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#11
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Do I need a grapple?
If this is a rare occurance, I would radio ahead to see if anyone was around
to help you dock. If this is likely to be the norm when docking at your slip, and you plan to sail singlehanded...I'd find a better location. No sense in looking for trouble, it'll find you on it's own. engsol wrote in message ... This has been likely asked before. I'll be retiring this spring, and buying a sailboat, 30-32 feet. I have limited experience, mainly two J-World courses, plus ASA through Advanced Coastal Cruising, plus a two week trip off the Calif coast, plus a bit of racing on a Santana 20. In my daydreaming, I have most things figured out in the locale where I plan to sail (San Juan and Gulf Islands), except for this.... I'm approaching a slip with a cross-wind blowing me off the dock, and into another boat sharing the slip. So what do I do? Being single-handed and all. One thought occurs to me...toss a grapple and snag the dock. But this raises more questions....will I need to use a winch? How do I route the line? Do they even make grapples, or will I have to make my own? Is this idea even worth it? Last year, we (class of 4 students on a 37 foot J-Boat) tried to dock on the lee side of a dock in 35+ knots. It took all hands ( 4 men and a teen) on the dock waiting to catch lines to snug us up, and it was a bit of effort. I was amazed at how much force the wind exerted on the boat. It was obvious that to dock a boat that size, in those conditions, a single-hander would have to be lucky as well as good. In case you're wondering why the concern...I'm too old to jump a 4 or 5 foot gap between the boat and dock, and know I'll need to sail smart. Thanks for any advice/imputs. Norm |
#12
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Do I need a grapple?
engsol wrote in message . ..
This has been likely asked before. I'll be retiring this spring, and buying a sailboat, 30-32 feet. I have limited experience, mainly two J-World courses, plus ASA through Advanced Coastal Cruising, plus a two week trip off the Calif coast, plus a bit of racing on a Santana 20. In my daydreaming, I have most things figured out in the locale where I plan to sail (San Juan and Gulf Islands), except for this.... I'm approaching a slip with a cross-wind blowing me off the dock, and into another boat sharing the slip. So what do I do? Being single-handed and all. One thought occurs to me...toss a grapple and snag the dock. But this raises more questions....will I need to use a winch? How do I route the line? Do they even make grapples, or will I have to make my own? Is this idea even worth it? Last year, we (class of 4 students on a 37 foot J-Boat) tried to dock on the lee side of a dock in 35+ knots. It took all hands ( 4 men and a teen) on the dock waiting to catch lines to snug us up, and it was a bit of effort. I was amazed at how much force the wind exerted on the boat. It was obvious that to dock a boat that size, in those conditions, a single-hander would have to be lucky as well as good. In case you're wondering why the concern...I'm too old to jump a 4 or 5 foot gap between the boat and dock, and know I'll need to sail smart. Thanks for any advice/imputs. Norm Norm,I´ve been in that situation twice singlehanding on my 29 ft Columbia 8.7. What I always do when entering a marina with the wind blowing crosswise to the boats is to put my fendrs on the leeward side of the boat. When I see a free pomoon that is going to be on the windward side, I approach it as close as I can and then let the boat drift onto the other boat which is to leward. I then tie my boat temporarily to it, the then throw the bow and stern lines forward onto the "end ponoon" and walk with them to the windward pontoo where is make them fast to the cleats. Going back to my boat, I use the windward winch to pull my boat to windward after having progressively slackened the temporary lines holding me to the leeward boat so that at no time is there a risk of the two hulls making contact. When the boat is about 2 feet off the windward pontoon, I stop and transfer the fenders to the windward side. May be a slow process but when you are in a strange marina, always proceed SLOW... john |
#13
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Do I need a grapple?
engsol wrote in message . ..
