Side tie vs traditional slip

[The Bill Collector]

Problem solved...

 

[firecadet613]

View attachment 116810
Here is the slip. I could face either way.

One thing I would think about is protection / exposure. In that T-head slip, your boat is VERY exposed to all boats passing by. In a typical, inner slip, your boat is much better protected. I'd be worried about a novice boater with some wind running into my boat if I was on a T-head...

 

[Mauler34Rod]

We are looking at new marinas for next year and one that we are considering has two slips for even money. One is a t-head shared with another boat and one is a conventional slip with a small finger pier. Any pro's or con's to the t-head and side tie up?

It definitely depends on the marina. Some of the big city marinas have a lot of boat traffic into the wee hours of the night and on a “T-Head” you are exposed to wake and can be rock & rolling all night. Of course it’s posted “no wake” but doesn’t matter because some don’t know what a wake is. In your case based on your overhead pic, you would be fine because you’re tucked in towards the back of the marina. I prefer a slip stern in. You can still flip your boat around for cleaning or maintenance.

 

[Stee6043]

I'd be bummed if I couldn't do this with my bow-in arrangement.

The only thing that would be better, in my opinion, is floating docks. I really envy you guys with floating docks. I've grown to really, really hate boarding via steps for the last 3 seasons of high water in Lake Michigan.

And it is indeed nice to be able to keep the boat floating in the middle. I have 6 lines out since my stern cleats are beyond the end of the dock.

 

[mdolesh]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. There will be some boat traffic to exit the marina (the bridge is on the bottom of the picture) but I dont think much late at night. However, we do sleep on the boat 2-3 nights per week every week from mid April to mid Nov, mostly at the marina. I love having access to the full length of the boat, but in reality, I could always just pull it or move it if I needed to do any work. The tidal swings, like pirate mentioned, are 1-2 feet and sometimes more but I dont see why properly placed lines and fenders wouldnt protect the boat. The Admiral made a good point last night "we could always move if we dont like it." I might give it shot and see. Once agian, thanks for all the advice. Please keep it coming if there are any other suggestions.

 

[brewster16]

All good points posted in this thread. I was slipped for many years stern in with 6 points. Fortunately I liked my neighbors. I am now out on the T-head side tied and I love it! I am on a floating dock so I am good with tides. I also use VERY soft fender covers x 4 (mainepointfendercovers.com) to protect my gleaming blue hull. Perfect dinghy access and I have a bow thruster to make docking a "breeze." The view is awesome and I love the peace and serenity out there! Lounging out on the bow with a nice early morning cup of coffee watching boats go by is fun and soooo relaxing. But the full length access is really the best feature of being on the T head. I am fanatical about keeping my boat gleaming clean so.....cant beat it!

 

[FootballFan]

My comments are heavily oriented towards storms in FL.

I would never want a permanent slip that was side tie. Require that I have the ability to secure the boat on both sides to keep it in the middle and maximize the number and length of lines. Its all about a tie up that will provide protection during hurricane season for us.

That said the majority of our docking while traveling is side tie. I actually prefer the side tie when we are on the boat. The boarding door on the side of our boat is the most convenient on/off. Access to the full length of the boat, etc.

There are a couple of places where we will be tied up overnight and the conditions are less than favorable. One spot is at a marina and when we side tie we are literally on the edge of the ICW. It is a no wake zone, but we know how many times that gets disregarded. We use 4 large fenders between the boat and the floating dock. Since it is a floating dock we snug the boat as tight as possible to the dock letting the dock help flatten the rolling.

Couple of years ago we spent 2 nights on the boat at this location when a tropical storm passed by 50-60 miles off shore. Had winds in the 30-40 knot range sustained, wasn't all that bad. Though for a period of 12 hours or so getting on or off the boat was not an option - too dangerous.

If your not worried about the boat being unattended during significant storm periods, side tie is not that bad.

 

[Brite Idea]

It all comes down to the individuals wants of location and convince. I'm in the process of trying out a new slip this season because of neighbors and security. I had a great slip but it was located in an area that the local little shitheads could hop the fence and help themselves to anything on the boats in my area. I also had about enough of neighbor drama as I can tolerate(zero). My new slip is out in the open and hopefully will workout. I'm backed in and tied four lines with two spring lines with weights and pullies. The only complaint is the side pier is on the port but we'll make it work if we like the location.

 

[mrsrobinson]

I would be in heaven with the right T-Head.

Are we still talking about boats slips? ;-)

 

[mrsrobinson]

View attachment 116810
Here is the slip. I could face either way.

I like it , a lot, assuming there's not a lot of boat traffic around it. At one of my last marinas this was the desired slip, though bass boaters zipped by all day/night/morning.

 

[Skybolt]

Are we still talking about boats slips? ;-)

Where some peoples mind goes ... Must have been a Freudian slip, so to speak

 

[Creekwood]

I had one side tie like that when I couldn't get an inside slip when I first got this boat. Getting in and out of the slip is about as simple as it gets with a side tie unless you have a lot of wind and current, and if that is the case, a finger slip can be worse.

Downside to side tie is that you can't step right onto the dock from your swim platform from the back. Once I got a dingy that was less relevant to me though.

Also, if you have a dock box, there is no inside corner to mount it on. It doesn't look like your marina has inside dock boxes though. Our slips allow dock boxes in the corners (they build a small angled platform)

You also get boat traffic alongside with a side tie, which is annoying at times when people are in a hurry and put more wake than they should, jet skis, dinghy's etc.

Another advantage is that you don't have a direct neighbor boat where their AC discharge runs right beside you (noise). Also with no direct neighbor there is no risk that they never change their fart filter charcoal, and .......

 

[Carpediem44DB]

I love my side tie. It is not on a T head end tie, It is on a long dock with slips extending perpendicular to the dock. I have a nice wide dock and a short L extension behind me as I have the first tie on the dock. I have an option to move across the channel to traditional slip which would have better wind orientation for ingress and egress but since I am on the very end I can either stern in against a strong wind or parallel park in calmer conditions. What I like the most is the relative privacy not having boats on either side and across the stern. Generally, our marina is pretty quiet in terms of heavy partying. Most of the party prone marinas seem to be out in the Delta. If I have a chance to grab a T head end tie I would jump on it depending on the traffic anyway.
CD

 

[jmauld]

T-heads are often subject to more wake from passing boats. But that’s highly dependent on where the t-head is.

 

[440 Jim]

We are in a finger slip on a river just off the Ohio River. When we get high waters with strong current we get a bunch of debris up against the side of our boat. Not a huge issue but if you are in a river might want to think about the current. For that reason I prefer to be out on C dock parallel to the river but like was said it is nice having boats next to you to socialize with rather than staring at someones anchor while sitting in your boat.

Just inside the tee on the Wilmington River, with 8' tides we get alot of debris on the outgoing tides, then I "rake the yard" with a boat pole on the incoming tide to get rid of it. Only 5 slips long so not a big walk. Closer to the outside the better for me.

 

[mdolesh]

All great comments. Thanks guys!

 

[bobeast]

Side Tie over short fingers all day long. Who wants the hassle of backing into their slip and then staring at other boats' ass-end at cocktail hour?