docking a yacht single handed

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Single handed docking strategies

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I hate pilings. What is it with marinas and pilings? Get a chainsaw and chop them off? All I can possibly think it to bolt a springy stick to each piling that holds a mooring line so you can grab it and put a pre-made loop over a cleat.  

MarkofSeaLife said: I hate pilings. What is it with marinas and pilings? Get a chainsaw and chop them off? Click to expand...

Simplify the problem in your mind, and relax. Always have a boat hook close at hand before you enter the slip. Enter the slip slowly. (If you're going slow enough, you can grab a piling to stop the boat. If you're going too fast, you have to use the engine in reverse.) When you get your boat into the slip and stopped, it isn't going anywhere. The pilings hold it there. The boat has rub rails. It won't be hurt to gently bump the pilings. Walk forward (there's no hurry) and connect the spring line first. (I connect the spring line to a mid-ship cleat, rather than the bow.) The spring line will prevent the boat's bow from bumping into the dock. Then just walk to each corner of the boat and connect each remaining dock line. Connect the bow lines first. If you can't reach them, use the boat hook. When you leave the slip, always leave them in a way so that you will be able to hook them when you return. If you visit a different marina, where your lines aren't already in place, put them on your cleats before you enter the slip, and follow the same procedure, attaching the spring line first.  

That looks pretty straightforward. My suggestion would be to run a line ( 3 braid works) from your port aft piling to the forward piling at the bulkhead. That gives you two benefits, You can hang lines from that line, and it will help keep you from slipping between the pilings if you get caught by wind. You could even hang a short line attached to a Carabiner from that long 3 braid that you grab in the way in You can certainly get a hook on the port and starboard aft pilings to hang a line on as well. To make life even easier, for picking up your bow lines, you could install a hook on the forward starboard pole for that bow line, and maybe for one on the pole dead ahead for the port bow line, that you can reach with a boat pole. Then, you wouldn't need to get off the boat to tie up. Otherwise, it looks like a pretty easy slip to manage. To Mark's point, if they had Floating Docks, then they would only need a piling at the end of your finger dock. The only reason to have to tie up the port side is to keep you off the damn pilings, I'd focus on getting my Starboard tied up first and then worry about port. ( unless the wind forces the opposite.)  

Everything depends on the exact conditions that you encounter, but there are other techniques you can use if the circumstances require. The most useful is probably the fact that, after you have secured the spring line, you can put the motor in forward gear at idle, with the wheel turned hard to the left. The spring line will hold the boat from moving forward, and the prop wash will gently push the boat's stern to starboard, against the dock, and hold it there while you attach the other lines..  

I will go bow in to a slip starboard side to the finger. I have a bow, mid ship and stern line hanging on the life lines at mid ship. If there is some on the dock they are told to grab the lines and tie the midship to a corresponding dock clean then take the bow line forward to the cleat at the base of the fine and then the stern to the end of the finger. The bow and stern lines are brought to the mid ship cleat and tied off. I will likely do a port bow line to the dock forward of the bow. If I go stern to I will have a big fender hanging below the stern boarding ladder to protect the bottom of the transom as this will likely go up against the dock. A crew on dock grab the lines from mid ship. Jumps to dock and makes up the lines A crew on the dock grabs the lines from mid ship and makes up the lines. I will reverse to stop forward motion. I then re set the lines properly.  

nicholas.tripp said: Here's my setup, not so new to sailing but new to bigger to me and docking I can usually get a hold of marina hands to assist but even with their assist (although totally self sufficient would be best) would love to hear some thoughts on best ways to approach. The port aft piling I'm most unfamiliar. I think if I left the line on that hook might be able to grab it on the way in and cleet it on the boat? Click to expand...

• The Beneteau 331 backs and fills quite well and can be spun in its own length clockwise.
• (Once you learn how to do it) the 331 is actually more maneuverable in reverse than forward.
• Backing in allows you to grab the bow line and spring line while still in the cockpit. You can attach the spring line as you pass the piling and then walk forward with the bow line after that. The spring line will keep you from hitting the dock with your transom, and the pulling on the bow line then cleating it will prevent the bow from spinning towards the finger, and the stern from swinging away from the finger.
• If in doubt and need to bail out, forward thrust will stop the boat faster than reverse.
• Being able to cross the transom with the stern lines allows the boat to rise and fall a greater distance with the tide and lowers the force will increasing the stretch in the stern lines. This is especially helpful on boats with wide transoms like yours and mine.

