Any advice for high-wind docking in this situation?

hyperzap

hyperzap

New Member
Dec 19, 2021
15
Boat Info
240 Sundancer - 2007
Engines
Mercruiser 383 stroker /w Bravo III outdrive
Hey everyone! I'm trying to get better at docking my 240 in high-wind situations like mid-afternoon. It usually takes a few tries because I end up drifting towards the boat on my right, needing to abort with reverse throttle before trying again.

How would you line-up / approach this situation?

upload_2022-8-12_14-25-35.png

I have a single I/O, no bow thrusters. Its fuel injected fortunately so spools up quickly when I need it. I have no issue with no/low wind. I stop in front of my slip and pivot, before coming in, using bursts of idle power.

Specific questions:
- Maybe I shouldnt be taking it out of gear at all? I get anxious when I'm traversing the marina above 3mph, hence in low-wind situations im hardly in gear at all.
- Maybe I should try the approach staying close to the side my slip is on, that way its easier to counter the wind by turning into it?

Thanks heaps for any/all advice :)
 
hyperzap said:
Maybe I shouldnt be taking it out of gear at all?
Click to expand...

In gear, you get thrust in the direction you are steering, in neutral you will have a small amount of momentum and then you are at the mercy of the wind & current. Also, open all flaps, windows, etc to avoid the sail effect being all buttoned up.
 
If you have a finger dock on either side like your pic, Drive it right in with the approach your boat in pic is taking. Get the fenders on
 
The Bill Collector said:
I have never owned one, but looking at your diagram I would think you will do better coming in with the wind on your stern... I'm sure someone with experience with your boat model will give better advice.
Click to expand...

Wind on my stern as in going beyond my slip, and coming at it with the wind behind me?

scoflaw said:
If you have a finger dock on either side like your pic, Drive it right in with the approach your boat in pic is taking. Get the fenders on
Click to expand...

Ive been attempting this, but thus-far usually end up drifting towards too far downwind & needing to put it in reverse to avoid bumping into my neighbor. How fast would you dive in?
 
So your pic looks like you cant hit your neighbor, Speed would be dependent on the wind
 
hyperzap said:
Wind on my stern as in going beyond my slip, and coming at it with the wind behind me?
Click to expand...
That is exactly my thought, but I don't know your vessel...
My thought in your diagram is when turning to starboard to enter the wind is on your whole portside and pushing you into the finger pier.
 
Are there really finger piers on both your starbord and port sides? Or is one side open to the neigboring boat?
 
There is a certain amount of "timing" involved with driving/ parking boats (both single and multiple screw). Twins do afford more control, but singles can manage pretty well with practice.
I would also suggest driving towards the left finger until your bow is close then cut/ drive into your slip. You could also drive past your slip and let the wind slide you back into position using reverse to keep your bow towards the left finger.
 
I had a very similar slip with my 25-ft single IO. We often had a wind coming straight down the runway. I would come up bow into the wind as you're indicating in your diagram. This allows you to stay in gear but be moving at a slower Pace due to the wind resistance.

The key is to make a sharp turn into the slip at the last minute but with thrust. Without thrust you're just going to drift back into the boat or slip on your starboard side. You basically have to drive the boat into the slip with authority. That doesn't mean hammer down, it just means to be assertive. As soon as you're in your slip you'll be moving and need to be ready to hit reverse and counter steer to straighten the stern up.
 
The wind is going to take the bow away from you if you try to make a slow turn in. So either stick close to the side with your slip and do a sharp and decisive turn in right as you get to it. Or, what I would do is rotate outside of the docks and back in. This keeps the wind from being able to take your bow away from you as you rotate in.

You might also be able to pull past your slip and back into it.

The wind moves the bow quicker than the stern.
 
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Power into the wind to the slip. Make a sharp right turn as your bow approaches the upwind opening to the slip. Once your bow clears the upwind side of the slip and you are moving into the well, move the helm sharply to the left while shifting into reverse with a short burst of power to stop the turn. Another short burst in reverse to stop the forward momentum. Let the boat wind drift against the piles on the starboard side of the boat once forward motion has stopped.
 
