Still having troubles getting into my slip

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by South of Heaven

My only concern now is that I have to run my shore power cord a lot farther.....Not the end of the world I guess.

Maybe get another cord, run it from the dock pedestal to near where your stern ends up... then just connect/disconnect to that cord, near the stern. IOW, leave that new one on the dock when you go out...

-Chris

[dhays]

Originally Posted by South of Heaven

Yes, bow in is definitely allowed here. We have lots of sailboats here also so I don't know how the marina could even enforce a rule like that (since they are all bow in).


My only concern now is that I have to run my shore power cord a lot farther.....Not the end of the world I guess.

This was a problem for me with my 40’ sailboat. Bow was all that was practically possible, yet I couldn’t reach the power pedestal with a 50’ cord.

I used another 50’ cord to reach. I had some plastic boarding stairs and I had the junction under the stairs to keep it out of the weather. Not really an issue as I made sure the ring connectors were tight and used diametric grease on the connections and silicone grease on the ring connectors. Those cords stayed on the dock so I never had to disconnect them.

[psneeld]

Hard to imagine why a marina cares which way you dock.


As long as you don't overhang or stickout the slip, ??????


I know marinas with bulkhead slips that warn you, maybe actually enforce bow in due to shallow water... but in this case they have a good reason.


Strange.....

[siestakey]

Originally Posted by South of Heaven

Dan, I have one! Installed a 2 camera system this spring. One faces the transom (wide viewing angle) and the other one is on the bridge facing the passengers (aft).

Attachment 77240

Looks great and great job trying Bow in.

As Bband said you may find marinas that require stern in. We actually found one in Panama that required bow in

[OldDan1943]

Originally Posted by siestakey

Looks great and great job trying Bow in.

As Bband said you may find marinas that require stern in. We actually found one in Panama that required bow in

While stern-in seems to be ideal for making friends on the dock, when leaving leaving, over time, the prop wash will damage the sea-wall footings.

[BandB]

Originally Posted by psneeld

Hard to imagine why a marina cares which way you dock.


As long as you don't overhang or stickout the slip, ??????


I know marinas with bulkhead slips that warn you, maybe actually enforce bow in due to shallow water... but in this case they have a good reason.


Strange.....

Bow in you will often stick out beyond the slip and block part of the walkway. Stern in, you don't.

[BandB]

Originally Posted by siestakey

Looks great and great job trying Bow in.

As Bband said you may find marinas that require stern in. We actually found one in Panama that required bow in

Some require bow in because of water depth.

[psneeld]

Originally Posted by BandB

Bow in you will often stick out beyond the slip and block part of the walkway. Stern in, you don't.

Only if the marina doesnt tell you to move back.... and many marinas dont mind a little overhang if it keeps you inside the slip but not overhanging past the piwer posts and dock boxes.

Boats with dingies on dingly davits like mine could actually overhang the walkway more stern in.

[BandB]

Originally Posted by psneeld

Only if the marina doesnt tell you to move back.... and many marinas dont mind a little overhang if it keeps you inside the slip but not overhanging past the piwer posts and dock boxes.

Boats with dingies on dingly davits like mine could actually overhang the walkway more stern in.

Very true. Your question though was why some marinas require stern in and I was expressing those reasons. Most marinas are bi and allow either way.

I can't remember which one but we were at one marina on the TN River that was largely bow in and they had dock carts available but you couldn't use them on most of the dock because so many bows overhanging. The anchors and pulpits I thought posed a real danger to kids. I call that just poor marina management though.

[RPH]

I too have a Camno Troll and I have developed a system for backing out of my slip that works very well for me.

I tie up my boat with spring lines running fore and aft from the midship cleat. I have a bow line, and a stern line running from a cleat located just below the cockpit door.

When I am preparing to depart, I attach a "Stretch n' Slide" bungee dock line (Greenfield Products) to my midship cleat and a dock cleat that is conveniently located just below. That bungee dock line is looped through the dock cleat so that the line will remain on the dock when I cast off. Then, I loop a "Dock Budddy" bungee dock line (also from Greenfield Products) through my stern cleat on the gunnel and stretch the other loop over the aft-most horn on the dock cleat closest to the end of the dock finger.

When I have the bungee lines secured, I can remove all my dock lines and the boat will stay in place next to the finger. I then move to the inside helm. If necessary, I apply a little bow thruster to keep the boat parallel to the finger. When everything us lined up, I reach through the window next to the inside helm and wrestle the "Stretch n' Slide" off the midship cleat. I apply reverse, and the "Dock Buddy" attached to the aft cleat will keep the stern lined up until the loop simply falls off the horn. I will then use reverse, neutral and bow thruster to gently back out in a controlled manner. The "Dock Buddy" remains attached to the stern cleat and can simply be flipped into the cockpit when fenders are retrieved.

I should also mention that I keep both spring lines attached to the midship cleat. One is secured against the aft cleat and the other is looped onto a Schaefer Handi-Hanger in the cockpit. When I return to my slip, I free the looped line and step off onto the dock where I can control the boat using that midship line. The other spring line, which is also attached to the midship cleat and secured against the aft cleat, provides a useful way to manhandle the aft end of the boat. Once I have my midship spring line temporarily tied to the dock cleat just below, I can walk aft (grabbing on to the other "fixed" spring line running along the gunnel, and then use the "Dock Buddy" to temporarily secure the aft end to the dock. When that's in place, I'll secure the "Stretch n' Slide" to the midship cleat and I am now able to tie up properly at my liesure.

I'm certainly no expert, but this has worked well for me. Remember to run your fender lines under the sping lines secured along the gunnel when you are returning so that they do not foul your dock lines!

[Mrwesson]

Ask your marina to move you to a better spot(unless you bought it) or I know this sounds crazy but i'd find another marina/spot.

Cheapest solution IMO.


Past that I'd go bow in.. I've been thinking about doing that anyway.. My MK1 Mainship is waiting for a diver because I backed down on someone's old dock line and I hate dock walking looky lou's always trying to chat when i'm working on stuff.

Also would be easier to just tow the dink and backing down with it tied off is a b-word.

[Capt Richard A.]

Boy I wish I had these seamen and sea women around when I was new in 1995.

This may sound crazy, but I would start from scratch. Go out on a calm day, where there is a piling. Plenty of room. 20 times on each side min. Don't count the goff ups.

Make sure you know where the center of your wheel is. Turning all the way left then all the way right. then on center wheel . Now back slowly but with some power beside this post. (not into the post) then forward. then again and again. Both sides of the post.

As far as the thruster goes, don't touch it, until you can back. When a person is learning sometimes grabbing one control to make a correction in a pinch just confuses the situation.
I have a single screw 50'. Then at work I have 2 screws on a 80'er with 150 passengers.
No thrusters
Empty, us 20 captains had to back out of the marina and back in. Then one engine was turned off on the left then the right. Of 20 captains only 8 of us made it. But with passengers you better know what to do.

I think a thruster is a "great" Item to have, But if you can't back in without them, you need more practice on the piling. ( I know that on windy and strong current days a thruster is very helpful ).
All vessels must have some power for control, I would never float a vessel anyware.

( actually we call thrusters "cheaters" A new or old captain can get a false security with this tool. If your out and coming in and the thruster doesn't work, then what?)
So, good boating to you and all the good seaman out there.