Solo Crosswind Docking. Strong crosswind blowing off the dock.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ต.ค. 2021
- Here is a demonstration of docking single-handed using the long looped line method the docking as shown in Docking Made Easy Part 2. The wind is blowing upwards of 15 knots and is blowing 90 degrees across the dock.
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Interesting idea, biggest issue a see with this with respect to my personal situation (40' mono hull) is that the length of the pontoon ( or more to the point the position of the cleat on the pontoon) seemed to be far enough back, that driving forward and hence pivoting the boat on the cleat. There would not be enough room at the front, before my bow smashed into the walkway pontoon. On saying that I do use a similar approach when solo handling docking, only difference, I reverse in and then preform a similar manoeuvre to pull the bow in.
Nice work. I do something similar on my boat. The only difference is that I don't cleat off the spring line in the middle of the beam. I have the line go through a block which then returns to my primary winch. Once the spring line is around the cleat I turn the boat away from the dock, put the boat in forward gear at idle, then I winch the boat in. This turns the boat parallel to the dock and the winch will slowly bring me in. The boat will stay parallel to the dock until I run out of fuel and gives me plenty of time to work the bow and stern lines. Great video, everyone needs to learn to dock with a single spring line!!
I do the same on Catalina 350 as well.
Great technique. Great video. Thanks very much and well done.
Just saw this video. Nicely done. The important thing is to develop a technique that matches the personality of your boat and your marina (and that you are comfortable about doing on a repeated basis)! Fair winds.
Thanks Patrick and you are absolutely correct, This method won't work in all situations but it hopefully it does offer up another option, especially when solo.
Great video. Go ahead. Fair Winds.
Well done, that's the way to do it. Thanks for the vid
Thanks. That's my go-to when the wind comes up.
Very very nice!
It works as long as your aft spring line is aft of the boat's pivot point. Steer away from the dock and idle forward and the boat will come along side the dock.
Great tip. I'm am going to try this. Although my yacht is 51 ft and the boat next to me is a £5M sunseeker. Lol 😀
Darren, Fenders Fenders, Fenders!🙂 Try to keep the "short" portion of line (from aft cleat to dock cleat) as short as reasonably possible. You want to this section of the line to pull in aft end in primarily while at the same time stopping forward movement. If that portion of the line is too long, it'll do a good job stopping forward movement but not so good with pulling the aft end in. Set the line up and try tensioning it prior to leaving the dock. While in forward and at idle, try moving the wheel all the way in both directions to see how your boat responds. Would love to hear how it works for you.
GReat video! But please clarify (2:55 minutes into video): You say that you moved/turned the wheel --> but was it to port or starboard? Then you say that you added throttle: Was that in neutral position with the shifter forward? Or what? Later on (3:14) you again mention moving the wheel, but please clarify in which direction: to port or starboard. Thank you.
In gear.
Point is...try moving the wheel in both directions and see what happens.
nicely done
Thanks Chuck. I am hoping sailors find this useful. It has allowed me to go out sailing when "winds across the dock" otherwise would have concerned me with regards to docking.
@@gonesailing2552 I understand! I use a similar process but I back in. you may get a kick out of mine: th-cam.com/video/3PH1_s6TaaM/w-d-xo.html
Hi Chuck. Yes a spring line will work however the boat tends to pivot around where it is "anchored"- in this case the midship cleat. Also if there is a strong crosswind blowing off the dock there may not be enough engine power to hold the boat against the dock. Please give the long-looped line method a try as seen here and in Docking Made Easy Part 2. Also, and very important, you won't need to get off of the boat to attach a line, just throw it over the cleat and drive ahead. The forces on the midship cleat and the aft cleat will pull and hold the boat against the dock even with a strong crosswind. Happy safe docking to you.
That's a great technique and video! I docked my last boat for 12 years in a slip with the exact same configuration and foul currents/breezes pushing the boat off the dock using the centre line technique (see my video) but this is a great alternative!
Thanks. I had to find something that worked single-handed and from the boat. The looped line method proved helpful. I hope it works for you.
I hope to make videos (if and when it ever warms up!) about single-hand launching from a dock (like a fuel dock) when the wind is pushing you into the dock. Stay turned and think warm thoughts.
I had the same problem on my trimaran. It was to far to reach the dock cleat. I tied a fender to the dock vertically in such a way that it wouldn't swing. The edge of the dock was padded so I just slowly rammed the dock and the fender kept the bow from drifting sideways. With the engine at idle and driving g the stern into the dock I could calmly walk across the tramp and tie up.
I think I understand your method, plant the front end using a fender to keep it in place. There are lots of options for different situations and what I like to hear is "calmly walk" so no one is jumping off or pulling on life lines.
I do exactly same as Daniel , use fixed fender to bump bow into at home marina. Idle fwd and little angle at motor and the Corsair-31 stays put to walk off and tie-up. Reverse ops when leaving. See YT Branwave trimaran
That's cool. I would love to see how it's done backing in. The 90 degree is a very often occurrence for me.
