Spring Line....

L

LmannyR

New Member
Aug 16, 2008
328
West Palm Beach, FL
Boat Info
220 Sundancer 1989
Engines
5.7 Mercruiser w/Alpha 1
To the point....DIDn't work for me!!

Today I went out solely to practice docking, with a spring line. I lined up with the slip. Got in close enough to place the starboard stern line on a cleat on the dock. Continued to back up. When the slack was taken, the bow started drifting to port.

I tried docking using the same technique again but with the dock on port, using a port stern line.

I don't know, but the spring line just did not work for me.

I though when the slack was taken while still reversing into the slip, that the spring line would bring me in tight against the dock... NOPE...bow just swung to the opposite side.

ONLY have STERN and BOW cleats.

The current/wind had no affect.

Suggestions? What am I missing? Thanks!!!
 
Hmm... never tried that with the spring line. It works great with the stern line though.
Hook it on, snug it up and pop it in forward... done.
I don't think it'll work any other way.
 
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I believe this would only work if you had a midships cleat. On a single I/O if you had to use your stern cleat like yours I would put it in reverse up against the dock with the engine at idle and the drive turned to bring your bow up against the slip.
 
I dock bow-in on the port side. With a spring line running forward to the midships cleat, rudder amidships, port engine in forward, starboard engine in neutral, the boat just lies right up next to the dock.

Perhaps the key is the midships cleat. Trying it on either end of the boat and I can easily envision the other end pulling away from the dock.
 
magster65 said:
It works great with the stern line though.
Hook it on, snug it up and pop it in forward... done.
I don't think it'll work any other way.
Click to expand...

carver370 said:
I believe this would only work if you had a midships cleat. On a single I/O if you had to use your stern cleat like yours I would put it in reverse up against the dock with the engine at idle and the drive turned to bring your bow up against the slip.
Click to expand...

I'll try both of these methods tomorrow. Can't wait till I upgrade with twins and midship cleats.

I see the water taxies use the a spring to the midship cleat all the time and it always works perfect.
 
anybody have a drawing of this technique?I dock bow in dock port also.this boat turns slower than my single outdrive ,gf is about 100 lbs and cant help much,docking.
 
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Would it help if backing you attach the stern cleat and then use forward and turn into the dock. I would think the bow would then a little forward, but also toward dock. I guess I am wondering how far into the slip you get before you lose the bow. I had a 27ft that I would dock bow in and tie off the front. I would then use reverse and opposite reverse to pull stern in.

Best of luck.
 
I have what I call a “cheater line” attached to the pole at the end of our finger pier. I will routinely take the boat out by myself so what I do is throw off both stern lines, and with the bow lines still attached I use the finger pier to “walk the boat” up to the end and tie the cheater line to the back cleat. Now the bow is extended between the two poles, which will give me all day to go up on the bow and remove the bow lines. Since the boat is between the poles, it’s not going anywhere. I can then take my time, go back and untie the cheater line, and motor out.

Coming back in is the same in reverse order. I back up until I can tie the cheat line to the stern cleat; bow is still between the poles. Walk up and hook my bow lines, then the spring line. Remove the cheater line, and back up, done deal.

This method works for me because once I pull my boat up to the end of the finger pier and tie the cheater line off the bow of the boat is out between the poles.
 
With out a midship cleat, springing into a slip won't work.

For those who suggested tieing the bow or stern and idle in the opposite direction may be on to something. I'll be trying these later today. If anyone is going to be in the area, let me know. I'll be launching from Blue Heron.

Getting these basics down to a science will make fishing and boating more enjoyable. Not to mention, less gelcoat work later too. :D
 
Have you thought about installing a midship cleat?

It's a pretty simple job. Access to the underside is usually the big problem. Be sure to use a backing board or you will watch your new cleat get ripped out.
 
LmannyR said:
To the point....DIDn't work for me!!


IONLY have STERN and BOW cleats.

The current/wind had no affect.

Suggestions? What am I missing? Thanks!!!
Click to expand...


You are missing the spring line which is a line attached to the midships cleat. Putting your drive in reverse with the steering hard over to port should pull your bow into the port side tie if you manage the slack in your port stern line. But that is not called a spring line.
 
LTD.330 said:
Have you thought about installing a midship cleat?

It's a pretty simple job. Access to the underside is usually the big problem. Be sure to use a backing board or you will watch your new cleat get ripped out.
Click to expand...

Yea I thought about it. I think I can access the underside via the aft cabin. Not sure. This is gonna be a last resort though. I'll try the aforementioned techniques and report back.
 
You could always attach to the bowrail at midship for a single attempt to get a feel for it. Then when you add your midship cleats, you'll have a better feel for how it will work. Just go easy on the bow rail!
 
There's two seperate issues here. For docking; use the stern cleat / dock trick. When the stern is tied to the dock... plop it in forward and it'll suck your boat right in nicely (idle!).
The spring line you refer to is to keep the boat from moving around when you're tied up to the dock.
For this use a bow and stern line as per usual but make sure there's no extra slack in the stern. Then to stop it from moving around tie another rope to your stern cleat and attach it to the dock about midship. This will reduce the amount of forward / backward movement by half. If that's not enough, do the same with another bow line. You could do this with a second stern spring tied aft of the stern but that would just make a tripping hazard. You don't actually 'need' a midship cleat to 'spring' your boat.
That's something I like about the newer design... the rear cleats are at dock level... no spring line required and no tripping hazard.
 
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UPDATE:

Went out today at about 4pm. Winds were 9 gusting to 20. Right off the launch, there are some empty slips. Went in stern first, tied the stern cleat off to the dock, put the drive in forward and tada....works like a charm! WOW what a difference in nerves when I HAVE time to get off and tie the rest of the lines up to secure the boat. Then killed the engine. I didn't gain any gray hairs today. :D

Did this routine about 4 times today, including at Peanut Island, which is known for it strong currents from the inlet.

Before it was nerve racking after I tied one line trying to keep the boat steady enough to tie a 2nd line. Oh jeez. Not to mention the extra dock rashes obtained from it.

Today was a BIG docking confidence booster!! Also had great dad and daughter time with my 3yo. Going back out again tomorrow to do it again.
 
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