Docking by your lonesome

A

A*aron

New Member
Jan 18, 2007
51
Pittsburgh
How do you do it? I am fairly confident in my ability to dock in most conditions with a first mate to jump off and run the spring line...however I don't know how I would feel about docking by myself or going through the locks by myself

anyone?
 
Locking through by yourself is not easily done. Docking by yourself is a piece of cake once you have enough experience with your boat to understand how it handles. My wife gets sea sick when we cruise so our routine is she drives to the port and I single hand. You just get used to it and give it little thought. She does cross Lake Michigan because there are times when it is smooth and driving would be a real pain. Still I have lots of practice docking by myself. Our slip is on a lake with routinely strong cross winds of 15-20 MPH. It is not safe for a person to be on the foredeck in winds and heavy boat wakes, so even when she is on board it's a single hand landing that has been well reheared for 30 years. There is no substitute for time at the helm.
 
My 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th dockings since I got home were solo. 2 were going to (secretly) get the name put on and come back. Two were meeting the family at a marina, then returning. None of them had winds blowing into the slip, which is nice. It has to either be completely calm, or you have to have an out.

An example of an out is a well-padded pole, or padded dock side. If you have threats on all sides, it's touchy at best. If you have the same slip everytime, customize it.
 
I have no problems docking the 44 alone. I started doing it on our 34 when i got tired of waiting for the admiral. So I'd go fuel and pump out then go back to the slip and wait some more...

Ud be surprised how well u do..... ( once u get over the nerves )


But also remember Id be at the marina for days practicing docking when i first got each boat... Learning how it reacts... I must have pulled into every slip in my marina 3 or 4 times . ITs funny how some people can only dock from one direction ... kinda like parrallel parking a car ..make someone park drivers side to the curb... and things just get ugly..

As for locking tru alone.... Thats one thing id never try... and im way cocky....

Too many things to go wrong... fenders to set ....

Something i would not plan on doing ....

Rob
 
Yeah doesn't sound like fun trying to lock thru by myself...plus the guys at our locks are not very pleasent..not that I would be either, but either way it could be a real chore

I am that guy that is not nearly as good at docking from different directions...It took me most of the latter part of the summer to really feel comfortable pulling into our own slip, but parallel docking throws me a curveball

I am however able to do ok backing into a slip that is the opposite direction of our one at home..practice makes perfect

I never drove a boat before and now i'm learning to pilot the 300..I think I made vast improvements from the start for sure

LIke you said the biggest thing for me is nerves...and just staying relaxed enough to think what you have to do
 
Parallel is easy. Figure out where the wind is and use it. If it's blowing you in, go nose into the middle of the slip, back down to stop your forward motion and then use your transmissions to nose the bow forward and the stern in very easily. As the bow will be very close to the wharf there will be little bow impact when you lay up. Once the stern starts to blow in, leave the helm and push off the stern to ease the landing. If it's blowing out, have a bow line set (really you should always have all required lines set unless they are already available at a fuel dock for example) and pull into the middle of the wharf. Back down before hitting the wharf. Tell a person on the dock to grab your line which should be hanging below the bow rail and away from the anchor or spot light. Ask them to place it around a forward piling or cleat and then put the proper transmission in forward and the other in reverse. The forward motion will bring your stern in if there is pressure on the forward line. Once it is in, leave the helm and tie up the stern. Add a spring line and you are secure.
 