This has been likely asked before. I'll be retiring this spring, and buying a sailboat, 30-32 feet. I have limited experience, mainly two J-World courses, plus ASA through Advanced Coastal Cruising, plus a two week trip off the Calif coast, plus a bit of racing on a Santana 20. In my daydreaming, I have most things figured out in the locale where I plan to sail (San Juan and Gulf Islands), except for this.... I'm approaching a slip with a cross-wind blowing me off the dock, and into another boat sharing the slip. So what do I do? Being single-handed and all. One thought occurs to me...toss a grapple and snag the dock. But this raises more questions....will I need to use a winch? How do I route the line? Do they even make grapples, or will I have to make my own? Is this idea even worth it? Last year, we (class of 4 students on a 37 foot J-Boat) tried to dock on the lee side of a dock in 35+ knots. It took all hands ( 4 men and a teen) on the dock waiting to catch lines to snug us up, and it was a bit of effort. I was amazed at how much force the wind exerted on the boat. It was obvious that to dock a boat that size, in those conditions, a single-hander would have to be lucky as well as good. In case you're wondering why the concern...I'm too old to jump a 4 or 5 foot gap between the boat and dock, and know I'll need to sail smart. Thanks for any advice/imputs. Norm Norm,I´ve been in that situation twice singlehanding on my 29 ft Columbia 8.7. What I always do when entering a marina with the wind blowing crosswise to the boats is to put my fendrs on the leeward side of the boat. When I see a free pomoon that is going to be on the windward side, I approach it as close as I can and then let the boat drift onto the other boat which is to leward. I then tie my boat temporarily to it, the then throw the bow and stern lines forward onto the "end ponoon" and walk with them to the windward pontoo where is make them fast to the cleats. Going back to my boat, I use the windward winch to pull my boat to windward after having progressively slackened the temporary lines holding me to the leeward boat so that at no time is there a risk of the two hulls making contact. When the boat is about 2 feet off the windward pontoon, I stop and transfer the fenders to the windward side. May be a slow process but when you are in a strange marina, always proceed SLOW... john |
#14
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Do I need a grapple?
On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 14:09:54 -0800, engsol
wrote: This has been likely asked before. I'll be retiring this spring, and buying a sailboat, 30-32 feet. I have limited experience, mainly two J-World courses, plus ASA through Advanced Coastal Cruising, plus a two week trip off the Calif coast, plus a bit of racing on a Santana 20. In my daydreaming, I have most things figured out in the locale where I plan to sail (San Juan and Gulf Islands), except for this.... I'm approaching a slip with a cross-wind blowing me off the dock, and into another boat sharing the slip. So what do I do? Being single-handed and all. One thought occurs to me...toss a grapple and snag the dock. But this raises more questions....will I need to use a winch? How do I route the line? Do they even make grapples, or will I have to make my own? Is this idea even worth it? Last year, we (class of 4 students on a 37 foot J-Boat) tried to dock on the lee side of a dock in 35+ knots. It took all hands ( 4 men and a teen) on the dock waiting to catch lines to snug us up, and it was a bit of effort. I was amazed at how much force the wind exerted on the boat. It was obvious that to dock a boat that size, in those conditions, a single-hander would have to be lucky as well as good. I faced the same problem when I retired at 65 in 2001. For three seasons now I have singlehanded out J36 back from Maine so my wife could spend more of her vacation cruising than passaging. She had always docked the boat and I handled lines, so I was concerned. I practiced at the home marina, first to the T end and then into our slip. My suggestions: 1. Put fenders out on both sides. If you do miss you don't damage your neighbor's boat, or your own.. 2. Learn to bring the boat to a stop next to fixed objects where a mistake doesn't matter, like next to a mooring ball. Get a feel for how much wind you can do this in. 3. When you string your dock lines, tie their ends together so when you step off you have both of them. Loop one of them around its cleat and move smartly to the other end and cleat that. Then go back and cleat the first one properly. So far you are using normal cruising docklines, long enough to make springs of the leftover length. Here is one gizmo you can make, that might come in handy if the wind does get bad. Take a pice of line, and make an eye splice with a piece of hose or plastic tube on the loop part, so the loop stays open. Take a broomstick and drill a hole across one end. Tie it to the eye splice so you can reach the cleat and drop the eye splice over it from the cockpit. Now determine where it should belay on your boat. On ours it is the primary winch. You want it such that when it is attached to the end cleat on your slip, powering forward will hold the boat against the dock. Test while you are tied up. I did all the above, and I carry the gizmo, but I haven't had to use it. HTH Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a "Be careful. The toe you stepped on yesterday may be connected to the ass you have to kiss today." --Former mayor Ciancia |
#15
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Do I need a grapple?