Jeff_H said: You don't say where you are sailing which can my influence this due to the size of the tidal range. That said, if that was my slip and I was coming and going single-handed (which I do all the time), I would: 1) Back into the slip rather than go bow in. 2) I would have my spring lines on the opposite side of the boat from the finger of the dock (one less tripping hazard). 3) Since this is your permanent slip. I would have the spliced eye ends of the dock lines on the boat end of the line so you can quickly drop the eye on a cleat and not have to guess the length and tie a knot. [I would tie a clove hitch (with a double half hitch locker) on the pilings to reduce chafe.] 4) I would add hooks on any piling with a line tied to it to hang my dock lines. (The hooks should be on the front and backs of the pilings so that they do not hang into the slip or the fairway.) 5) I would get a boat hook that is easy to store in (or near) the cockpit. 6) I would do as Tempest suggests and add a line between the pilings away from the dock to keep from interlocking with the middle piling. I suggest backing in for a variety of reasons. The Beneteau 331 backs and fills quite well and can be spun in its own length clockwise. (Once you learn how to do it) the 331 is actually more maneuverable in reverse than forward. Backing in allows you to grab the bow line and spring line while still in the cockpit. You can attach the spring line as you pass the piling and then walk forward with the bow line after that. The spring line will keep you from hitting the dock with your transom, and the pulling on the bow line then cleating it will prevent the bow from spinning towards the finger, and the stern from swinging away from the finger. If in doubt and need to bail out, forward thrust will stop the boat faster than reverse. Being able to cross the transom with the stern lines allows the boat to rise and fall a greater distance with the tide and lowers the force will increasing the stretch in the stern lines. This is especially helpful on boats with wide transoms like yours and mine. For what it is worth, I have a very similar slip configuration to yours and personally (and with all due respect to my esteemed colleague) I love having pilings. They are much easier to tie reliable sturdy, chafe resistant knots on, and hang lines at a height at which you can retrieve them. View attachment 148581 You might also check out this earlier discussion: Good Discussion! - Docking Single Handed using 1 line method You might practice a bit to learn more about how the boat behaves. I typically will see how a boat operates in reverse and how it backs and fills near some marker so I begin to understand what I can and can't get away with. Once you felt comfortable with that you might try a few landings with someone on board as a 'safety' until you get to a point where you are more at ease with the choreography. While off topic, while tying up in an area with a reasonably big tidal range but not extreme (2-3 feet), I like to tie my docklines at different heights on the pilings with lines on one side of the boat as high on the piling as possible and the other side roughly at deck level at a normal low tide, That way, as the boat rises and falls, one side tightens and the other loosens so that there is always a little slack in the lines. Lastly, don't worry, you will figure this out. At some point you will wonder why it seemed so hard at first. We all go through this every time we operate a bigger boat than we are used to. Jeff Click to expand...

I think Jeff mentioned it. But once you get your lines where you want them and adjusted properly, they stay there, unless you leave for an extended trip. So if there's anyone on the dock to help you, they are handing you your already preset lines with the loop end. Of course, it never hurts to have a spring line ready, but otherwise your lines stay there. If you go visit another marina etc. you carry a spare set of docklines.  

I should be in 3-mile harbor next week making a delivery. (if it's ready) I'll look for your boat.  

Sailormon6 said: If you're going to singlehand your boat, you have no alternative - you must learn to dock without help. You can't rely on someone being there to help you. Over the years I've become proficient at boat handling, and totally self-sufficient, but there are occasions when the conditions are too rough to try docking and you have to recognize your limitations. On those rare occasions, I'll anchor somewhere and wait for the conditions to abate. The last time it happened, a localized storm blew over just as I reached my marina, and I anchored for an hour before the storm abated. You might also exercise judgment before leaving the dock in severe conditions. While I was anchored outside the channel leading into the marina, I saw a sailboat try to leave the marina. It was blown onto the rocky jetty. If he had waited an hour, he'd have been fine. Click to expand...

I'd be more tempted to go in bow first and have my springs dockside. All your lines should be available for you to grab easily, with a boat hook, if necessary. Grab your spring off the dock as you creep into the slip and make it fast to the boat. Then put the engine in forward and turn the helm away from the dock, and apply as much power as is necessary to keep the boat sucked up against a dock, or in your case the piling. You may need two springs from the same place to account for the tide, using whichever one is necessary to keep from hitting the bow on the dock ahead. This method should allow you to stroll about the boat or the dock, to get the rest of your lines secure, easing the throttle as necessary. This worked extremely well for me when I was single handing Skipping Stone. Personally, I have a real aversion allowing anyone I don't know to hand my lines as I enter or leave a dock. If you want to find dummies, that's how you find them quickly, in my experience. As for hating pilings, there is a very simple way to solve that problem. Get a couple of 2x4s around 4' long. Drill two holes, going 4' through the wood. If you are using 1/2" line, make the holes slightly larger. Pass a 6' or so line down through the hole and tie a figure 8 knot. Attach the lines on the boat where the pilings would sit against the boat at mid tide and drop a couple of good quality tube fenders about 8" from the ends of your new fender boards, to keep the boards away from your hull. Replace the wood as necessary, which shouldn't be often unless you have a lot of surge in your slip. I have a beautiful varnished teak set with SS half rounds on them to protect the fender boards from the pilings. I've had that set to protect a number of boats I've owned. Sadly, I searched online for a couple of the nice teak ones for a friend, but they don't seem to be available any more.  

