High Sides

[NiceAft]

Jimbo said:

and NO yelling at the admiral .

And vice versa Jimbo:

[Spector]

A tip Ray from Blue Water Yachts gave me was to run a line from the bow to stern. This becomes a grab line.
Jump off the dock and grab this line someplace and pull the boat in.

In the MYCBC club it is actually referred to as the 'ray line'.

[jimbo]

A tip Ray from Blue Water Yachts gave me was to run a line from the bow to stern. This becomes a grab line.
Jump off the dock and grab this line someplace and pull the boat in.

In the MYCBC club it is actually referred to as the 'ray line'.

Can I add - based on experience - do NOT "just" jump off onto the dock WITHOUT knowing where you are going to IMMEDIATELY fasten/hook the line over. NEVER assume you can just "hold" the grab line. I have approached a dock into the wind - a stiff wind - stepped off the boat onto the dock holding the line and was nearly dragged into the water due to the wind pressure on the hull. I cannot emphasis the importance of the steps above especially if single handing. In my case the boat would have end up jammed under a pier . . eventually . . . nasty.

[NiceAft]

I generally agree with this:

NEVER assume you can just "hold" the grab line. I have approached a dock into the wind - a stiff wind - stepped off the boat onto the dock holding the line and was nearly dragged into the water due to the wind pressure on the hull.

It also depends on your upper body development. Forty years on a furniture delivery truck has helped me several times muscle Nice Aft to the dock. If you’re single handling, sometimes it’s the only way, but if you don’t have good upper body strength, quickly place that bow to stern line over a cleat.

I have cursed that high freeboard more than once, but then that phenomenal headroom below makes up for it.....sometimes.

[Gazmn]

I go slow and steady with my lines configured as Capt Wayne said: “ , i also run a bow line( outside the shrouds ) back to the helm, and have a stern line ready with it as well, , and i can step off in a dignified manner and simply snug the boat up!”

And yes, many of us may still have the strength to hold the boat via the lines against some wind - until we don’t

I make sure to put a bend on a cleat before learning how strong I no longer am; lol.

[NiceAft]

The problem no one has mentioned is when a really stiff breeze is blowing you away from the dock; when the bow gets close, the stern will be blown several feet away, and vice versa. No line going the length of the boat will help. That line works exceptionally well in normal to slight breeze conditions. There were times when the wind was so stiff I could not make it into the slip because I could not dock the boat. I would either (a) get help from someone on the dock, I.e. toss a line; (b) dock in an empty slip across the way i.e. blown sideways to the slip to my side, or (c) drop anchor in a safe place until the wind dies (not desirable).

Sometimes the high freeboard is much more than an inconvenience.

[Rumdirty]

That high freeboard can be downright dangerous...

I USED to keep my boat at a friends slip in a canal. Took me about 45 minutes to an hour to get to the bay but it was always a pleasant trip and I never was in a rush. Additionally it was free. Couple of times it would get a bit "frisky" out on the water. Usually I would head home, maneuver throughout the canal, and eventually dock. The canal itself where he lives is a dead end. I was also about 50 foot wide. Usually I can turn the boat around with a bit of maneuvering and I make out okay.

On one such occasion the wind caught us out in the bay. It kept picking up more and more even as I was trying to get home. As I made it to the end of the canal system I had to make my u-turn and thats when having such a high side got me. The wind caught me completely broadside and nothing I could do to maneuver the boat would allow me to turn the damn thing. I was being pushed at a wicked speed sideways into a bunch of very expensive boats. I literally had maybe 15-20 seconds to get out of trouble. I finally ended up just nudging the nose of the boat into the canal wall so that I could at least have the wind whip my ass end around and get pointed in the right direction.

I got extremely lucky that I slowed the boat enough to not damage the bow but I did manage to scrape the crap out of my port side. That was the last summer I kept the boat there.

[BOAT]

Yup, it is interesting to watch the guys in the small power boats - they pull right up to the docks at pretty high speed jerking the boat forward and aft gunning the engine this way and that all the while spinning the wheel to an fro and they park those boats right on the money every time.

