General docking question

I have a idea here hold my beer

Al said:

IMHO -Turn up the volume. Listen closely, thrusters are in play. A good twin screw operator can perform a wonderful demonstration, I doubt this boat is operating with just twins.

Click to expand...

I agree.
Twin screws and thrusters with very little wind. It would be a concern if he couldn't make it look good in those circumstances.

AusCan said:

I agree.
Twin screws and thrusters with very little wind. It would be a concern if he couldn't make it look good in those circumstances.

Click to expand...

It really wasn't a difficult docking although looked impressive. Had favorable conditions and a boat equipped for it. Now, there still are some who screw those up.

I could do that if i had a slip with docks on both sides. I do it all the time docking to my port side as I pull my outboard up about 200' away if not more when the lake is low. Rigging it to auto secure and tie is another story.

CDreamer said:

Undoubtedly twin screws but still...

Click to expand...

Sorry, I'm not impressed at all. I could do that with my single.

jleonard said:

Sorry, I'm not impressed at all. I could do that with my single.

Click to expand...

I was tempted to say that too, but didn't want to appear to be bragging!!

I will jump in too. With little wind and current, a single using a spring line would have tied up faster and been swilling a beer waiting for the twin to make it look pretty.

Wind or current more than minimal, all bets off...

In no wind/current conditions one can take their time and it's rarely an issue... even solo.

Al said:

I was tempted to say that too, but didn't want to appear to be bragging!!

Click to expand...

I just don't see that as a really tight spot unless I am missing something.

Getting back to the original issue, narrow fairways, we have that problem at our marina. It was built as a condominium marina, and the developer certainly did his best to fit in as many slips as possible. When we had our sailboat, we used a spring line that lived on the piling at the end of the slip to make the turn both leaving and returning. That worked very well as our sailboat had little torque and no thruster. Our current boat is a single with a thruster, so we don't need a spring, but we did use one last year when our thruster went out. We just tied off to the piling, put the boat in reverse at idle, and let her pivot around the piling until we were lined up. Dropped the spring and backed straight into our spot.

Back to the OP for a moment. If it's not within your personal comfort zone of something you are comfortable doing, then don't. Get another slip or wait for better conditions or go to a different marina. I know someone who didn't use their boat for four months because they were scared of getting out of and then back into their slip.

Cant change slips w/o paying a change fee, which is BS since they added the dock behind me w/o notice, but theres nothing I can do about it other than leave the marina after the annual lease is up.

I can dock it, its just a PITA compared to when we had a straight run into the slip.

Regarding a spring line, I have no piling to use. Just a floating dock finger on both sides, and neither side have a cleat. Cant add one either since its a concrete dock surface.

No piling or cleat? Did the dock installers miss that detail? Is that true of all the slips? How do you keep the boat from banging around in the slip?

Not all slips are setup this way. But when we had a straight shot in, I didnt mind much.
Midship and aft cleats (all the way into the slip).
So stern lines to opposite corner cleats, and midship to stern cleats.
Fenders or course.

Obviously no lines are stopping it from going further into the slip; just the fenders. Its not been much of an issue, just a worry.

Just the same, lease end will be a welcome time.

FutureLooper said:

Obviously no lines are stopping it from going further into the slip; just the fenders. Its not been much of an issue, just a worry.

Just the same, lease end will be a welcome time.

Click to expand...

I have never known a marina that wouldn't allow an existing slip holder to move to another empty slip during a lease period. In my mind, that's just someone too lazy to handle it. Sure, they'd have to adjust price and notify accounting and get a different lease signed. However, it's called customer service.

BandB said:

I have never known a marina that wouldn't allow an existing slip holder to move to another empty slip during a lease period. In my mind, that's just someone too lazy to handle it. Sure, they'd have to adjust price and notify accounting and get a different lease signed. However, it's called customer service.

Click to expand...

Except if the marina is fully booked like mine and marina must toss a monthly payer to favor an annual one

L

Any marina developer that doesn't have fairways at least 1.5 times the lengths of berths is due for ... criticism.

Lou_tribal said:

Except if the marina is fully booked like mine and marina must toss a monthly payer to favor an annual one

L

Click to expand...

Note that I said "empty slip."

I think if the slips are parallel the minimum is the beam of your boat and if perpendicular the LOA

markpierce said:

Any marina developer that doesn't have fairways at least 1.5 times the lengths of berths is due for ... criticism.

Click to expand...

Yes, but if people keep leasing slips, he really doesn't care.

A marina has a limited space to work within. Their goal is to maximize revenues within that space. Unfortunately, without regulations like Australia has, that leads to some lousy configurations. Also, without regulations that tempts them to put longer boats in the slips.

In the example I used earlier I mentioned a 113' boat in an 80' slip. That was at a marina charging $45 per month. $17,000 per year additional revenue is why they do it.

You see some marinas in our area packed beyond anything reasonable. Boats that can't get out unless another boat is moved.

BandB said:

Note that I said "empty slip."

Click to expand...

Indeed, my poor English reading skills made me skip this word

L

BandB said:

You see some marinas in our area packed beyond anything reasonable. Boats that can't get out unless another boat is moved.

View attachment 67986

Click to expand...

An absurd situation unless wants to permanently park/abandon their boat.

markpierce said:

An absurd situation unless wants to permanently park/abandon their boat.

Click to expand...

I would hope there is some sort of legality that could be applied against that marina along the lines of them preventing tenants from having ready access/use of their boat.

Lou_tribal said:

Indeed, my poor English reading skills made me skip this word

L

Click to expand...

I occasionally skip words and can't blame it on second language.

FutureLooper said:

I would hope there is some sort of legality that could be applied against that marina along the lines of them preventing tenants from having ready access/use of their boat.

Click to expand...

No, they help them all get out. They aren't a regular marina though, service, sales and other. Let me find a regular marina almost as bad.

Here's typical.

In the overhead photo,
it (almost) looks like with say, 15% fewer boats, they could all be reorganized to line up on just one side in each fairway. Leaving an open lane to get in and out. The largest yachts could be out at the ends.

Maybe I just like puzzles.

CDreamer said:

In the overhead photo,
it (almost) looks like with say, 15% fewer boats, they could all be reorganized to line up on just one side in each fairway. Leaving an open lane to get in and out. The largest yachts could be out at the ends.

Maybe I just like puzzles.

Click to expand...

No doubt with 15% fewer boats but their goal is more boats, not fewer.

I know. I just hate disorganization and even though it's not a normal marina it seems like it's unnecessarily inefficient.

The key is,

"As mentioned in a prior post, some days it's impossible."

Gethomeitis is dangerous.