On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 14:09:54 -0800, engsol
wrote: This has been likely asked before. I'll be retiring this spring, and buying a sailboat, 30-32 feet. I have limited experience, mainly two J-World courses, plus ASA through Advanced Coastal Cruising, plus a two week trip off the Calif coast, plus a bit of racing on a Santana 20. In my daydreaming, I have most things figured out in the locale where I plan to sail (San Juan and Gulf Islands), except for this.... I'm approaching a slip with a cross-wind blowing me off the dock, and into another boat sharing the slip. So what do I do? Being single-handed and all. One thought occurs to me...toss a grapple and snag the dock. But this raises more questions....will I need to use a winch? How do I route the line? Do they even make grapples, or will I have to make my own? Is this idea even worth it? Last year, we (class of 4 students on a 37 foot J-Boat) tried to dock on the lee side of a dock in 35+ knots. It took all hands ( 4 men and a teen) on the dock waiting to catch lines to snug us up, and it was a bit of effort. I was amazed at how much force the wind exerted on the boat. It was obvious that to dock a boat that size, in those conditions, a single-hander would have to be lucky as well as good. I faced the same problem when I retired at 65 in 2001. For three seasons now I have singlehanded out J36 back from Maine so my wife could spend more of her vacation cruising than passaging. She had always docked the boat and I handled lines, so I was concerned. I practiced at the home marina, first to the T end and then into our slip. My suggestions: 1. Put fenders out on both sides. If you do miss you don't damage your neighbor's boat, or your own.. 2. Learn to bring the boat to a stop next to fixed objects where a mistake doesn't matter, like next to a mooring ball. Get a feel for how much wind you can do this in. 3. When you string your dock lines, tie their ends together so when you step off you have both of them. Loop one of them around its cleat and move smartly to the other end and cleat that. Then go back and cleat the first one properly. So far you are using normal cruising docklines, long enough to make springs of the leftover length. Here is one gizmo you can make, that might come in handy if the wind does get bad. Take a pice of line, and make an eye splice with a piece of hose or plastic tube on the loop part, so the loop stays open. Take a broomstick and drill a hole across one end. Tie it to the eye splice so you can reach the cleat and drop the eye splice over it from the cockpit. Now determine where it should belay on your boat. On ours it is the primary winch. You want it such that when it is attached to the end cleat on your slip, powering forward will hold the boat against the dock. Test while you are tied up. I did all the above, and I carry the gizmo, but I haven't had to use it. HTH Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a "Be careful. The toe you stepped on yesterday may be connected to the ass you have to kiss today." --Former mayor Ciancia |
#16
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Do I need a grapple?
In article ,
engsol wrote: In my daydreaming, I have most things figured out in the locale where I plan to sail (San Juan and Gulf Islands), except for this.... I'm approaching a slip with a cross-wind blowing me off the dock, and into another boat sharing the slip. So what do I do? Being single-handed and all. One thought occurs to me...toss a grapple and snag the dock. But this raises more questions....will I need to use a winch? How do I route the line? Do they even make grapples, or will I have to make my own? In our home slip, the spring line on the outermost piling has a loop for a no-thought drop onto the winch. Once that's secure, proper application of power and rudder will put the bow anywhere I want. We've been asked if we had a bow thruster. At foreign docks, a line from that same winch to a dock cleat -- and back to the winch if I don't have much time -- works well. If the conditions warrant, the cleat at the shrouds will work better, but I haven't needed that yet on this boat. Personally, the toughest docking is against a current. THAT can be interesting. -- Jere Lull Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD) Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/ |
#17
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Do I need a grapple?
In article ,
engsol wrote: In my daydreaming, I have most things figured out in the locale where I plan to sail (San Juan and Gulf Islands), except for this.... I'm approaching a slip with a cross-wind blowing me off the dock, and into another boat sharing the slip. So what do I do? Being single-handed and all. One thought occurs to me...toss a grapple and snag the dock. But this raises more questions....will I need to use a winch? How do I route the line? Do they even make grapples, or will I have to make my own? In our home slip, the spring line on the outermost piling has a loop for a no-thought drop onto the winch. Once that's secure, proper application of power and rudder will put the bow anywhere I want. We've been asked if we had a bow thruster. At foreign docks, a line from that same winch to a dock cleat -- and back to the winch if I don't have much time -- works well. If the conditions warrant, the cleat at the shrouds will work better, but I haven't needed that yet on this boat. Personally, the toughest docking is against a current. THAT can be interesting. -- Jere Lull Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD) Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/ |
#18
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Do I need a grapple?
