I hit the dock last week!

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March
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Re: I hit the dock last week!

Post by March »

The boat was rocking so badly that the rub-rail touched the dock at times, no matter how many buffets we put between the dock and the boat. We tried to keep her as close to the dock as possible. But not enough. No matter what, at some point, one section of the rub-rail was bound to hit the dock

It was pretty bad. The coast-guard couldn't get closer to the dock the following day. They got as close as they could to the dock and hailed us by radio
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NiceAft
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Re: I hit the dock last week!

Post by NiceAft »

The Coast Guard?

How did the Coast Guard get involved?

This gets more interesting with every post :D

Ray
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March
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Re: I hit the dock last week!

Post by March »

Glad you like it, Ray. Wish you had been there.

This is Devil's Island, in the Apostles. There's a small, shallow bay at the southern tip of the islands, with two docks and and a small opening. We motored in and blithely tied up at the Eastern dock, facing the shore. Things looked good in the evening, so we barbecued on the cliff and went to bed serenely without checking the weather, At night, a storm burst out, The waves were coming strongly and directly through the opening, funneled exactly at out stern--hence the predicament. Couldn't turn the boat around at night because of the waves which, at times, would reveal the boulders at the bottom

There is a coast guard at the Apostles, you know. This is Lake Superior, remember? They came in a metal flat-bottomed boat with two big-ass Yamaha engines. In the morning they motored to the island (there's only one permanent resident there--the lighthouse keeper) to check things out. They couldn't get into the bay, on account of the waves which were still unruly in the morning, but asked if we were all right. By radio.

In retrospect, we should have had the boat tied in such a way as to face the opening. Or tied to the other deck which is perpendicular to shore-coming waves. We did that the following years and never had this kind of problem again
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Re: I hit the dock last week!

Post by NiceAft »

Wish you had been there.
Woa! What did I ever do to you :?: :D :wink:

Ray
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Re: I hit the dock last week!

Post by Alexis »

dlandersson wrote:Could you tie some big ol' truck tires near the bow? :P
On my father's old sailboat, we used to have a sort of "banana fender" which was suspended from the bow rail. It was not fancy but very efficient! Unfortunately I never noticed any in stores (neither on boats) in my far away Saskatchewan!
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Re: I hit the dock last week!

Post by Alexis »

Neo wrote:Ok lets make that Practise, skill and good maintenance are your best protection :D
Believe Alexis there always a way when you've learnt from experience .... As crazy as it sound but that's why you needed to hit the dock! Just like I needed to break my mast. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything now. 8)
You're absolutely right! This is what I think today but I felt ashamed and a bit angry just after it happened...
Sorry to read about your mast, what happened?
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Re: I hit the dock last week!

Post by Alexis »

March wrote:This is Devil's Island, in the Apostles.
This island seems to deserve well its name... :D
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Re: I hit the dock last week!

Post by Nauti Nell »

March wrote:Glad you like it, Ray. Wish you had been there.

This is Devil's Island, in the Apostles. There's a small, shallow bay at the southern tip of the islands, with two docks and and a small opening. We motored in and blithely tied up at the Eastern dock, facing the shore. Things looked good in the evening, so we barbecued on the cliff and went to bed serenely without checking the weather, At night, a storm burst out, The waves were coming strongly and directly through the opening, funneled exactly at out stern--hence the predicament. Couldn't turn the boat around at night because of the waves which, at times, would reveal the boulders at the bottom

There is a coast guard at the Apostles, you know. This is Lake Superior, remember? They came in a metal flat-bottomed boat with two big-ass Yamaha engines. In the morning they motored to the island (there's only one permanent resident there--the lighthouse keeper) to check things out. They couldn't get into the bay, on account of the waves which were still unruly in the morning, but asked if we were all right. By radio.

In retrospect, we should have had the boat tied in such a way as to face the opening. Or tied to the other deck which is perpendicular to shore-coming waves. We did that the following years and never had this kind of problem again
Just looked at Google earth and it looks like there is at least 20/30 miles of open water on the west side of that little bay. I could be mistaken but doesn't most weather blow out of the west there? Absolutely no protection the way you state you were sitting. Ouch! I do see that on the west side you would have much better protection and be blown away from the dock. Thanks for the heads up on that situation.
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Re: I hit the dock last week!

Post by Highlander »

I was coming into a concrete ramp one time in very bad cross wind so to keep control I had to come in pretty fast Idea was come in hard & fast so as the wind would not take control of the boat came in as close to the S/B dock as poss. by the time I was entering the ramp I was being blown hard too port idea was I,d b close to the port side dock by the time I was 6ft away from the concrete ramp then just thro her hard into rev, stop & step onto the dock , well pull her out of forward into neutral then rev & the eng, stalled out by the time I got her fired back up crunch into the concrete ramp was I peeved to say the least took a good gouge outa the bow but when I got home I was surprised just how thick the gelcoat & fiberglass was down there anyway bought a gelcoat repair kit & was repaired in no time took about 3 coats & u could never tell I,ve drilled holes in my bow just above the bow eye & it was over an inch thick really strong
So I can feel for U :(

J 8)
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Re: I hit the dock last week!

Post by Alexis »

Thanks Highlander! I couldn't inspect the damage from close enough but is seems to be almost superficial. The damage seems way smaller than I thought it would be from the shock I felt... Anyway, time for us to pull the boat out of the water (already the end of the season here!) I will soon have a close inspection!
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