Good plan.

We're in training mode here so I'm trying to use our home dock to
teach us the things we'll need to know elsewhere. Just like moving
most of the sail handling lines from the cockpit to the mast, we're
doing many things the hard way for a greater purpose.

--

Roger Long



"Jere Lull" wrote

Our technique involves keeping all lines on the dock. I have one
specific line to pick up as I come in, the spring from the outermost
"inside" piling that drops over the winch. Once I put that line on,
I
can power forward all I want and not hit the dock. Twiddling the
rudder
moves the bow port or starboard so my crew can pick up the bow lines
without stretching too far. Once those three lines are on, the motor
can
be killed and the other lines dropped on.

We're small and maneuverable enough that I can reach that spring by
hand; others may need to grab it with a hook.

I spliced loops into the lines so they're "drop and forget", which
makes
life a lot simpler.

"Roger Long" wrote:

Good plan.

We're in training mode here so I'm trying to use our home dock to
teach us the things we'll need to know elsewhere. Just like moving
most of the sail handling lines from the cockpit to the mast, we're
doing many things the hard way for a greater purpose.

When we come into a strange dock, Bob puts ***at least*** 6 lines out.
Two bow, 2 stern and 2 midships. They are attached to the boat and go
through the fairleads and coiled draped back over the lifelines. That
way no matter which way we come into the dock, there's always an
appropriate line already rigged AND attached to the boat.

I can't tell you how many times I've seen boaters approaching the
dock, and then have to go looking in the lockers for lines. Usually,
but not always, power boaters. I've even seen a shrimp boat coming
into the gas dock at Palmer Johnson in Thunderbolt who threw a dock
line to the dock master without securing the other end to the boat.

I don't jump. Ever. I may step off if the boat is close enough to do
that and if the dock isn't too different in level from the deck, but
that's really rare. We had a visitor that attempted to leap from our
deck with a line at the Dismal Swamp Visitor's Center, and he slipped
and went down between the two boats and almost into the water. He was
really badly bruised in the ribs and it was fortunate that he got back
on deck before the boats 'met'.

I try to give the midships line to a dock person if there is one. We
rarely come into a dock where there is no dock person. (I am not too
proud to make it clear when I call that we need assistance) In that
case, Bob has to get the boat up close enough to some piling or other
attachment point so that I can put the line around it and secure it.


grandma Rosalie

On Mon, 18 Jul 2005 02:14:22 GMT, Rosalie B.
wrote:

I don't jump. Ever. I may step off if the boat is close enough to do
that and if the dock isn't too different in level from the deck, but
that's really rare. [..]

I try to give the midships line to a dock person if there is one. We
rarely come into a dock where there is no dock person. (I am not too
proud to make it clear when I call that we need assistance) In that
case, Bob has to get the boat up close enough to some piling or other
attachment point so that I can put the line around it and secure it.

Does that pose significant limitations on where you can go? I am
afraid of jumping to a dock, and even things that most people would
consider a step feel like a jump to me. I have particular problems
with
- narrow floating docks which are going to lurch when I land
- anything that looks like bad footing
- any situation where my skipper has no room to abort and come around
again if I lose my nerve or don't like the look of it the first time
around
- wind, current, or approach at speed

and when we're doublehanding, that does limit where we can go.

What I can manage to do, sometimes, is to stand outside the lifelines
at the shrouds, holding a midships line and/or a bowline, and step off
backwards so that I'm using my arms to lower me as close as possible
to the dock before I have to let go. I wonder if there are any other
tricks, given that I'm a short woman with short legs and not a lot of
upper body strength. I can also practice stepping or jumping as a
backup to a more reliable person who is holding one of the lines, so
that I can get a sense of how it feels even if I'm not quick enough
yet.

Any other suggestions?

Louise

Louise wrote:
On Mon, 18 Jul 2005 02:14:22 GMT, Rosalie B.
wrote:


I don't jump. Ever. I may step off if the boat is close enough to do
that and if the dock isn't too different in level from the deck, but
that's really rare. [..]


I try to give the midships line to a dock person if there is one. We
rarely come into a dock where there is no dock person. (I am not too
proud to make it clear when I call that we need assistance) In that
case, Bob has to get the boat up close enough to some piling or other
attachment point so that I can put the line around it and secure it.


Does that pose significant limitations on where you can go? I am
afraid of jumping to a dock, and even things that most people would
consider a step feel like a jump to me. I have particular problems
with
- narrow floating docks which are going to lurch when I land
- anything that looks like bad footing
- any situation where my skipper has no room to abort and come around
again if I lose my nerve or don't like the look of it the first time
around
- wind, current, or approach at speed

and when we're doublehanding, that does limit where we can go.