Hi Brad. There has been others with the same request, backing in. I'm planning on making a video for that once the ice goes out. I'd also like to make one on parallel parking in a tight spot like at the fuel dock. Until then, think warm thoughts!
I thought of another similar technique that I need to test (with/without crew) for blowoff situations (no current at all)... My finger is a bit shorter than the boat so my dock stern cleat is foreward of the boat stern cleat. My dock also has a mid-dock cleat. I usually have crew aboard but not always. I prerig a "spring" line from mid-ship and run this back to the cockpit outside lifelines and fenders. I also prerig, at the boat midcleat, a breastline with a bowline loop that runs through a block back inside lifelines to the cockpit. I figure that once the helm is beside the end of the finger I go to neutral and me or my crew hops off with the springline in hand and snubs it around the stern dock cleat. This stops all forward motion. Immediately crew or me gets the bowline loop over the mid-dock cleat and hauls in on the bitter end and ties off. This with the stern spring immobilizes the boat while we get the rest of the (permanent lines on).
What I am more concerned about is the approach to the finger from the fairway to get into position to do this. My boat (29ft) would likely be blown sideways more than yours so should I aim for the end of the finger letting the wind take me off? Thanks for any suggestions!
Hello Don. I have tried a using a looped line attached midship, but the boat rotates around the midship cleat when power is applied. In a crosswind situation it actually makes things worse as the boat rotates and drifts away from the dock. With regards to having a short finger dock, can you find two attachment points that are ahead of the dock cleat, say midship cleat and a winch? If your finger is just too short, I don't think this looped-line method will work for you.
With regards to the approach, one method would be to approach the dock straight in but upwind of the final stopping point. In other words, aim at the end of the finger and let the wind blow you into position by the time you get there. Your timing needs to be perfect, and you'll have to execute this with speed to get into position. A second and better method, is to drive the boat up into the corner of the dock where the finger meets the main dock. You are now pointing the boat a bit into the wind. As you get maybe halfway into the slip, turn the wheel to steer (or move) the aft end of the boat towards the finger. If you time this correctly the boat will now be parallel to the finger. I am fortunate enough to have the finger on my port side, so when I shift to reverse the prop walk moves the aft end of the boat right against the finger. At dead stop the aft end of the boat is against the dock and the bow is falling off. It is then that the looped line goes over the dock cleat, and I bump the shifter in and out of forward gear to tension the line. When teaching this method to others I say once you are about halfway home forget about the front of the boat and focus on steering (positioning) the back end.
You do not mention how your helm and engine were set. If I'm following the physics correctly you were engine in forward and turned (hard?) to port?
While letting the boat deliberately blow away from the dock the engine was in forward and at idle. This was to demonstrate the force of the wind and the method. Throttle was added to bring the boat back towards the dock... but that in itself in a stiff wind is sometimes not enough to bring the boat to the dock. In this case, while the throttle was up about a third to half, the wheel was moved left and right. Moving the wheel to starboard brings the aft end towards the dock. This causes the looped line to slide around the dock cleat effectively shortening the portion of the line between the aft cleat and the dock cleat. Moving the wheel to port brings the front end over. In a heavy wind, you might have to work the left and right, left and right. Once against the dock, the wheel was set around center and the engine stayed in forward and at a high enough RPM to keep the boat against the dock. Throttle setting varies with the force of the wind. Use just enough throttle to get the job done keeping the forces on the line and cleats to the minimum needed. I actually had just a little bit too much throttle once against the dock. I had to pull the front end over with just a bit more effort than anticipated while hooking up the starboard bow line. The motor remains in forward gear with the needed throttle until dock lines are attached.
Gotcha, so not a single direction but one way to pull in the stern and the other way to pull in the bow. Thanks! I will have to give that a try.
@@Griswolm Thanks for asking the 64 thousand dollar question. Mystery solved. I wonder what that question would be worth with today's inflation, lol.
Very nice. I just saw another video of docking like this using only a stern line. Your way is new to me, and something I will try out. How did you find the correct length of your spring line? Did you just use the cleat the first times? I must say your camera work is just fine!
Thank you for the nice comment on camera work. I thought I'd try making TH-cam videos just for the experience. It takes a lot of time shooting and editing, more than I thought. My hat is off to Delos, Uma and the like.
For the different boats here in the marina we try to use the aft most dock cleat and then find two attachment points on the boat. Sometimes two cleats work, sometimes one has to use a winch or moveable cleat on a perforated rail. For boats with no useable side cleat a line could be run all the way to the forward cleat through a guide midship (fairlead or small circular rope tied to something substantial midship). The idea is get sideways pull as the line is tightened. As for the stern portion of the line I would try to keep the length from boat cleat (or winch) to dock cleat as short as reasonably possible. Again, the goal is to get as much side pull as you can. initially I just tied the lines to the cleats to find the best position for the boat, that is far enough forward to be able grab the bow lines but not so far forward that I'd take out the power post and water stanchion should the nose drift over in my double slip.
Just try whatever two attachment points you have. Back the boat slightly in the slip and ease it forward. Experiment without actually going all the way out. See what works with the wind blowing your boat off the dock.
