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/