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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. 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 Maybe the better thing to do would be to anchor until conditions were more favorable for docking. Just a thought. Mark E. Williams |
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