How to Escape My Slip ?!-gctid363682

[Guest]

Hello everyone It is a raw & rainy Sunday and I'm bored. So besides cooking and rock n rolling here today I am wondering about a tricky little problem I have at my slip.I am often pinned up against the dock and I need to make a left (that's a turn to port for you aficionados) to get into open water. Making this a little more challenging is the fact that I'm kinda close to shore too - maybe 150'.I try to quickly push the bow away and then hop in and GO. But this is a little shaky and the boat is really a lot for me to man-handle. Add the fear of 'missing my own boat' as it drifts away, unattended. And I have this crazy fear, phobia really, of falling into my slip and being crushed by the boat. Anyway...Below is a cheesy little diagram showing my situation. Last year I requested no neighbor and was lucky enuff to not have one. If lucky enuff again, I was wondering if I could do something with a rope (ahem, a line) from port bow to the other side,,,,,but I see me getting a fouled prop. Don't forget that I am often alone.So besides renting a friend, is there a good way to get off this dock when the winds are not co-operating? Thank you for any ideas!Sarah Oh, and a Rep point for the best answer!Just Kidding! Totally being a wise-guy here.........

[img]/media/kunena/attachments/vb/666702=25667-Marina.jpg[/img]

[The_Other_Gary]

Sarah, if you have the whole slip to yourself, is there any reason that cannot move to the other finger?

I assume you are also slipped stern in, is there any reason why you cannot slip bow in?

Reversing a boat out of a slip adds the natural tendency for a boat to reverse directly into the wind.

If you slip stern in concider hanging an extra large fender off the starboard stern quarter.

Cast off all lines except the stern line, add some reverse, gently, with midship rudder and the bow will come off the finger.

Now cast off the stern line and go.

[706jim]

If you want to avoid extra lines to pull yourself sideways (probably a good idea to avoid them), I would go about it this way:

Push the boat sideways as much as possible then jump into the boat. Keep your bumpers out.

Drive forward agressively and then turn RIGHT. As soon as you are clear of the dock, reverse your engine and turn left with the drive still in reverse. This will pull the stern away from the dock.

If there is room, you can now do a 360 degree turn to the right and you will be clear of the docks.

Obviously, I cannot know for sure if there is physical space for this manoever without seeing a photograph, but it is worth a try.

FWIW, on our 246 (similar to your boat), we keep a 1/4" nylon line attached to the bottom of the front bumper. This enables me to pull this up once underway without having to leave the helm.

One last thought: I regularly use a CENTER cleated line to pull the boat into the dock when it is windy. This prevents the bow or stern from windmilling away from the dock.

[Guest]

As a fellow 242 owner I'm well aware of our boats large wind profile. My only suggesting is to carefully work the throttle sometimes giving it bumps above idle rpm to maintain control. And yes I hate that feeling of drifting in to obstacle in close quarters. Just remember, if you find yourself in situation when momentum and wind is pushing you toward something, there is always a reverse. Also our boars are easier to steer in reverse, as bow tends to follow the stern at slow speeds instead of wondering when in forward gear.

Sometimes you need to give throttle a controlled bump with a correct helm deflection to maneuver your boat, otherwise wind and current will push you around. By bump I mean momentarily increase RPM to 1200 or so. When wind is pushing me towards docks, I untie then push off the stern and bump throttle in to reverse, the momentum will carry you out past the slip, that's when you execute 3 point turn of sorts with in boats radius.

[Guest]

How about one or more of the Taylor dock wheels? Just keep rollin', rollin' rollin' 'till the boat is clear, followed by normal handling in the channel.

My slip finger has one of these at the far corner and it has saved my butt more than once.

[Patrevan]

Sarah - Your thread boils down to a more basic 'problem' for me. I've been a cop for probably too long and if there has been one observation I have made over these many years is folk's increasingly becoming so self-reliant. For the life of me, I don't understand why, with the ever-growing means of communication that is at our disposal, that folks are becoming so ambivalent about asking for the smallest of favors, thereby increasing our isolation and collective loneliness. Not to mention it increases our collective vulnerability. My simplest response to you would be to simply ask someone for help, whether you are coming or going. So far,the boating community appears pretty tight and I suspect you wouldn't have to ask twice. Enough for my small rant.

If you are committed to doing this alone, I might suggest the following:

-if there is insignificant wind (not a factor), use your hook/push pole to muscle your way into and out of your slip. If this proves physically impossible, refer to my rant above.

If there is signficant wind:

-have your boat throughly prepped prior to getting underway, which includes a warmed motor

-deploy ample fenders

-have your last line readily accessible for release as close to the helm as possible. In the situation you describe, (with the wind coming from the 10 o'clock position), that's going to be port side, mid-ships cleat, such that you release this line and throw it to the dock.

I think for many of us, this is risky business. Refer to my rant above.

