Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 07-17-2015, 08:42 AM   #1
Dauntless Award
 
Wxx3's Avatar
 
City: Wrangell, Alaska
Vessel Name: Dauntless
Vessel Model: Kadey Krogen 42 - 148
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,820
Docking, what would you have done?

So here is the situation.

I get to the marina in Gdansk, late, 20:00 but it’s still light.

As you can see from the picture, (in the following post) the wall on the right side was relatively free, though at the time there was as small boat just ahead of Dauntless and there was a larger, 42’ sailboat just aft of Dauntless.

I had decided for reasons at this point which are not clear to that I wanted the boat to be facing outward.

This would necessitate a “U” turn.

I decided to make the turn to the left at the far end, between the bridge and the sailboat at the end of the dock on the right.

I got the boat turned, albeit with a few anxious moments.

In hindsight, I wondered why I did not make the turn where D is tied now. It would have given me more space and would not have the bridge looking at my stern (I got within 3 ft. of it, according to my spotter.

Or, why not just tie up on the stb side facing the bridge??

Two caveats:

The winds were light and variable and only a minor current, if any.
Bow thruster In-op.

I curious to hear what you would have done?

And the reason I am asking is that of the three choices I think I had, I feel I may have picked the worst one.
__________________
Richard on Dauntless,
New York

a Kadey Krogen 42 currently: https://share.garmin.com/dauntless
Blog:
https://dauntlessatsea.com
Wxx3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2015, 09:09 AM   #2
Dauntless Award
 
Wxx3's Avatar
 
City: Wrangell, Alaska
Vessel Name: Dauntless
Vessel Model: Kadey Krogen 42 - 148
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,820
Click image for larger version

Name:	ForumRunner_20150717_160703.jpg
Views:	254
Size:	71.2 KB
ID:	42191



Click image for larger version

Name:	ForumRunner_20150717_160703.jpg
Views:	254
Size:	71.2 KB
ID:	42191
__________________
Richard on Dauntless,
New York

a Kadey Krogen 42 currently: https://share.garmin.com/dauntless
Blog:
https://dauntlessatsea.com
Wxx3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2015, 09:13 AM   #3
Dauntless Award
 
Wxx3's Avatar
 
City: Wrangell, Alaska
Vessel Name: Dauntless
Vessel Model: Kadey Krogen 42 - 148
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,820
Click image for larger version

Name:	ForumRunner_20150717_161250.jpg
Views:	326
Size:	80.0 KB
ID:	42193



Click image for larger version

Name:	ForumRunner_20150717_161016.jpg
Views:	354
Size:	79.7 KB
ID:	42192
__________________
Richard on Dauntless,
New York

a Kadey Krogen 42 currently: https://share.garmin.com/dauntless
Blog:
https://dauntlessatsea.com
Wxx3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2015, 09:23 AM   #4
Guru
 
alormaria's Avatar
 
City: Trenton
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,522
You made it across the friggin' ocean. You can dock anyway you want.
__________________
Al Johnson
34' Marine Trader
"Angelina"
alormaria is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2015, 09:24 AM   #5
Guru
 
Codger2's Avatar
 
City: San Diego
Vessel Name: Circuit Breaker
Vessel Model: 2021..22' Duffy Cuddy cabin
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 6,691
Quote:
Originally Posted by alormaria View Post
You made it across the friggin' ocean. You can dock anyway you want.
__________________
Done with diesel power boats! Have fallen in love with all electric!
Codger2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2015, 10:00 AM   #6
Guru
 
cardude01's Avatar
 
City: Victoria TX
Vessel Name: Bijou
Vessel Model: 2008 Island Packet PY/SP
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 5,290
Quote:
Originally Posted by alormaria View Post
You made it across the friggin' ocean. You can dock anyway you want.
My thoughts exactly.

Is there a burgee that announces, "I've made it across the friggin ocean"?
cardude01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2015, 10:26 AM   #7
Guru
 
hollywood8118's Avatar
 
City: Port Townsend Washington
Vessel Name: " OTTER "
Vessel Model: Ocean Alexander Europa 40
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,378
Quote:
Originally Posted by cardude01 View Post
My thoughts exactly.

