We all recognize there are\u00a0“laws of nature.” \u00a0 Things like “what goes up, must come down.” Or, “spring follows winter.” \u00a0While\u00a0watching a great number\u00a0of\u00a0docking maneuvers the past 10 years I have come to the conclusion there are also Laws of Close Quarters Boat Handling. \u00a0There are probably more, however, I think these sum up most of the “situations” I have seen.<\/p>\n
It’s not a car!<\/strong> \u00a0I enjoy teaching teenagers how to sail. \u00a0Teenagers\u00a0young enough to have never driven a car. \u00a0They just seem to get it. \u00a0They have no expectations as to what the boat is going to do, so they just go with it. \u00a0I can’t tell you how many times I have seen an adult put the tiller over the wrong direction, and when the boat turns the wrong way, move\u00a0it further the same direction. Don’t laugh. \u00a0I don’t think I have had more than ten students of all the Basic Keelboat students I have taught that did not do\u00a0it at least once during class. If you put that same tiller into the hands of someone that has never driven, when the boat goes the wrong way they reverse the tiller, and the next time do it the correct direction. \u00a0I believe part of the confusion\u00a0is boats do not handle like cars. \u00a0For example;<\/p>\n Enough of the examples … just remember … it’s not a car, never will be a car, and doesn’t handle like a car.<\/p>\n Slow is pro!<\/strong>\u00a0 Don’t go any faster than you are willing to hit something, and don’t hit anything any harder then you are willing to sign a check for. \u00a0Sadly, there isn’t a hard fast “go XX knots” for every set of circumstances. \u00a0With\u00a0no wind and current, it works great to bring the boat to a stop with the pivot point even\u00a0with the center line of the slip and then “rotate” the boat 90 degrees to line up with the slip. \u00a0In that case, zero is a great speed. \u00a0Don’t ever try that in wind and current, it doesn’t work well, especially when turning to an upwind slip. \u00a0A bit of speed is needed to control the turn, all the while knowing that the faster you go, the faster things go wrong, and the more damage is done.<\/p>\n Speaking of things going wrong, a\u00a0scared helms-person will nearly always do the wrong thing, <\/strong>and often, that “thing” is more power when less is better. \u00a0You see it over and over. \u00a0During a fairway turn, the boat reaches a point where it is sideways to the fairway, and begins to blow to the lee side of the fairway, which also happens to be the direction the bow is headed. \u00a0The helms-person realizes there is a problem, but instead of just shifting into reverse and “pulling” the boat back to windward, he throttles up in forward trying to spin around before hitting the boats in front. \u00a0When that happens, wind and momentum are both pushing towards danger, not away, and unfortunately, even if the bow makes it around in time, the stern swings wide and impacts a boat or two and maybe a concrete post. \u00a0How do you overcome the tendency to do the wrong thing? \u00a0Plan ahead. \u00a0Location … Orientation … Transition. \u00a0Where do I want to be? \u00a0How should the boat be oriented? \u00a0What are the steps to my transition to whatever I am\u00a0transitioning to? \u00a0Using the same example, the transition is from a fairway turn where the boat is rotating in place, to motoring in forward down the fairway. \u00a0When you start to transition you should be located on the windward side of the fairway. \u00a0You should be oriented straight down the fairway (or possibly with the bow a bit to windward). \u00a0Definitely not still pointed to the lee side! \u00a0When you have\u00a0proper location and orientation, the transition is a simple as straighten the rudder, shift into forward, and throttle up. \u00a0The more planning you do and the more “this could happen” preparation you make, the more likely you will not get scared, and you will be much more likely to make the right decision under pressure. \u00a0 As I write this, I am still wet from a small rain “squall” that came across during a docking\u00a0class. \u00a0During the time is took to motor\u00a0down the fairway between the dock and the rocks, turn into the correct fairway, and negotiate into the slip, the wind went from less than 10 knots from the SW to nearly 25 knots from the NW (right down the center of the fairway). \u00a0Ten minutes later, after the next student departed the slip with 22 knots on the beam, the wind shifted again. \u00a0Before we could get the boat turned around and back to her slip the wind was back from the SW at 2 knots. \u00a0In both cases, our original docking plans needed to be changed during the process. \u00a0Planning ahead made for a non issue.<\/p>\n The first and last 100 feet are the challenging part.<\/strong> \u00a0Always plan for the first and last 100 feet before actually getting into them. \u00a0Again, Location, Orientation, Transition. \u00a0Before leaving a slip, know what you are going to be doing every foot\u00a0of the first 100 feet. \u00a0When docking, know what you are going to be doing every foot\u00a0of the last 100 feet. \u00a0An adage to live by is, “if you didn’t think about it 10 minutes ago, you waited too long.”<\/p>\n A spring line is a wonderful thing!<\/strong> \u00a0I’m not sure how I handled docking and departing before learning how to use a spring line! \u00a0This isn’t the place for detailed instruction of use of a spring line, however, you should be proficient at each of the following spring line maneuvers. \u00a0In describing a spring line, aft and forward refer to the direction the line travels away from the boat. \u00a0Bow, waist, and stern refer to the boat’s cleat used.<\/p>\n Spring Line Departures<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Spring Line Docking<\/strong>:<\/p>\n These are just the beginning … there are other great uses for a spring line. In a \u00a0situation where strong wind and prop walk are both “forcing” the bow the wrong direction during a slip departure, an aft waist spring (in the hands of qualified crew) running to a dock cleat at the end of the slip on the side opposite of wind and prop walk forces the boat to turn the correct direction. \u00a0\u00a0The same spring line (again, in the hands of qualified crew) works the other way if backing into a challenging slip location (fender up … the boat will\u00a0be rotating around the dock!)<\/p>\n Here is a sixth\u00a0“law” to consider. \u00a0The person yelling the loudest is most likely the one that screwed up<\/strong>. \u00a0He\u00a0is trying to get others to fix his mistake, all the while blaming someone else.<\/p>\n Keep these laws of close quarters boat handling in mind and your boat handling skills will improve!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We all recognize there are\u00a0“laws of nature.” \u00a0 Things like “what goes up, must come down.” Or, “spring follows winter.” \u00a0While\u00a0watching a great number\u00a0of\u00a0docking maneuvers the past 10 years I have come to the conclusion there are also Laws of … Continue reading \n
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