What I can manage to do, sometimes, is to stand outside the lifelines
at the shrouds, holding a midships line and/or a bowline, and step off
backwards so that I'm using my arms to lower me as close as possible
to the dock before I have to let go. I wonder if there are any other
tricks, given that I'm a short woman with short legs and not a lot of
upper body strength. I can also practice stepping or jumping as a
backup to a more reliable person who is holding one of the lines, so
that I can get a sense of how it feels even if I'm not quick enough
yet.

Any other suggestions?

Louise

The boat I crewed on for 3 or 4 summers was a 33'' sailboat with fairly
high freeboard. One of our female crew made a wild jump when coming back
into our slip and broke her ankle. Our skipper had a rubbermaid plastic
two step unit nailed to his slip to help people getting on & off.
I would go forward , hold onto a shroud and step off on the 'stepping
device just at the right time and quickly pick up the stern spring line
left right there by me when we had departed. I could get the line on the
midship cleat and stop forward motion before the boat drifted the last
ten feet (before the bow hit the main floating walkway)

Louise wrote:

On Mon, 18 Jul 2005 02:14:22 GMT, Rosalie B.
wrote:

I don't jump. Ever. I may step off if the boat is close enough to do
that and if the dock isn't too different in level from the deck, but
that's really rare. [..]

I try to give the midships line to a dock person if there is one. We
rarely come into a dock where there is no dock person. (I am not too
proud to make it clear when I call that we need assistance) In that
case, Bob has to get the boat up close enough to some piling or other
attachment point so that I can put the line around it and secure it.

Does that pose significant limitations on where you can go? I am

We've been to many marinas in the Chesapeake and have been up and down
the ICW for three winters. I would not say that it poses significant
limitations. Many many different marinas. (I'll count sometime)

afraid of jumping to a dock, and even things that most people would
consider a step feel like a jump to me. I have particular problems
with
- narrow floating docks which are going to lurch when I land

I can't jump down onto floating docks at all because I have really bad
knees, and going down a step means that I have to have all my weight
on a bending knee. Going up is much easier. But most floating docks
have some kind of piling that I can lasso if necessary. Bob is very
good at getting our boat in close to the dock and 'stopped'. If
necessary I can lasso some kind of structure and HE will get off.

After we get tied up, we have a two step plastic stool that we put on
the dock so I can get on and off.

- anything that looks like bad footing

I don't jump regardless of how the footing looks.

- any situation where my skipper has no room to abort and come around
again if I lose my nerve or don't like the look of it the first time
around

Bob may have difficulty, but he is quite a good skipper and this
rarely happens. The biggest problem is if there is a big boat
blocking his view of the slip - sometimes he may have to back up in
the fairway which isn't easy. This happened coming into Miamarina
when there was a gale blowing, but he turned around to go into the
correct slip so well that a guy on a boat on the end thought we had
bow thrusters.

- wind, current, or approach at speed

Wind and current are impossible to control. We just don't approach at
speed. We have been approaching a face dock where we were supposed to
go in between two other boats, and Bob lined the boat up parallel to
the dock, and the wind blew us sideways into the dock. Hit it pretty
hard, so fortunately we were exactly in the right place.

and when we're doublehanding, that does limit where we can go.

What I can manage to do, sometimes, is to stand outside the lifelines
at the shrouds, holding a midships line and/or a bowline, and step off
backwards so that I'm using my arms to lower me as close as possible
to the dock before I have to let go. I wonder if there are any other
tricks, given that I'm a short woman with short legs and not a lot of
upper body strength. I can also practice stepping or jumping as a
backup to a more reliable person who is holding one of the lines, so
that I can get a sense of how it feels even if I'm not quick enough
yet.

Any other suggestions?

Louise

I stay on the deck. I always have a boat hook or two. Bob also has
one at the stern.

Come in to the gas dock first and reconnoiter.

Have the skipper practice coming in close enough and slow enough that
you don't have to do gymnastics to get off.

But my best suggestion is - if you are a transient ask the marina for
help.

There has only been two times where I have failed to get help. In one
case the dock was a fixed concrete dock which was above our deck, and
Bob put us right up beside it and I crawled up onto it. In the other
case it was a fixed wooden dock about level with our deck, and I
managed to lasso a post even though the wind was blowing us off the
dock. Then Bob could power into the line to get the stern in.

Leaving the dock is more of a challenge in some cases, but we have
more time to think about it.



grandma Rosalie