Can you skipper alone?-gctid815383

[Kimosammy]

I was finally able to get my wife aboard a 1990 4788.

With that, she has two-footitis, currently, we have a 36ft.

With the 36ft, I'm able to successfully skipper it by myself with no stress.

What are your thoughts about skippering alone on a 4788?

[smitty477]

I found the 47 easier to dock alone than our past 38 Bayiner.

Both in maneuvering and with line handling.

My wife and daughter can solo dock as well.

[aspen1880]

I had a 38. the slightest breeze would move the boat.

An unfavorable breeze made docking exciting. by

breeze, I mean just 2mph.

another example: the aft canvas enclosure had the

usual snaps to secure it. while standing on the doc,

supplying enough force to close a snap would cause

the boat to move 3 feet. I called it the "push test".

I tried the push test on a variety of other boats in the

marina. 47's barely moved at all.

[Foster]

I can and do solo my 4588. You just need to plan ahead about lines and fenders.

Do a few practice runs with a friend (*) where they watch while you do the process and are there to help in case something goes wrong.

It's pretty easy when you get the hang of it.

When I go alone I wear my "pull to inflate" life jacket. I also have a float plan (departure time, route, arrival time) so if I go missing, it won't be for long.

Good luck!!

(*) Don't do this with family, then they will expect to be chauffeured around...

[ksanders]

Running a 4788 under way alone is not difficult, nor risky.

Leaving a dock is not difficult even with a bit of wind pushing you away from the dock.

Coming into a dock is not difficult if the wind/current are either foreward/aft or pushing you into a dock.

It can be challenging dock a 4788 (or any boat) if the wind is pushing you away from the dock, all by yourself. What I do is first off try to avoid those situations.

If that cant be done I use a line on the mid cleat just aft of the pilothouse door. I have a nifty boat hook that grabs the line, and I use that to loop a cleat and pull hard. This buys a bit of time to get the bow line around a cleat.

Bull rails are a PITA. If coming into a place with bull rails no choice but to call for help on the radio. Never seen a situation where a fellow boater wouldn't lend a hand with a line.

[Relationship]

My quick answer is yes. I will qualify it with this: I have two teenage boys that can park the 52' with ease. They do it all the time (bow and stern thrusters..........not difficult). I don't own the boat any longer but my 36 twin engine tralwer with no bow thrusters would have amped up the game for them exponentially( they would have panicked and not done it) !!! That being said............gimme a break it's got twins! Lol

Now put them in the 19' stern alpha drive blue water...................not a chance in hell!!!!!!!! So don't confuse size with docking complexity.

I'm in Campbell river single handing my 52' for the last week and it's been a breeze. Again with bow and stern thrusters, I do it all the time, through the locks countless times alone. The 36' kept me on my toes...............the 19' was where real captaining skills show up!

My opinion..............my experiences. Not meant to start a debate

[Guest]

"Kimosammy" post=815383 wrote:
I was finally able to get my wife aboard a 1990 4788.

With that, she has two-footitis, currently, we have a 36ft.

With the 36ft, I'm able to successfully skipper it by myself with no stress.

What are your thoughts about skippering alone on a 4788?

I just sold my 4788 a couple of months ago that we had for 12 summers and there were many times I would single hand the 4788 and since 2007 I was also towing a 17 foot Boston Whaler Outrage with a 150hp engine and no problem handling it on my own. I would pull up the Whaler and raft to my side if going into a Marina.

So my short answer is absolutely you should be able to handle a 4788 on your own with just some practice and confidence you will do great.

Cheers,

Mark

[SomeSailor]

I'm 47,700# and just at 48' overall and almost exclusively single-hand our trawler. I might get a little help with a dock line from time to time, but it's often easier on my own.

No problemo single-handing if you're slow and deliberate in your actions and use your mass in your favor.

[Vic_Stewart]

Rules of the 'road'

Rule 5

Every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper look-out by sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate in the prevailing circumstances and conditions so as to make a full appraisal of the situation and of the risk of collision.

[SomeSailor]

"Vic Stewart" post=815465 wrote:
Rules of the 'road'

Rule 5

Every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper look-out by sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate in the prevailing circumstances and conditions so as to make a full appraisal of the situation and of the risk of collision.

That does not mean that every passenger or guest is suddenly part of the crew. An untrained or less-than-confident guest can cause more damage than good.

[Michellekw]

My husband skippered our 4788 solo and he does that now with our 57 Tollycraft. We had a bow thruster on the 4788 and we have a bow thruster on the 57 Tolly. We also found the 47 to be better handling than the 39 that we had previous to it so hopefully you feel the same if you decide to go for the purchase of one. It's a great boat.