[Guest]

Patrevan - you are correct, and I do agree. For some reason my marina neighbors don't seem to pitch in as I've seen at others. Maybe because we are not really tightly packed? I am not sure. I will go over when I see someone coming or going but am in the minority. I generally shy away from asking cuz it is mostly men and I tend to avoid contact. But that's my hangup.

The marina won't let us install wheels and such and in fact flipped out last year when I installed swimming noodles wrapped in carpet and nailed it to their dock. ops Bummer, but told 'em they were lucky I wasn't making a big deal out of the fact that the sorry dock condition caused a few injuries to me last year. (yes, I get hurt there too ) When you weigh 120'something and fall thru the rotted boards on a dock, they're in pretty sad shape!

Some really good ideas there and now I have some strategies to try.

Oh, I back in cuz that's the only practical way in & outta the boat. And those finger docks are impossible to walk on in any kind of wind/wave combo - they bounce all over the place and are really difficult walking.

Anyway, I now have ideas worth trying,,,,thank you soooo much

Sarah

[simo]

Hi Sarah,

I'm not sure if you're a good dancer, but a pirouette may do the trick!

First and foremost (you're probably already doing this), a life jacket when shoving off solo.

Give the bow a good shove if there's room. Stern gets shoved off when you aggressively step on. Pull forward and as soon as you're clear of anything on your left, begin a sharp turn clockwise so that your bow is pointing towards the shore. If the wind is pushing you back toward your docks, spin more than 90 degrees so your stern is starting to face the "more boats." Begin to back away from the shore. The wind will begin to bring your bow around back toward your docks and help you complete your spin. Reverse and forward with aggressive spinning of the steering wheel will help you spin the remaining 180 degrees to be able to motor out in forward gear. If the wind is blowing you back into your slip, a spin to right will give you more control. If the wind is blowing you away from your docks, then spin to the left.

Practice this spinning move out in open water using a floating fender as a proxy for whatever it is you don't want to hit.

Finally, you do the Hokey-pokey and that's what it's all about!!!

[Guest]

Hey Sarah. Yes turning to port with a good strong braodside wind can be troublesome for anyone. All above suggestions are good, but I'd reiterate trying to back out for aways then turn around. Besides that you can get a bow thruster I know, I know. Costly.

[Guest]

LazyCrusr wrote:
The marina won't let us install wheels and such and in fact flipped out last year when I installed swimming noodles wrapped in carpet and nailed it to their dock. Bummer, but told 'em they were lucky I wasn't making a big deal out of the fact that the sorry dock condition caused a few injuries to me last year. (yes, I get hurt there too) When you weigh 120' something and fall thru the rotted boards on a dock, they're in pretty sad shape!

My marina has new concrete floating docks. (How does concrete float?) They are really nice. The marina is really nice.

They permit wheels to be attached to their docks.

They already line the boards surrounding the floating concrete w/ the http://www.boatcovers.cc/cgi-bin/cat...pe Dock Edging.

There is an old Chinese proverb: "It is better to ask forgiveness than permission". I've used that more than once. That might be applied here...

[Guest]

wingless wrote:
There is an old Chinese proverb: "It is better to ask forgiveness than permission". I've used that more than once. That might be applied here...

Plus, there is no chance that I will ever: "get thee to a nunnery", so I have no compunction about going against the grain when required.

[Guest]

wingless wrote:
Plus, there is no chance that I will ever: "get thee to a nunnery", so I have no compunction about going against the grain when required.

Hah - Me either!

I was born breach and as my dad says: that is a very fitting way for me to have entered the world,,,fits my personality to a T

(poor mom)

[captharv]

Take a line (rope for non-boaters) from the center cleat of the other dock to starboard, Take it around the midship cleat on you port (left) side.

When all other docklines are in, pill the line until the boat is almost up against the other dock. Them throw the line onto the other dock and motor out.....or

With the line around a cleat at the end of the other dock, take a turn around the midship cleat aboard the boat. With the rudder centered, bump the engine in and out of gear.

This will make the boat pirouette around the cleat on the dock and wind up pointed toward the marina entrance.

The above should be rehearsed in good weather. Reheasals in bad weather usually will bring a crown.

Else: tip the marina staff when they help you. "Greases" them for next time.

[Guest]

Tell your neighbors you have two green thingys and they should help

[Guest]

When you install your Wanderfin I think you will be pleasently suprised at the control you will now have.

I always leave my slip slowly (fwd-neutral-fwd-neutral etc) but constantly using the outdrive to steer the

boat like a rudder on a sailboat. Once out of the slip I would turn the outdrive to the direction desired

and give it a little fwd-neutral-line it up and go. As another member suggested, use floats as a make believe

slip in open water and practice-practice. I bet you can master it in a day or two. Then you will get 3 green thingys.

John