"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
Sounds great Roger! The only suggestion I have is not to tell or
allow people to "jump" off the boat. That's a recipe for disaster.


Well Cap., I'm here to learn so please tell me how your would handle
this docking.

With the wind, current, and sternwalk, this boat can't be brought to a
stop without ending up far from the dock and the stern too far out to
get a line ashore or in the space of the boat that will soon be next
door. The line to hold against the sternwalk yaw is an essential part
of stopping the boat. That means someone has to step off while the
boat is still moving.

I did do a pass around the end of the main pier and put a son ashore
once. That worked well but still involved a step off of an unsecured
boat. Seeing him subsequently leaning out to grab the lines (line
throwing skills are still pretty primitive in the rest of the crew and
there will often be just two of us) didn't make me comfortable. The
electrical installation in our marina, like most I suspect, is pretty
funky. I'd rather risk someone sprawling on a dock than going in the
water.

After more experience with the boat, I may learn to approach crabbed
and use the sternwalk to swing the stern away from the welded metal
dock corner. Having watched the boat however, I suspect it will just
end up at whatever distance from the finger the bow is since the bow
will be blowing downwind pretty much independently as the prop takes
hold. This would probably result in a longer jump.

My boat handling skills have come back pretty quickly and I can put
the boat very close to the dock so it's a step rather than a leap. My
sons don't seem to notice that the boat is moving when they step off.
If I do end up farther away, I'd rather have them jumping onto wood
than leaning over water between boat and dock.

I'm quite prepared though to believe that I'm doing this all wrong so,
please, enlighten me.

--

Roger Long