[Rhodes22-list] Combination Of Sharp Turn To Port + Single Handed Docking

[Roger Pihlaja]

Thank you Steve & Mark!  This was the article on single handed docking I was
refering to.

So, David, what do you think?  Wouldn't executing a sharp 90 deg turn to
port & throwing a single dock line over a piling or cleat on the end of your
finger pier be more graceful & less taxing on your equipment than what you
do now?

By the way, if your marina is so tight & the wind blows like you say, how do
the boats around you get into their slips?

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Alm" <salm@mn.rr.com>
To: <rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org>
Sent: Friday, January 10, 2003 5:41 PM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Single Handed Docking Article


> Here it is:
>
> All boats have a point along both sides, usually just aft of amidships,
> wherein a single dock line will cause the boat to stop parallel to a dock.
> To find this point, pick a place along the side.  It's helpful to use the
> sliding cars on the genoa tracks for this purpose.  Attach a mooring line
to
> this point & pull on it from behind.  If the bow pulls towards you faster
> than the stern, then slide the attachment point aft.  If the stern is
> favored, then move the attachment point forward.  When the boat crabs
> sideways towards you, then you have found the approximate sweet spot.  The
> actual sweet spot will shift slightly when the boat has forward momentum.
> However, this approximate location will be sufficiently close to allow you
> to go out & try to pull up to a dock with a single line.  Try to stop the
> boat with a single mooring line using your approximate sweet spot.  If the
> bow or stern tend to crab towards the dock faster, then adjust the
position
> of the line fore or aft as before & try again.  When you have found the
> correct location, you should at least mark it.  You may even wish to
install
> permanent mooring cleats there port & starboard.
>
> With a single mooring line, simply motor up to the dock, slip your loop
over
> the piling near the end of the dock, & shift into neutral.  The mooring
line
> attached to the sweet spot will snub the boat's forward momentum & the
boat
> will almost magically "crab" sideways up against the dock.  This sideways
> crabbing involves a tremendous amount of drag, which uses up the boat's
> forward momentum in a matter of inches, thus making it almost impossible
to
> hit the dock.  The boat will stop at a convenient distance away from the
> dock for you to go around attaching your bow & stern lines at your
leisure.
> Try this technique.  I guarantee it will make you look like a boat
handling
> genius!
>
> Roger Pihlaja
> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>
> On 1/10/03 12:50 PM, "Roger Pihlaja" <cen09402@centurytel.net> wrote:
>
> > Hey Everyone,
> >
> > Did anyone happen to save a copy of an article I wrote several months
ago re a
> > foolproof single line docking procedure?  I can't find it in the SailNet
> > archives or on the FAQ page & I don't know how to search the new
archives.
> > I'd really rather not retype the whole thing if someone has a copy they
could
> > repost.
> >
> > I'd like to forward it along to David Keyes.  The combination of the
technique
> > for making a sharp turn to port which I described in my previous post
along
> > with this single line docking technique might work very well in his
situation.
> >
> > Roger Pihlaja
> > S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> > _________________________________________________
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>
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