There have been those occasions when I have docked wherever I could. I may have had a slip assignment that was to challenging for my limited skills. So I ended up a few slips away from the assignment; so what, on crappy days like that there are few boats moving around.
After tying up -off to the bar ,office or service area armed with a couple $5s or $10s.
With a little help I am tucked away safe and sound. Usually meet some nice people at the same time. JS
 
Always solo. The admiral sleeps during the day because you works at night, so she is not available and after she had the boat pull her off the dock once in the middle of winter I have not asked for her help. Good story but another time. I just keep my dock lines tied with a quick release not so as soon as I get to the dock I step off the rear and pull both ropes and I have the boat. As I go out allot by myself for fishing on the weekends learning how to get it off and on the trailer and docking by myself was a must. For launching i use a rope that I can reach from up top and turn loose the safety chain before backing down. I back down right next the ramp so I can step off the dock onto my boat. During the winter I only have to get my calves wet to do this. :thumbsup:
 
This info is great as i'm mostly going to be going solo on much of the weekends myself. My marina manager just told me to make friends with the folks around my slip and let them know to give me a hand when they see me coming in and that i'll be more than happy to help them in any way I can. He also gave me a slip with a lot of wiggle room to help me out. I'm hoping to also make some videos on docking, once the season is underway, with someone that knows what they're doing. Like little tips and tricks to help us newbies get up to speed quicker.
 
I leave lines tied up at my slip so i can just put them on when i dock. Makes it handy when docking alone in my slip too. I set my fenders on the approach and also tie off 2 lines on the cleats. When i step off the boat, i take the stern line with me just in case. Definitely takes practice and an understanding of where your boat will go and when. Once you've lined it up and get the fenders to touch, put that baby in neutral and start tying her off. I dont shut the engine off until shes secured just in case she starts to move away from the slip and i need to jump back on to realign her. Do it a few times and you'll get the hang of it. :)
 
sounds pretty good..i'd like to work on that this year because its kind of pain to worry about needing assistance...nothing better than have a compadre, but not always possible...I too leave my lines secured to the dock, how many other lines do you usually carry on board? Right now we only have a lock line and I think that might be it..can't remember back to September (DAMN YOU COLD!)
 
We carry 8 extras-2 bow, 2 stern, 4 springs. We weigh about 19,000 pounds and boat in areas where there can be high winds and harbor surges.
 
I also carry 7 or 8 extra lines on board in varying lengths. Much better to have them and not need them, than need them and not have them. :)
 
As others have said the key is preparation before hand. I keep permanent lines at the dock, so it is a breeze to pull in , grab a line and throw it on the aft cleat. Step off and secure the bow, then finish tying up.

When I go to another spot, I attach a rope with the loop end on the midships cleat and tie it off on the aft cleat repeating this procedure on both sides. That way I have a "rope bar" that makes it real easy to stablize the boat at midships when I get off the boat. When the boat is steady, I untie from the aft cleat and secure the boat at midships. Then it is a breeze to use ropes for the stern and bow. Also, put your fenders out before you get in the marina traffic.

The trick of using a rope tie up as a "bar" helps alleviate on fear I have and that is having one corner of the boat secure while the wind takes the bow away from you. I have seen that happen to newbies on numerous occasions.
 
I'll be down there at Fox Chaple practicing in April so maybe you can give me some pointers and I can watch you practice your solo docking just in case you need a last min hand. I can't wait to get on my boat.
 
it's not hard. and, the guys at the dock will only make of fun of you for awhile when you hit the piling.

as one of the guys at my marina told me, after watching me back into a piling "you're not a captain til you've hit the dock". my own spin is "you're not a captain until you've heard that sickening sound of your swim platform hitting a piling".

go in slow, and you'll be OK. Goose it in there, and you may do some damage. hit the piling once, and that sound will keep you from doing it again.

my current slip has about 6 inches clearance on either side of the boat - you learn.
 
once, just a little glance - nothing big. it was on the way out, though.

i forgot to untie the starboard forward spring line. when the line went taut, it jerked the boat, and the back end (swim platform) slid into the bow of the next guy. scared the hell out of me. didn't do anything else.
 
That's not too bad...I would imagine a handful of people have to have done it as some point or another especially in a tight slip
 
I have about 6 inches on each side of the boat. it's snug. had i taken the line off like i was posed to, it wouldn't have happened. i was humiliated - much worse than hitting a piling backing in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,124
Messages
1,426,666
Members
61,037
Latest member
wojozobl
Back
Top