We're the next to last boat out in a marine on a busy harbor where
there is a lot of wake. The tugs have to ignore the "No-wake" zone to
keep up with the ships they are escorting and lawyer and developer
large yacht owners have to ignore it because they are important. It
was pretty appalling to see the amount of topside scuffing that
developed in the first two weeks, even with oversize fenders.

I came up with this rig which has worked beautifully all summer. It
almost always keeps the boat well away from the dock and doesn't snub
in wakes. The boat does touch in the strongest NW winds but very
lightly.

http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/Spring.jpg

The line arrangement on the other side is the standard two spring,
bow, and sternline setup. The outer springline is 3/8 nylon for
maximum stretch. The forward part is a ten foot length of 3/8 inch
bungee doubled onto a snap hook with a line on the other end to pull
it up to the bow chock. This is easy to rig and provides lots more
spring travel than the rubber on-line snubbers. The constant pull
brings the boat far enough out in the lulls that it pretty much stays
there even when the normal wind is enough to push it up to the dock.
The boat pretty much tries to stay on the straight line between the
opposite spring lines with the stern and bow line resisting the
twisting moment.

I do leave fenders rigged but just in case something gives way. They
seldom touch. We have yet to have a boat occupy the spot outside of us
but there is plenty of room for this rig if we do get a neighbor and
they could rig one as well.

This is the dock from hell. Wind and tide are almost always quartering
away from the dock in the same direction the stern wants to swing in
reverse. Why they always seem to be from the other direction when we
are not docking is beyond me.

To those who remember my angst about docking and undocking early in
the season, I am glad to report that I have yet to mar the topsides
with a single scratch or scrape.


--

Roger Long