Once I had the line length figured out I watched a very good video from New England Ropes on eye splicing and made eyes at each end that just fit over the cleats. If the eyes are too big there is a greater chance they might fall off. Also, with fixed eyes there's no worries about improper line length. Here's that link th-cam.com/video/UghIS9xdiDw/w-d-xo.html
If you are not into eye splicing, tying bowlines at each end would work as will.
Finally, (promo message) I have a "short line" (stern line) method of docking on my channel as well as a quick and easy method of tying a bowline.
It's fun to learn and experiment, give it a go!
I also have a Catalina 350 (hull # 193, Charleston, SC). Your docking situation is very similar to mine, but I also have a pretty strong current running parallel to the finger dock. My wife and I have struggled with docking with a brisk wind and current, but this looks like the solution we've been looking for. BTW, the helm seat base looks interesting. Did you fabricate it, or purchase it? Can you share the details? Thanks!
Hi Bill. I hope this method works for you. Please let me know if it does and if you like it. Almost everyone on our dock is using either the short looped line method as shown in Docking Made Easy Part 1 or the long looped line method shown here and in Docking Made Easy Part 2.
I built the pedestal for the the captains seat. Unfortunately I don't have the dimensions handy as the plans are on on the boat and I cannot get at them as we are currently suffering from a hard water problem (winter in Minnesota). I can get the dimensions to you if you'd like but that won't be until April.
You might want to check out "Ladder Dinghy Conflict Solved" on this channel. It has some more shots of the captains chair and pedestal. Basically what I did is measure the base "lips" where the pedestal would rest and determine the height desired. I then went to the internet and used sites to determine the lengths of the triangle sides. Then I built a trial version out of 1/4" plywood (much cheaper to experiment with than plastic). Finally I purchased 1/4" HDPE plastic at the local hardware store and made the final version.
@@gonesailing2552 Perfect! This will be a great winter project.
@@BW9197 Bill, when you make the base I suggest you start by making a single flat piece (platform) that rests on the ledges. There is not a lot of wiggle room when it comes to those ledges. If you don't build the bottom platform first, your chair base might not fit exactly on those ledges (just ask me how I know this). I did find a couple of dimensions on a scratch pad. My base was 24-5/16 wide x 14-3/8 deep. Getting that base right for your boat will be critical. The height of the trapezoid was 12". I used a trapezoid calculator on the net to get the rest of the dimensions. if I were to change anything I would cant the top of the base forward giving a little more support and mounting room at the front of the chair. The chair will mount more to the front than the back.
@@newlifesailing3056 Happy New Year and thanks for the measurements! I live in ATL, but my 350 is in CHS. I plan to visit her next week. I'll run your measurements to confirm.
would the same method work if you had a line tied to the bow instead of mid-ship? I don't have a cleat right there, just one in the front and one in the back.
I have not tried that but I'm guessing while it might work especially if you run the line outside of the stanchions. The idea would be to keep as much side load (off centerline) or sideways pull on the line as possible as the boat is driven ahead. For the sake of visualization, let's imagine that the long portion of the line went from the aft cleat over the boat in a straight line to the front cleat. As the boat was driven ahead the pull on that line would be pretty much straight back. Now imagine that the line went from the aft cleat around the outside of the boat then up to the front cleat. The "pull" that results from driving the boat ahead is now on the side of the boat which draws it towards the dock. In this example, it wouldn't matter where the line terminated, midship or forward. Think about making some sort of eye or fairlead to keep the line located where it needs to be- at the side of the boat and to keep the load off of the stanchions at least at the base of the stanchions.
Another thing you might try is running a line from the aft cleat back to the dock cleat and then up to a winch. This is sort of a compromise between the short looped line method (Docking Made Easy Part 1) and the long looped line method (Docking Made Easy Part 2). A few boats without midship cleats use this method in our marina.
The principal is the same. Create an "arresting hook" or an "anchor" in the form of a line attached at two points on the side of the boat and use the centerline thrust to pivot the boat toward the dock. Have fun experimenting and learning Ed.
@@gonesailing2552 I will experiment. So far I have managed to hop off the boat while holding the bow and stern lines. I'm really new to this, so it may not be the "proper way". Thanks for the video! Very helpful.
In Mediterranean, I am from Italy, we rarely dock bow-in, we usually dock stern-in since there's not a lot of space in the marina(s) and we do not have a Pier next to the boat, so if you go in with the bow first then is quite unpractical to get on/off the boat and very difficult to do a solo docking.
Hello from across the pond! Thanks for your comment. This method is of course not advertised to work in all situations. It shows an option where the situation allows. This spring, I am planning on posting a video using the looped line method when backing in. Until then, warm thoughts!
same here in croatia. I envy those with slips :)
I agree. With fingers (and no ropes of mooring post in the water) it's very, very easy....you can also lean to the downwind pier and then pull in the right place. In our harbour and Marinas often there is no finger but mooring posts, and if you haven't two boats on your sides, you must enter with the stern, quickly put upwind rope, put engine forward (more wind, more power..), and run to keep the bow rope....not easy, sometime you need assistance.