"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
"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

No...I think you're doing most everything right. My only quibble is that
making a practice of jumping can lead to nasty consequences. Typically, I
have people refrain, but I will have them outside the lifelines, holding
onto the shrouds. I tell them if we don't get close enough to step off,
don't jump, and we'll try again.

I'm not so concerned with landing on the dock, as I am with people falling
between the boat and the dock. Then, the boat closes with the dock, and the
person is a human fender... bad news really.