Most Important Dock Hand Skills & Traits

[menzies]

I guess we're kinda spoiled over here on the SE coast!

 

[castellah22]

always remember that having a boat is a hobby, so the staff have to make a nice friendly
felling to all its boating customers.

 

[ranger58sb]

Might as well go for a stern thruster as well, then who needs dock hands!

Excellent idea. Then I could add the whole Yacht Controller remote thing, too!



-Chris

 

[ranger58sb]

Base upon some bad experiences of hanging on a fender, I don’t launch fenders until I am inside the pilings.

Yeah, if it's piles, fenders can get hung up...

We usually put 'em all over early if it's a floating dock though.

This last time we added a big buoy fender up forward, too, movable from one side to the other, for when we might need to lay the forward part of the hull up against a floating dock...

-Chris

 

[psneeld]

Mostly true Chris....every now and then some marinas have pilings on the outside of the floaters just to keep us on our toes.

I have arrived at the point of not flipping the fenders over until ready to turn into the slip much of the time....heck, some marinas that I am really familiar with and conditions are nice, I dont even rig fenders any more.

 

[ranger58sb]

Mostly true Chris....every now and then some marinas have pilings on the outside of the floaters just to keep us on our toes.

I have arrived at the point of not flipping the fenders over until ready to turn into the slip much of the time....heck, some marinas that I am really familiar with and conditions are nice, I dont even rig fenders any more.

Heh... yeah, that's a thang, too.

And it does get easier when we've been someplace before and sorta-kinda know what to expect.

-Chris

 

[menzies]

Excellent idea. Then I could add the whole Yacht Controller remote thing, too!



-Chris

Then you could tender ahead into the marina and be your own dock hand - EZPZ!

 

[BandB]

Wifey B: I'll add one thing to teach dock hands as part of their training. Teach them the challenges different type boats may face, the difference between single and twins, with or without thrusters, the drafts of different size and type boats, how different boats are accessed. Teach them what boaters can and can't do in various conditions. Many deck hands are not boaters, haven't been on many boats if any, and don't understand the operation.

 

[menzies]

Wifey B: I'll add one thing to teach dock hands as part of their training. Teach them the challenges different type boats may face, the difference between single and twins, with or without thrusters, the drafts of different size and type boats, how different boats are accessed. Teach them what boaters can and can't do in various conditions. Many deck hands are not boaters, haven't been on many boats if any, and don't understand the operation.

Not sure that would help them that much - it's hard to see those differences in a boat that is approaching your marina just from looking at it.

 

[BandB]

Not sure that would help them that much - it's hard to see those differences in a boat that is approaching your marina just from looking at it.

Wifey B: You know what it is before it approaches. You don't have to identify by sight. They're reserved dockage for a certain boat.

 

[psneeld]

I have only rarely been asked about thrusters or twins when calling into a marina.

Usually I have to say whether a set of conditions will be challenging, especially if it might be tomorrow when leaving after a front has moved through and I am worried about being pinned in.

 

[menzies]

Wifey B: You know what it is before it approaches. You don't have to identify by sight. They're reserved dockage for a certain boat.

I have NEVER been asked if I have a single or twins, a thruster, or what my "access" was.

And I would certainly never expect a dock hand to look at an approaching boat and acertain that.

 

[rslifkin]

I've never been asked about that stuff either. Most just want length and beam and sometimes they'll ask if you have a preference for port or starboard tie.

 

[psneeld]

Usually power and draft are adked for, but not always..., some without asking will provide port/stbd tie.....

The other thing you have to ask for if not easy to tell from aerial view is finger pier length.

 

[BandB]

Wifey B: When cruising, we get far more side tie than slips. We make a point to let them know when approaching and let them know details and discuss where we'll be docking. We've refused their initial assignment and once were turning around to leave when they changed their mind and listened. It was sad that we knew the depth just off their dock on the side and they didn't. Afterward, we made them get in our Rib with us and take a long pole and measure. It was 4' just as we had said and with a 5' draft wouldn't have been good. We'd actually read a warning on AC from someone who docked there in the mud so we used sonar to check ourselves.

 

[rslifkin]

If I know a side tie is an option when traveling, I'll typically request it. Usually it gives a slip with a better breeze and it's also easier to make an approach with wind and somewhat unknown current onto a side tie. Plus if we don't have any dock hands assisting, it's an easier approach than coming into a narrow slip with no lines pre-set.

 

[menzies]

Do you guys mean a t-head tie?

Isn't everything a side tie?

 

[BandB]

Do you guys mean a t-head tie?

Isn't everything a side tie?

T-head would qualify, but largely talking about long side tie transient docks. I refer to side tie as something where you only have a dock on one side, as opposed to a slip.

 

[rslifkin]

T-head would qualify, but largely talking about long side tie transient docks. I refer to side tie as something where you only have a dock on one side, as opposed to a slip.

That's my definition as well. Anything where it's a dock on one side and open water on the other side (t-head, long wall, etc.) is a side tie.