping, etc.
As far as docking, It just takes practice, learn by practicing approaching a mooring buoy, that way no harm if you hit it. Learn the reaction of your boat with the prop, forwards and backwards, try difference speeds and get the feel of your boats momentum, wind force and rudder response. Pretty soon you will be docking like a pro. I would say go for it and always be on the safe side, when in doubt, back off. So far I have never hit another boat because if I think there is going to be a problem I back off and try again, better to be embarrassed than hit something or someone.

[Yellow bird]

Originally Posted by dleathem

I’ve owned a Cooper 416 pilothouse cutter for about 18 months now. I live on-board, but had very little experience sailing her. Unfortunately my buddies who I would normally sail with have other distractions, so I’m faced with the prospect of singlehanding “Molly Rose” if I wish to get away from the dock. I have sailed for many years, but this boat is definitely a step up for me. I’m looking for any words of wisdom from experienced singlehanded res, especially in regards to docking, picking up a buoy, anchoring etc. by oneself. Any specific pieces of advice? I’m really longing to get off the dock, but a little freaked out.
Looking forward to hearing your experiences.

"Tell me it and I’ll forget it
Show me it and maybe I’ll remember it
Let me do it and I will surely learn it"

Take a good instructor for a couple of days (or better a week including a long offshore sailing) that make you do all that you need to learn,
he'll just tell you the right way and you'll do it, and he'll watch if you are right.
Safety, easy, fast, and not so expensive!

And then let your future experiences do the rest