A simple springline takes the heat out of docking
Issue 117: Nov/Dec 2017
Many boaters, power or sail, have a little trouble docking cleanly, sometimes made worse by a “helper” on the dock taking charge of a dockline passed ashore. I avoid this by using a springline that gives me control of where the bow is pointing and where the boat stops.
Before approaching the dock, I set up the springline amidships (just aft of amidships works best), not made fast to the cleat but led under it so the tail reaches all the way back to where I can control it from the cockpit — it needs to be quite a long line. The shore end has a bowline tied in it, and it helps if the loop is stiffened with tubing or garden hose.
As I slowly enter the slip, I drop the loop over the first piling (or bollard or cleat) when that is alongside the springline’s attachment point (diagram A). I then go back to the helm and slow the boat, while easing or holding the springline to assist as needed. Once I’ve made the springline fast at the cockpit, by putting the engine in idle forward, I can use the prop wash over the rudder to turn the bow or stern in whichever direction I need (diagram B) — it’s like treading water — while I (or my crew when I have one) attaches the rest of the docklines.
Dave and Abby Taylor have been sailing their Nonsuch 30, Whisper, since 1999. Whisper is pictured on the cover of Dave’s book, Live Rich on a Small Income, available at Amazon.com. They added the tail to their springline in 2007 to aid in crosswind landings and it works every time.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