[Norton_Rider]

I highly recommend wearing a PFD, especially if boating solo. If you fall off the boat when setting up fenders, lines, changing helm stations, etc. there will be no one to help you. Moreover, setting up fenders, lines, changing helm stations, etc. should be done in safe water, with the boat at at standstill and the gearbox in neutral.

Just last week I observed a 40-50' long commercial crew boat/ship tender returning to port empty. The skipper was by himself and was not wearing a PFD. After he entered the marina, he kept the boat in forward gear and left the pilothouse for the upper helm. Then he slipped and fell as he climbed the ladder. Fortunately he was quickly able to get up and go to the upper helm. Had he gotten hurt, or fallen overboard, the boat would have eventually collided with a number of boats moored at a dock.

[Pcpete]

+1 on the pfd, especially when single handing. We play in an environment that is inherently dangerous and deceiving to that danger most of the time. Most of us wear a seat belt when driving, maybe only because of the law, but it's on in case something goes bad. IMO, a pfd is the same thing. As to leaving any helm under way is begging is asking for Murphys Law to jump up.

[smitty477]

"I highly recommend wearing a PFD, especially if boating solo. If you fall off the boat when setting up fenders, lines, changing helm stations, etc. there will be no one to help you. Moreover, setting up fenders, lines, changing helm stations, etc. should be done in safe water, with the boat at at standstill and the gearbox in neutral."

This is a very good point for those not accustomed to docking solo. Each of us sets the lines and fenders ahead of time as well as locating boat hooks and the like in preparation for docking - the lines are set on the forward quarter cleat and run back to the cockpit where both that line and the stern line can be carried ashore quickly and easily together.

There are a few reasons why we prepare this way and why we are more comfortable with solo docking, here are a few:

- Over 30 years docking solo

- Over 30 years we have been on a mooring , almost every time we use the boat we single hand to the dock

- Our home dock is fixed , no floaters

- Often there is no help at the dock when we come in

- Our home dock can have an immediate 10' climb up a ladder to the deck and posts

So after doing it 4-6 times a month for maybe 7 months a year and over 30 years you get pretty good at it. My daughter started training at it when she was 15 and today 8 years later she is running an 83' Riva on a delivery to NYC. Safe practice with a buoy or a safe clear floater will get you pretty set after a couple of dozen tries. Fixed home dock with tide out about 2/3rds .....

[Knot_Happy]

I have no trouble single handing our 4788, but find it most fun when you have somebody with you to share the time on the water. I occasionally head to the boat to do some maintenance on my own and take it out for a short trial. Since the OP owns a 36ft and have single handed this is likely just review, but it gets even more significant as the boat gets larger. The following points that were made above are key to keeping the stress low.

[ul]

[li][/li] Absolutely wear a PFD, get a quality auto inflating one. They are effective and comfortable.

[li][/li] Before entering the marina or any area with dense boat population stop (stop completly) and setup all fenders and lines before entering that area.

[li][/li] organize and carefully layout all lines so they can be accessed quickly from the pilot house and cockpit

[li][/li] tangled lines are very stressful when single handing. I pre stage all lines and loop them to the hand rails so they can be quickly accessed. I have 6 lines set out, port and stbd, fwd, mid and aft.

[li][/li] setup both sides, it never fails that you come in and for some reason need to dock the other side.

[li][/li] single handing does not specifically mean no one else is on board. If you have passengers invite them to spot for you. In particular the aft corners can be difficult to know where they are on the 4788. I coach them to call out an estimated distance to any obstacles, piling, floats, etc. I have them call it out in half the beam width, 1/4 beam width, then by 3ft, 2ft, etc, even if they have no real perception of distance they provide some insight as to how close you are getting.

[li][/li] don't hesitate to back off and try again. The boat is heavy enough that you need to drive it to the dock. You will not be able to jump off, tie to a cleat and pull the boat in.

[li][/li] if you have anything more than about 10 knot side wind you will want thrusters, or call for assistance. The PH does become a sail and will blow off the dock.

[li][/li] practice lassoing the cleats from the PH door mid ship before leaving the dock. This is the easiest line to get to and get tied off with.

[li][/li] as mentioned above, if the chosen dock is a bull rail and has no cleats I recommend that you call for assistance.

For the most part the boat is well behaved. Just go slow, and then go a little slower (32000lb of inertia makes big damage even at 1 knot) repairing the swim step is about $400 each corner each time you hit it.:dry: