Gofirstclass
Well-Known Member
I mentioned spring lines in another thread and how to use them to get alongside a dock and also to move away from a dock when you can't go forward or reverse and when the wind or current is working against you.
First, let's talk about how to use a spring line to get your boat alongside a dock....
Look at this picture for a minute before reading further....
Now let's discuss what's happening. The boat has backed its port stern against a dock and secured a line (in blue) between a cleat the boat and a cleat on the dock (in red). As the skipper puts the stbd engine (or the only engine if you boat is so equipped) in gear at idle (shown in green), the boat wants to move forward. It can't because of the stern spring line, so the boat's bow will move counterclockwise and the boat will be brought alongside the dock. It's a pretty simple maneuver using the dock cleat as your pivot point. It's important to be patient and not increase the throttle unless it's absolutely necessary to overcome a wind or tide that's fighting you. If you're moving at all and the bow is swinging toward the dock, take your time, let it swing and just wait for it. You don't want to give it too much throttle and slam the side of the boat into the dock. That ain't cool and the only ones who will appreciate that are the dock rats that are watching and waiting for you to screw up.
Getting your boat OFF a dock using spring lines is a bit more complicated and requires precise coordination between you and your deck hand. Look at the picture....
In the top drawing you'll see a boat tied alongside a dock and we'll assume the wind and/or current is holding the boat fast to the dock. There's nowhere to go forward or astern because of other boats or pilings, etc. Also, proper placement of fenders is critical in this maneuver so the boat doesn't touch the dock. When we do this type of spring line we usually use four large fenders on the bow end of the boat.
What you're going to have to do (in this situation) is fasten your line to a cleat on your boat that's somewhere near your bow. Take it down to a dock cleat that is somewhere around the mid-ship point of your boat and (this is important) ONLY DO A HALF TURN AROUND THE DOCK CLEAT, starting with the line going around the cleat horn that points toward your boat's stern, then coming under the other cleat horn, then the bitter end of the line goes back up to your deck hand. If you do it backwards the line will simply come off the cleat or you'll only be around one horn of the cleat.
Keep in mind that the boat is being held firmly against the dock by the wind and/or current. Your deck hand is going to have to hold firmly to his/her end of the line and not let it slip around the cleat. The skipper puts the boat's stbd engine in gear at idle. The boat will try to move forward, but because your deck hand is doing such a great job of holding tight to the line and not letting it slip around the cleat, the dock cleat now becomes your pivot point.
Very gradually the boat will start to move forward and the line will grow tight. Because the boat can't go forward any more, the bow will start to swing into the dock and the stern will start to swing away from the dock, moving upwind or against the current.
Now here's where timing between the skipper and the deck hand is very critical. At the point where the skipper feels the stern has swung far enough out from the dock that he can safely back the boat away from the dock, he gives the command to the deck hand to let the line slip around the dock cleat. The deck hand should either flip the line clear of the dock cleat or let go of the line and quickly pull the line onto the boat by grabbing where it's still attached to your bow cleat. This needs to be done quickly. At the same time the skipper puts both engines into reverse and gives it enough throttle to get safely away from the dock. That timing is very critical and I can't over estimate how important it is that both those actions occur at the same instant.
When my Galley Wench and I do any kind of a spring line maneuver I walk through it with her, step by step, and have her repeat to me what I've told her. I want ZERO misunderstanding about what I expect of her and the timing. Any error on the part of your deck hand could mean the boat gets blown back against the dock, is never released from the dock cleat or the boat could get blown into another boat. When you have this conversation with your Admiral, it's important that you not come across as MASTER AND COMMANDER, but as the person who is responsible for her safety and the safety of the boat and other passengers. You two need to be on exactly the same page for this to work.
It does work well and once you've practiced it a few times it will become almost second nature to you both. The best part of mastering spring lines is that the dock rats will be simply amazed at how well you got your boat off the dock. They won't understand HOW you did it, but will be in awe of your boating skills.
As an indication of how effective this can be, we had a group from another yacht club visiting our club a couple of years ago. At times there's a strong current that runs through our yacht basin and it and the wind were both holding their boats against the dock, exactly as shown above. I watched them for about 10-15 minutes as they tried to use a dinghy to pull the stern of one of the boats away from the dock and were having zero luck.
The skipper of that boat (a 30' express cruiser) was a friend of mine so I asked him if he wanted a suggestion on how to do get away from the dock. I explained the procedure to him and he was doubtful but agreed to try it. His wife was on the bow to handle the spring line and I helped them set the fenders in the right spots. I walked through with both of them what needed to be done and how critical the timing was.
Still doubtful but hoping it would work he agreed to do what I suggested. I stood on the dock and, when both were ready, I told him to put his stbd engine into gear. The boat moved forward but didn't swing the stern out from the dock because the current and wind were too strong. I told him to increase the throttle gently and he did. VERY slowly the stern of the boat started to move out from the dock. He was amazed that it was working and he stayed with it until the stern was about 75 degrees out from the dock. At that point I told him to put it into reverse and give it a bit of throttle and told his wife to release her end of the line. She did, and quickly pulled in the bitter end.
They got cleanly away from the dock and backed the boat upwind and against the current far enough that he could safely maneuver it to leave the area.
I hadn't seen this friend since but ran into him last weekend. He made a point of telling me how much he appreciated my sharing that technique with him and he said they had used spring lines several times and they always worked for them.
They will for you too, but will only smoothly if you practice them a few times in calm weather so you can see how well they work and can get your timing down.
Questions??????? Comments??????
First, let's talk about how to use a spring line to get your boat alongside a dock....
Look at this picture for a minute before reading further....
Now let's discuss what's happening. The boat has backed its port stern against a dock and secured a line (in blue) between a cleat the boat and a cleat on the dock (in red). As the skipper puts the stbd engine (or the only engine if you boat is so equipped) in gear at idle (shown in green), the boat wants to move forward. It can't because of the stern spring line, so the boat's bow will move counterclockwise and the boat will be brought alongside the dock. It's a pretty simple maneuver using the dock cleat as your pivot point. It's important to be patient and not increase the throttle unless it's absolutely necessary to overcome a wind or tide that's fighting you. If you're moving at all and the bow is swinging toward the dock, take your time, let it swing and just wait for it. You don't want to give it too much throttle and slam the side of the boat into the dock. That ain't cool and the only ones who will appreciate that are the dock rats that are watching and waiting for you to screw up.
Getting your boat OFF a dock using spring lines is a bit more complicated and requires precise coordination between you and your deck hand. Look at the picture....
In the top drawing you'll see a boat tied alongside a dock and we'll assume the wind and/or current is holding the boat fast to the dock. There's nowhere to go forward or astern because of other boats or pilings, etc. Also, proper placement of fenders is critical in this maneuver so the boat doesn't touch the dock. When we do this type of spring line we usually use four large fenders on the bow end of the boat.
What you're going to have to do (in this situation) is fasten your line to a cleat on your boat that's somewhere near your bow. Take it down to a dock cleat that is somewhere around the mid-ship point of your boat and (this is important) ONLY DO A HALF TURN AROUND THE DOCK CLEAT, starting with the line going around the cleat horn that points toward your boat's stern, then coming under the other cleat horn, then the bitter end of the line goes back up to your deck hand. If you do it backwards the line will simply come off the cleat or you'll only be around one horn of the cleat.
Keep in mind that the boat is being held firmly against the dock by the wind and/or current. Your deck hand is going to have to hold firmly to his/her end of the line and not let it slip around the cleat. The skipper puts the boat's stbd engine in gear at idle. The boat will try to move forward, but because your deck hand is doing such a great job of holding tight to the line and not letting it slip around the cleat, the dock cleat now becomes your pivot point.
Very gradually the boat will start to move forward and the line will grow tight. Because the boat can't go forward any more, the bow will start to swing into the dock and the stern will start to swing away from the dock, moving upwind or against the current.
Now here's where timing between the skipper and the deck hand is very critical. At the point where the skipper feels the stern has swung far enough out from the dock that he can safely back the boat away from the dock, he gives the command to the deck hand to let the line slip around the dock cleat. The deck hand should either flip the line clear of the dock cleat or let go of the line and quickly pull the line onto the boat by grabbing where it's still attached to your bow cleat. This needs to be done quickly. At the same time the skipper puts both engines into reverse and gives it enough throttle to get safely away from the dock. That timing is very critical and I can't over estimate how important it is that both those actions occur at the same instant.
When my Galley Wench and I do any kind of a spring line maneuver I walk through it with her, step by step, and have her repeat to me what I've told her. I want ZERO misunderstanding about what I expect of her and the timing. Any error on the part of your deck hand could mean the boat gets blown back against the dock, is never released from the dock cleat or the boat could get blown into another boat. When you have this conversation with your Admiral, it's important that you not come across as MASTER AND COMMANDER, but as the person who is responsible for her safety and the safety of the boat and other passengers. You two need to be on exactly the same page for this to work.
It does work well and once you've practiced it a few times it will become almost second nature to you both. The best part of mastering spring lines is that the dock rats will be simply amazed at how well you got your boat off the dock. They won't understand HOW you did it, but will be in awe of your boating skills.
As an indication of how effective this can be, we had a group from another yacht club visiting our club a couple of years ago. At times there's a strong current that runs through our yacht basin and it and the wind were both holding their boats against the dock, exactly as shown above. I watched them for about 10-15 minutes as they tried to use a dinghy to pull the stern of one of the boats away from the dock and were having zero luck.
The skipper of that boat (a 30' express cruiser) was a friend of mine so I asked him if he wanted a suggestion on how to do get away from the dock. I explained the procedure to him and he was doubtful but agreed to try it. His wife was on the bow to handle the spring line and I helped them set the fenders in the right spots. I walked through with both of them what needed to be done and how critical the timing was.
Still doubtful but hoping it would work he agreed to do what I suggested. I stood on the dock and, when both were ready, I told him to put his stbd engine into gear. The boat moved forward but didn't swing the stern out from the dock because the current and wind were too strong. I told him to increase the throttle gently and he did. VERY slowly the stern of the boat started to move out from the dock. He was amazed that it was working and he stayed with it until the stern was about 75 degrees out from the dock. At that point I told him to put it into reverse and give it a bit of throttle and told his wife to release her end of the line. She did, and quickly pulled in the bitter end.
They got cleanly away from the dock and backed the boat upwind and against the current far enough that he could safely maneuver it to leave the area.
I hadn't seen this friend since but ran into him last weekend. He made a point of telling me how much he appreciated my sharing that technique with him and he said they had used spring lines several times and they always worked for them.
They will for you too, but will only smoothly if you practice them a few times in calm weather so you can see how well they work and can get your timing down.
Questions??????? Comments??????
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