"Roger Long" wrote:

Having sailed on boats from 7 to over 300 feet, I tend to think of my
sailing experience as being fairly broad. I never thought about it
until today but, while it may be broad, there is a big hole in the
middle.

Most of my command time is in boats under 30 feet, small and light
enough to just manhandle around while docking and undocking. Pull up
to the dock, jump off, grab the rail, boat stops. My experience in
larger boats has all been as crew and most of those boats have been 60
feet and over so everything was done with well orchestrated line
handling and power.

We just moved to our permanent dock which is longer and narrower than
the temporary one we were on. The boat will not back out now without
the stern walking far enough that we’ll hit the boat on the other side
of the slip (mercifully, it hasn’t shown up yet but I’m trying to keep
the space inviolate for practice). My crew is small enough in stature
that our 32 footer might as well be one of the big sail training
vessels I’m familiar with as far as fending off or hauling the bow or
stern in with a dock line is concerned.

I lay awake the other night trying to think how we were going to get
out of the slip the next morning. I asked myself what they would do on
the schooner "Westward". Simple.

The next day, I explained the maneuver to the kids and guests. I then
set a stern spring planning to back against it to pull the stern in
and the bow out before casting off the spring. This would turn the
boat enough in the slip that she would have to straighten out in
backing and about double the distance I could back before the stern
swung too far.

I called for the bow line to be let go and put the engine in reverse.
Nothing happened. The engine ran and there was some thrashing under
the counter but the boat didn’t move. More power, nothing. It was dead
calm but the boat simply would not turn. I used about as much RPM as
the prop will absorb in bollard pull conditions and the boat still
didn’t turn. I finally said the hell with it, cast off the spring, and
we backed out taking a huge imaginary chunk out of the rail of our
mythical slip mate as we went.

The bottom line is that 15 horsepower in reverse through a two blade
prop on a heavy 32 foot boat isn’t going to do squat in fancy line
maneuvers. I’m going to have to make sure I always invite some big
guests for every sail or think of something else.

How do you do it?

Well we have a bigger heavier boat than you do. It's called a 44, but
actually measures about 50 feet and is 37,000 lbs with a 60 hp (at
best) inboard and a modified full keel. We can't turn like a fin keel
boat can, so this may not be applicable to you.

Bob can spin the boat on the mast (at least if there isn't too much
wind or current), by holding wheel over steady in one position and
using the engine alternately in forward and reverse.

We also do a LOT of coming into and going out of slips as when we go
up and down the ICW we mostly spend every night at a dock so we have a
lot of practice at that.. Because we have a dinghy on davits, we
always go into the slip bow first.

When we get ready to leave a place, Bob carefully assesses the wind
and current. Generally, he shortens up the lines and takes off all
the lines except those to the windward. He then starts the engine (or
I do), and turns the wheel in the direction he wants to go initially.
The engine is still in neutral..

All of the lines are led around pilings (or if necessary cleats
although that is harder) and back to the boat. Then he tells me what
he's going to do, and I stand by the last line that we will cast off
with a boat hook. As he starts to back out, I walk the boat out (if
it is a spring line) and/or cast that line off. I sometimes will grab
a pole with the boat hook to pull the bow over to one side or the
other side of the slip especially if she doesn't seem to be backing
the direction that Bob wants.

Sometimes he wants me to back out, but I get easily confused as to
which direction to turn the wheel to go what direction in reverse, so
he doesn't do that unless he can set the wheel so that I don't have to
turn it.

I'd suggest that you practice backing the boat around a 'no wake' buoy
or something similar until you get familiar with the way your boat
backs. Or else, back into the slip.




grandma Rosalie