I never learned how to do that in a power boat and I sure don't know how to do it in a sailboat. One thing I can do is sail a boat with no motor to the dock. Been doing that since I was 10 years old. I started in a sabot and then a Lido and then dad bought me my own Koralle when I was 12. There was no motor and I always had to sail to the dock . . . alone.

Honestly, if the wind is blowing away from the dock I find it easier to approach the dock with about 20% of the headsail unfurled and the sheet in my hand - I find I can pump the sheet in my hand and control the speed of the boat very well and when I let the jib fly the boat stops on a dime. You can do it with the motor running if you feel the need to back off.

I like going backwards if I am under power when the dock is upwind because I am in the back and I can reach the dock cleat with my lasso from there - it's hard for me to lasso the cleat if it's up by the bow. It would be nice to have a monkey to throw overboard at the dock to grab onto it like Bill says but I'm not as good at throwing as I am at lassoing - Guess that's why I never was any good at baseball.

If the wind is blowing into the dock things are a lot easier - just get positioned broadside to the dock and let the wind blow you in.

I always stick a finger in the air coming to a dock so I get on the side of the dock that the wind is blowing IN to.☝

[Russ]

That high freeboard can be downright dangerous...

How deep was the canal? Could you drop the dagger/centerboard? I find full fins make a HUGE difference.

Yup, the high freeboard without fins down blows this boat all over the place.

Also without full ballast, these boats are blown all over the place.

[Bobsquatch]

I have a lot of experience boating. Mostly power and mostly small. The biggest I have owned was a 28' twin engine cabin cruiser. The biggest I have skippered is 37'. 45 years experience boating, the last 6 years learning to sail... barely.

All that confidence, knowledge and skill got me was a scratch on my new to me the very first time I left my slip in a moderate breeze, counting on that big motor to point me where I wanted to go. I was caught completely off guard by how bad she slipped across the water with the fins up. I was also amazed how much improved she was fins down. Someone on this site described the perfectly when the fins are up. An empty bleach bottle.

The moral to the story is fins down and a little practice away from the docks and you will be fine.

[Wayne nicol]

scary times!!
thats why i have a big hook and am not adverse to throw it out in a hurry and take a fresh look at things while i get organised

[kurz]

Honestly, if the wind is blowing away from the dock I find it easier to approach the dock with about 20% of the headsail unfurled and the sheet in my hand - I find I can pump the sheet in my hand and control the speed of the boat very well and when I let the jib fly the boat stops on a dime. You can do it with the motor running if you feel the need to back off.

Well this sounds interesting, I never thought about. BUT: If you reached sailing to the dock... and are alone - no help anywhere - the wind will blow you away from the dock again.
In the mediterranean sea often there are just rings at the docks... So no chance to get it with the line.
Maybe best is to use all fenders and take another boat as a guidline... Or drop the anchor as a distance control und do the rest with the motor, maybe you get a stable control.

BUT: conserning the hight sides...If they were somewhat smaller I dont give much it would be VERY much easier. The mast also takes enough air...

[Herschel]

At the risk of sounding like a "broken record", I just want to throw the notion of having a telescoping boat hook handy for mooring in difficult situations. It is not the "silver bullet" that solves everything, but I find it quite useful. We even have a boat "hook" that has a huge rubber loop at the end for tying up to posts and/or cleats, but we don't use that one for situations when we are being blown off the dock. It loads the rubber too much, and it tends to overpower it's strength over time, and you get a break just when you least needed that. But a standard boat hook can give you a secure catch on a dock cleat that doesn't require Will Rogers type rope skills!

[BOAT]

Not only can I lasso but I know how to throw a cleat hitch from a standing position. I don't even remember how I learned it - there is another strange thing i do with lines - I take the real long ones and I grab them in the middle and just pull a few dozen slip knots into the whole mess and lickity split a 30 foot line is only 3 feet long and looks like a chain - I do not even remember where I learned that. It's like shoe tying - I just can't remember.

I wish they had taught me how to fight the monkey when I was a little kid like all that other stuff - then I could just use the monkey's fist like Bill said.

(I guess you all noticed that Bill is my new friend) It's okay jimmyt - I still like you too.

If we can get Bill to talk more it's a lot more fun around here.

[Herschel]

Boat, I dedicate this to your remarkable lassoing skills. Enjoy!

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=wi ... &FORM=VIRE