Thank you everyone for the excellent guidance, its much appreciated. Docking in wind gives me a lot of anxiety and the hope that I'll be able to master this skill is going to help me a lot. Based on this thread I'll experiment with a few combinations:

1. Keeping bow into wind till parallel to my slip or with a small overshoot
2. sharp right turns /w straighten out with authority
3. Overshoot method /w drifting back + reverse to turn/pull the stern out
4. Doing a 180 on the runway and coming in with the wind behind me

scoflaw said:
So your pic looks like you cant hit your neighbor, Speed would be dependent on the wind
Click to expand...
Apologies for my terrible diagramming skills. All my neighbors are sailing boats (some with with dinghies haphazardly on the back, so they are very close to the end of their slips.


Golfman25 said:
Are there really finger piers on both your starbord and port sides? Or is one side open to the neigboring boat?
Click to expand...
Yes! theres a lot of space:

RSrS3MhZ9x83CjlVGIc0_SYc-KDNoYAQYdREQCNxe9p1y0lRTsmBjWRmJzAErZZPnscp-yVAb-C_-a-mc1LEANovugDjslZ7RzSNaePZ-asFTQaUfOXP9ZWkM9WQ1PQSUqNhkS06t_HGlSOLOCCougi6sql0u2dopaaNa5qtMk0VxZ869xp2cRZ_vKx3ifMCScdxfOXPRU4Vv0ixxHvgfcSaN2qzogKhkRfwkMWZP3OWJD_5pp9DA8Rc30KlbSoA4QanyO9PTQznNx793Bu6IMBj71N4HZ4ejhUlX7DswqddFKT82KwLJLCkCaL9p9z3XEE_6wPQllgEB4vPuKwkfqMF_0yUDkGgx2AN-m12HCU4UYw_ZjLkiaJ0Mf_tNCRmdvkirU-jqw_IkaX-6WJ4blo83NjqRFlvayRbfwMUOq_SjqWjJTxtW2hcSZHAmBpZ9VIRzjLEq3_4M64PmM8H13opAlJoTbhEZG9Kb_1PMfv_Klq8WEYO4oYUwF6IW9Ko0rv9NnZnFeNr_XpUJOHz3di995kkRrs73v3g-Fe5NhshQpuCLnRg18QL-KxavVokL9FPJyJUdavDMDV6ISrFdZUqghelM2JmEWn83OK9QD1J96lu59mcTCvbN-lbaU8yx5_cix-ZQZdTyP1EFH7kpiQz2PzLzVd32BFgi_MtRZi09RINb06kIRbu1kEXk_RyLuksWShak8CgTIKIX7r0nTz_-v8pvUeoJe88BlgQRMGCJnhKTOYrr024piYo=w713-h950-no


copb8tx said:
BTW, what is your beam and what is the width of your slip?
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Beam is 8' something, the slip is a lot more (13' I think? slips here can do up to 35' LOA boats).
 
In this situation I'd be transom into the wind and take the aft end of the boat past the slip then rotate the aft into the slip. In this manner the bow isn't in play until you rotate; you can allow (if drift is too far) the bow/side of the boat to pivot about the dock / piling.

Or, if you were going to bow into the slip the same transom into the wind but even further past the slip and poke the bow in allowing the boat to settle on the starboard side to the dock. Fenders required....

In both cases I see this as transom into the wind which is normal.
BTW - we all get a bit anxious when getting into a tight area in windy conditions. When things are going to be challenging I always discuss with my crew (which is myself many times) to make sure we know the plan for lines and fenders.
 
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Yeah, since you have a starboard finger pier, turn around with transoms into the wind. Let the wind push you into the dock.

If you go bow in, you risk getting pinched at the end of the starboard pier. Doable, but much harder.
 
And get a hook. You don’t have to be so precise if you can grab your dock lines with a little extra reach from a hook.
 
I have a 24’ Weekender and have exact docking that you have. Usually I’ve gone in bow first, but just recently started pulling past my slip and backing in, in some pretty windy conditions. The pivot is what has helped me master the back in. You just have to be ready to make those quick port/starboard turns, and give it a bump-when your turning. Hope this helps. I can actually take the boat out alone and dock by myself now:) Oh, and practice, I practiced pivoting out on the water (where you can’t hit anything lol), and I really got a feel for how the boat can move.
 
And Epos is right about getting a hook, they are very helpful.
 
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