If you're going to singlehand your boat, you have no alternative - you must learn to dock without help. You can't rely on someone being there to help you. Over the years I've become proficient at boat handling, and totally self-sufficient, but there are occasions when the conditions are too rough to try docking and you have to recognize your limitations. On those rare occasions, I'll anchor somewhere and wait for the conditions to abate. The last time it happened, a localized storm blew over just as I reached my marina, and I anchored for an hour before the storm abated. You might also exercise judgment before leaving the dock in severe conditions. While I was anchored outside the channel leading into the marina, I saw a sailboat try to leave the marina. It was blown onto the rocky jetty. If he had waited an hour, he'd have been fine.  

My own boat steers like a pig, at low speeds. It was designed to have two props but a prior owner removed one and the shape of the hull means zero prop walk. You simply cannot steer at slow speed. I don't even try to steer into a slip. I simply come alongside the end of the pier, step off with a pair of long lines leading fore and aft, then warp her in. So long as I always have at least one line cleated, I'll eventually get her in.  

I would use a stern bridle, throw it over the stern piling, pull it tight in neutral then put the boat in forward to pull it against the other pilings, and do whatever you want with the other lines at your leisure. While it's tempting to preset all your lines since it's your home slip (or is it) it won't teach you anything for the times you aren't in familiar circumstances. I hate pilings too, but most of the Great Lakes marinas have them. I carry a 36" pair of these for those pesky things. Easystow Fenders  

I have a set-up that makes it easy to singlehand in and out of my home slip, which is very similar to your slip. I ran a loop of line frward from the piling amidships on the port side, through a hole-in-the-middle fender, and then back to the piling amidships on the starboard side. I ran a second loop of line from the cleat on the main pier that is to the port side of the bow, through the same fender, and back to the pier cleat on the starboard side of the bow. I adjusted the length of the two loops to position the fender just below deck height, and just short of the point where the bow of the boat would hit the pier when I pull into the slip. (I also ran the lines from the mid-ship pilings through foam pool noodles, to protect the line from UV rays, and protect my topsides from chafe or stains where the lines touch the boat.) When I pull into the slip, I ease forward until the bow touches the fender, and then leave the engie idling in forward. The bow is held centered in the slip by the loop of line from the pilings, and by turning the rudder to one side or the other, I can swing the stern toward or away from the finger pier. With the boat firmly under control, I calmly walk around and pick up my bow, stern, and spring lines (which I leave attached to their respective pilings or dock cleats). Once the bow lines are cleated, I take the engine out of gear, and use the stern lines to pull the boat back more or less to the center of the slip, add the sping lines, and I'm done. The hardest part is judging when to put the engine in reverse on the way in, to get the boat to stop without hitting the fender too hard. But that comes with practice. Leaving the slip is just as easy. I uncleat the spring lines and stern lines, but hold the ends of the stern lines in my hand at the helm. With the engine idling in forward, I pay out slack in the stern lines to alliow the boat to ease forward against the fender. At that point, the boat is held steady while I put the coiled the stern lines and spring lines over the mid-ship pilings, and toss the bow lines onto the main pier. I shift from foward into reverse, give enough throttle to get the boat moving astern, and I'm on my way. I think a similar system would work in your slip, and you would never need help to get in or out.  

I kept our boat in a marina that had a crazy current. I wish we had pilings!!! The comment above about "good pinball" is dead on. We had a floating dock finger on one side and another boat on the other side with only a few feet between my boat and my neighbors. The final turn from base to final in the fairway was not for the faint of heart with the running tide...you were fully committed. I had to keep enough way on to maintain steering, so I was coming into the slip way faster than I was comfortable with. I would pre-rig a loop on the outer-most pile that I could snag as I passed by. I could then back down in reverse and let the prop walk pull me to the finger where I was held in place by my previously-captured loop. I have to confess that I always feared this evolution, but in time, it became second nature. The problem was that with the current, there was a period of time when the boat was without steering as I slowed it down. The good news is that I never pranged it, but it was tense. The other thing I would do if I had a crew on board was to brief everyone about what was going to happen inside the marina and to remind everyone to keep hands and feet out of danger while we were docking. Each person was assigned a task, and the rule on the boat was no talking unless to alert the helmsman to danger. If we were going to fail at docking, at least we would not be screaming at each other. LOL! It was spooky ghosting into the marina with nobody speaking...everyone celebrated a good arrival once the lines were in place. Everyone knows the boats in the marina that were a danger to all... It was fun to watch Captain Crunch yell at his crew when things took a bad turn...everyone at the marina knew who to keep an eye on.  

Make a Y with lines from the forward pilings to hold the bow and you can’t hit the dock with the bow. Pull in, crack a beer, grab other lines at leisure. Your starboard spring should be moved forward one piling. It almost looks like it’s tied to a stanchion which is a no no.  

OntarioTheLake said: Your starboard spring should be moved forward one piling. It almost looks like it’s tied to a stanchion which is a no no. Click to expand...

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