Is there a burgee that announces, "I've made it across the friggin ocean"?
He already has one..its those stars and stripes on the staff off the stern.
Hollywood
hollywood8118 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2015, 10:29 AM   #8
Guru
 
AusCan's Avatar
 
City: Adelaide
Vessel Name: Kokanee
Vessel Model: Cuddles 30 Pilot House Motor Sailer
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 3,218
If everyone survived, you made the right choice.

I'm guess your boat turns tighter to port. That would have put me off turning where you are now. You'd have to reverse towards the boats which have a lot of sticky out bits, making it harder to judge.

Tieing up facing the bridge would've been the easy option, but anyone can do that.

You did what most real men would do.
AusCan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2015, 11:37 AM   #9
Guru
 
Xsbank's Avatar
 
City: Pender Harbour, BC
Vessel Name: Gwaii Haanas
Vessel Model: Custom Aluminum 52
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 3,791
I'm not sure it mattered, no damage, no injuries, not even any damaged pride. Chalk it up as a learning experience. Besides, if you don't like where you ended up, move?

"Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing."
"Any landing that you can use the plane again is a great landing."

Also, kudos that you can operate the boat without the bow thruster. As you found out, they seem to fail a lot and then the operator (not you) discovers that he doesn't know how to operate a single without it.

Gdansk? I'm gobsmacked....
__________________
Don't believe everything that you think.
Xsbank is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2015, 11:45 AM   #10
Guru
 
O C Diver's Avatar
 
City: Fort Myers, FL... Summers in the Great Lakes
Vessel Name: Slow Hand
Vessel Model: Cherubini Independence 45
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 12,834
First, I agree with your assessment to turn around immediately to point the bow in the direction of departure. The risk of more boats later making it more difficult would motivate me to do it now when it's more manageable.

I would have done it where you are now docked if there were no other boats near you on the bulkhead. Simply, if I'm going to damage a boat in the process of turning mine around, I want it to be my boat. The bulkhead will have to fend for itself.

Ted
__________________
Blog: mvslowhand.com
I'm tired of fast moves, I've got a slow groove, on my mind.....
I want to spend some time, Not come and go in a heated rush.....
"Slow Hand" by The Pointer Sisters
O C Diver is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2015, 11:50 AM   #11
Scraping Paint
 
City: -
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 13,745
Based on your photos it looks like you had plenty of room to turn your boat no matter where you chose in the channel. As wind and current were not much of a factor it looks to me like what you elected to do was just fine. If you're not being blown or pushed around, the room you need to turn a boat is the length of the boat plus a bit of back and fill room. A bow thruster would have probably sped the prolcess up a bit but it's not necessary to make the maneuverr as you found out.

It's easy to second-guess a different course of action once you've done whatever you've done. But the fact you apparently executed the maneuver just fine means that now that is experience that has been filed away in your mind that you can draw on the next time you encounter a similar situation.

So from where I sit and based on your photos and description you did just fine. The boat ended up where you wanted it and the turn was executed with no bad repercussions. I suspect if I'd been standing on the pier watching you do it I would have simply thought there's a fellow who wants his port side against the pier so he's turning his boat around to do that.

Bottom line: good job.

PS-- Wanting to end up with your bow pointing in the direction of departure is a smart decision. I learned ages ago when I started flying floatplanes that very often it's more important to figure out how you're going to leave a dock or beach than how you're going to get onto it. We do the same thing with our boats.

For us, with a twin, we very often prefer to position ourselves so we can back down a tight channel rather than go down bow first. Backing with a twin (assuming no adverse wind or current) is like driving a car and we've found that we often can guide the boat more accurately through tight spots with the props pulling rather than pushing.
Marin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2015, 03:18 PM   #12
Guru
 
Capt.Bill11's Avatar
 
City: Sarasota/Ft. Lauderdale
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 5,438
"

In hindsight, I wondered why I did not make the turn where D is tied now. It would have given me more space and would not have the bridge looking at my stern (I got within 3 ft. of it, according to my spotter.