Obviously the owners of the boats you let yours blow down onto were not
aboard! Sounds like a good way to get you a@$ handed to you! "john s." wrote in message om... engsol wrote in message . .. This has been likely asked before. I'll be retiring this spring, and buying a sailboat, 30-32 feet. I have limited experience, mainly two J-World courses, plus ASA through Advanced Coastal Cruising, plus a two week trip off the Calif coast, plus a bit of racing on a Santana 20. In my daydreaming, I have most things figured out in the locale where I plan to sail (San Juan and Gulf Islands), except for this.... I'm approaching a slip with a cross-wind blowing me off the dock, and into another boat sharing the slip. So what do I do? Being single-handed and all. One thought occurs to me...toss a grapple and snag the dock. But this raises more questions....will I need to use a winch? How do I route the line? Do they even make grapples, or will I have to make my own? Is this idea even worth it? Last year, we (class of 4 students on a 37 foot J-Boat) tried to dock on the lee side of a dock in 35+ knots. It took all hands ( 4 men and a teen) on the dock waiting to catch lines to snug us up, and it was a bit of effort. I was amazed at how much force the wind exerted on the boat. It was obvious that to dock a boat that size, in those conditions, a single-hander would have to be lucky as well as good. In case you're wondering why the concern...I'm too old to jump a 4 or 5 foot gap between the boat and dock, and know I'll need to sail smart. Thanks for any advice/imputs. Norm Norm,I´ve been in that situation twice singlehanding on my 29 ft Columbia 8.7. What I always do when entering a marina with the wind blowing crosswise to the boats is to put my fendrs on the leeward side of the boat. When I see a free pomoon that is going to be on the windward side, I approach it as close as I can and then let the boat drift onto the other boat which is to leward. I then tie my boat temporarily to it, the then throw the bow and stern lines forward onto the "end ponoon" and walk with them to the windward pontoo where is make them fast to the cleats. Going back to my boat, I use the windward winch to pull my boat to windward after having progressively slackened the temporary lines holding me to the leeward boat so that at no time is there a risk of the two hulls making contact. When the boat is about 2 feet off the windward pontoon, I stop and transfer the fenders to the windward side. May be a slow process but when you are in a strange marina, always proceed SLOW... john |
#19
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Do I need a grapple?
Obviously the owners of the boats you let yours blow down onto were not
aboard! Sounds like a good way to get you a@$ handed to you! "john s." wrote in message om... engsol wrote in message . .. This has been likely asked before. I'll be retiring this spring, and buying a sailboat, 30-32 feet. I have limited experience, mainly two J-World courses, plus ASA through Advanced Coastal Cruising, plus a two week trip off the Calif coast, plus a bit of racing on a Santana 20. In my daydreaming, I have most things figured out in the locale where I plan to sail (San Juan and Gulf Islands), except for this.... I'm approaching a slip with a cross-wind blowing me off the dock, and into another boat sharing the slip. So what do I do? Being single-handed and all. One thought occurs to me...toss a grapple and snag the dock. But this raises more questions....will I need to use a winch? How do I route the line? Do they even make grapples, or will I have to make my own? Is this idea even worth it? Last year, we (class of 4 students on a 37 foot J-Boat) tried to dock on the lee side of a dock in 35+ knots. It took all hands ( 4 men and a teen) on the dock waiting to catch lines to snug us up, and it was a bit of effort. I was amazed at how much force the wind exerted on the boat. It was obvious that to dock a boat that size, in those conditions, a single-hander would have to be lucky as well as good. In case you're wondering why the concern...I'm too old to jump a 4 or 5 foot gap between the boat and dock, and know I'll need to sail smart. Thanks for any advice/imputs. Norm Norm,I´ve been in that situation twice singlehanding on my 29 ft Columbia 8.7. What I always do when entering a marina with the wind blowing crosswise to the boats is to put my fendrs on the leeward side of the boat. When I see a free pomoon that is going to be on the windward side, I approach it as close as I can and then let the boat drift onto the other boat which is to leward. I then tie my boat temporarily to it, the then throw the bow and stern lines forward onto the "end ponoon" and walk with them to the windward pontoo where is make them fast to the cleats. Going back to my boat, I use the windward winch to pull my boat to windward after having progressively slackened the temporary lines holding me to the leeward boat so that at no time is there a risk of the two hulls making contact. When the boat is about 2 feet off the windward pontoon, I stop and transfer the fenders to the windward side. May be a slow process but when you are in a strange marina, always proceed SLOW... john |
#20
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Do I need a grapple?
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