Or, why not just tie up on the stb side facing the bridge??"

Personally, I think I would have done one or the other.

And FWIW, in that situation in Germany I would have just sprung the stern out with a spring line leading to a point on the dock about midships or a bit aft from your port bow cleat. Then hang some fenders down between the pivot point on the dock and your hull. No need to run it across the bow to the Stbd bow cleat and no need to pass a stern line over to the vessel across from you so they could pull your stern over.

If your bow thruster is acting up you need to get very familiar with how to properly spring your boat around, in and out out places.

Plus get used to using lots of throttle when need be to make the boat jump to turn quicker and tighter.
Capt.Bill11 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2015, 10:07 PM   #13
Guru
 
TDunn's Avatar
 
City: Maine Coast
Vessel Name: Tortuga
Vessel Model: Nunes Brothers Raised Deck Cruiser
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 889
Plenty of room to turn there. You should be able to turn the boat in not much more than a boat length.
TDunn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2015, 11:23 PM   #14
Guru
 
Wayfarer's Avatar
 
City: Beaufort, NC USA
Vessel Name: Sylphide
Vessel Model: Kingston Aluminum Yacht 44' Custom
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 2,228
How's Gdansk?? I really liked it there.
__________________
Dave
Just be nice to each other, dammit.
The Adventures of Sylphide
Wayfarer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2015, 05:41 AM   #15
FF
Guru
 
FF's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 22,553
"The winds were light and variable and only a minor current, if any."

Tie up, spin / position the boat with lines by hand.

No danger to anything. Warping, old technique.
FF is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2015, 05:41 AM   #16
Guru
 
ulysses's Avatar
 
City: Gulf Shores, Ala.
Vessel Name: Ulysses
Vessel Model: Romsdal 1963
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 878
Ulysses is a single Rt hand screw, given that, I always try to make turnarounds to Strb. rather than port. The prop walk in backing allows less space to turn in. Docking to a retaining wall can and does offer some often unexpected conditions. Wind which, like you said was minimal and variable will often change at the wall and my prop (4') will create a type of suction to the wall, similarly in locks. I try to use that to my advantage and anticipate it...of course that is when it does not work.
Looks beautiful there enjoy it.
ulysses is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-21-2015, 04:10 PM   #17
Guru
 
Fish53's Avatar
 
City: Rockport
Vessel Name: Ana
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 1,047
You could have laid against the wall and sprung it around if you were worried about backing and filling in a confined space.
Fish53 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-22-2015, 12:29 AM   #18
Senior Member
 
SaltyDawg86's Avatar
 
City: Carrollton, Va
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 458
Just remember, you only need an inch!
SaltyDawg86 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-22-2015, 06:02 AM   #19
Moderator Emeritus
 
Bay Pelican's Avatar
 
City: Chicago, IL
Vessel Name: Bay Pelican
Vessel Model: Krogen 42
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,993
Turn to port was called for with your left hand screw single engine. My choice would have been to make the pivot slightly up current of the widest point way before the bridge so that you would not drift into the bridge.

Had to do something similar once (Bay Pelican is a sister ship to Dautless) and used a large fender on the bow and actually put the bow against the wall to make the turn. Anchor was over the wall but the bow did not touch.
__________________
Marty
Bay Pelican is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-24-2015, 06:37 AM   #20
Guru
 
cappy208's Avatar
 
City: Cape Cod
Vessel Name: Slip Aweigh
Vessel Model: Prairie 29
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,219
Is your boat single, left handed? If so then you used the walk of the prop most usefully in a left hand turn back and fill maneuver.

The question of 'where' you did it is pretty much irrelevant. You accomplished the move. If you misjudged the available turning room, then you would have reason to second guess the outcome. But all is good as seen by pics.

Are all the yacht docks completely unprotected there? That looks more like a commercial bulkhead to me.
cappy208 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Trawler Port Captains
Port Captains are TF volunteers who can serve as local guides or assist with local arrangements and information. Search below to locate Port Captains near your destination. To learn more about this program read here: TF Port Captain Program





All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:05 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2006 - 2012