How do I back a C34 into a slip?
Original Message:
Subj: [C34] Backing a C34
Hi,.......Please tell me that it gets easier to back a 34 into a
slip. So far the last three tries have been less than successful.
Tried going past the slip and then hitting reverse but the wind does
all kinds of strange things...I'm starting to think that unless the
wind is near dead I should go bow first. We like being able to walk
on and off the stern, plus we have a handicapped family member that
enables her to get on and off. Any suggestions for shortening the
learning curve or does it just take time???
Al Moreau, "Dun Wish'n", 1488, amoreau738@home.com
Subj: Re: [C34] Backing a C34
The more you practice the easier it gets. It's never really
easy, but it does get better. First you have to get use to the prop
walk to port when backing up. What I do is put the boat in reverse
and rev it up till it gets moving. Then, to reduce prop walk I put
it to the lowest throttle setting. A few feet further on I put it in
neutral and let momentum carry her into the slip. And yes, the wind
will foul things up, but after a while you learn how to compensate,
to some extent. If the wind is a really bad cross wind I might have
to warp it into the slip. That is go past the slip so the aft end of
the boat is at the port forward pillion. Put a line on and start
backing up using the line to corner the boat in.
Keep trying, you will do it.
Lou Berman, C34 #1366, Rock Hall, MD, louberman@snip.net
Subj: Re: [C34] Backing a C34
Of all the responses to this subject that I have seen, know one
talks about the SLIP LOCATION with respect to your boat and the prop
walk to port when backing up. If you are docking down a asle with
slips on both sides and you happen to be one of the slips on the
right (lets talk, right/left here) then you will find that even the
real seasoned experts will have a problem. Best bet would be to turn
the boat around and then back in with the description below.
If you were to go down the same asle and back in to the left
slip, you then have the prop walk helping you out. If you have very
little room but can go way forward, down the isle of slips, you
could get some reverse speed up to get some steerage. If you have
tried this, as you turn the aft into the slip, the front of the boat
will whip around, way to fast, with the boats momentum.
So "To Back In", you must be going parallel to your
slip on your left side, swing out at a 45-deg angle to the slip and
stop. Give it a fast burst in reverse to get the boat moving for
steerage and put it back into neutral. Steer to the slip and if more
speed is needed, then another burst of reverse, possibly leaving it
in reverse slowly, if you have steerage, till you are in the slip.
This all assumes that you have little wind and current. A study of
the wind and current before you attempt your docking will help you
decide when to turn and reverse etc.
I have been told that I am "ONE WITH THE BOAT" (don’t
worry I am with my wife also) so some times it is hard to explain
what to do as I do it instinctively. IT IS A FEEL. If you can’t
get that feel, then you better go in bow first! I have seen some
pretty bad bow first docking…..master that first! Better yet, as a
last resort, get a mooring! Practice the backing in on calm days!
By the why, the boat yard that I moved to this year, Between the
Bridges Marina, (Old Saybrook) has 40 feet between finger docks at
the opposite slips. Lets see….. 34 feet plus the bow anchor gizmo
and that dinghy hanging off the boat in the slip behind us and a
three knot current, wow, I better be one with my boat this year!
Good luck to us all!
Capt Al, "Kindred Spirit", #55, alwsail@aol.com
Subj: Re: [C34] Backing a C34
Al Moreau: Three more suggestions for you.
First, if you have room make a clockwise turn toward your slip.
Depending on wind or current, you need to go short or long past your
slip. When you go into reverse the boat should be about 45 degrees
short of being parallel to the slip. When the prop walk starts, the
initial prop walk will take up that 45 degrees and you will be
parallel with the slip when you get rudder control.
If you need to straighten things out, you can put the boat in
forward with the helm over hard with a short burst of power.
Sometimes I have come in like a falling leave going between reverse
and forward.
Second, you should have lines tied between the dock and the outside
pilings. If you get crossed up coming into the slip, the lines will
provide control and can also be used to pull the boat in.
Third, you are allowed to use pilings as pivot points. You can put
the port side of the boat next to the outside piling. Use slow
reverse to prop walk the boat around into the slip. You should have
a bumper out to protect the boat.
It takes at least one year to figure out how to back a sailboat into
a slip in conditions that are different everytime you try to dock.
My neighbor is a former Navy pilot who had no trouble landing a
fighter on a carrier. You could not image his frustration in trying
to dock his new boat. I practiced against a racing mark in different
wind conditions. The racing mark was plastic.
Dan Brail, Boomer, #1233, Dan_Brail@compuserve.com
Subj: Re: [C34] Backing a C34
Alan, Backing is not easy, I've thought of an auto prop but in
the meantime I've learned that from as slow a forward speed as
possible, I put it into reverse and gun it until I start to move,
then I back off to an idle and steer where I want to go. If I need
more speed, I give it a short burst, but always return to idle so as
to minimize the prop walk. I also like to enter exit from the stern,
but I didn't want to leave my swim ladder in the water all the time,
so I cut it off right below the bottom rung, inserted and welded two
7/8" ss tubes, one longer than the other, put a cross rung
below, right where the ladder bends and drilled some holes for ball
lock, quick release pins when I want to use the ladder in the water.
Now when I approach the dock, I lift up on the ladder about 2 inches
and it clears the one inserted tube but not the other, then I just
pivot the ladder out like a door. I put a Velcro strap on the side
to act as a second hinge. It works great.
John Meyer, Shekinah, #1392, jsmeyer69@hotmail.com
Subj: Re: [C34] Backing a C34
We have a 1 to 2 knot tidal cross current on the ICW where we
dock. We found hand power works the best from a family point of
view. But every dock is an experience that has its own story. Here
is what I do to instruct the crew.
We are going to keep the bow into the current. So if the current is
going in we are okay but if flowing out we have to go past the slip
and do a U turn.
The next thing we do is aim the boat to straddle the slip opening.
Yep, that is my wife is on the bow and gets the line off of the port
outside pile while I get the line off what will be the Starboard
outside pile. This is usually a rest period also and a chance to
size things up.
We then kick out the bow and Lisa walks down the boat as I push the
stern into the slip. Once the transom clears the outside pile we
pull her back into the slip. Some time we have too much energy and
come close to hitting the stern on the main pier.
We found that playing with the throttle causes more problems then
the extra energy to get it going right. We are just now looking at
some (limited) ways to use the motor to help in the maneuver with
the jib winches as pivot points.
We have owned Anointed since August and most of the time this is
relatively easy. The time has also allowed for us to learn and react
to the natural current flow that the motor would have allowed. A
little humor. The first time we tried to back it in it took us 30
minutes and finally we pulled it in straight. Now we do it in about
5 minutes. Also the sailboat next door has a big mean looking anchor
hanging from its bow rail that juts out past the piles. So it is the
thing we worry about most when we dock.
Best of Luck
TR Hernacki, Anointed, #1298, hernacki@flinet.com
Subj: Re: [C34] Backing a C34
One trick that I learned from a charter experience in the
Caribbean was to turn around at the wheel and drive the boat
backwards. You have to start out far enough away from the slip that
you develop enough speed to make the rudder effective. And you have
to be careful not to move the rudder too far, or it will go hard
over and stall. It is best practiced away from the slip. Just drive
around in reverse for a while, while facing aft across the wheel.
The charter boat captains all use this technique to insert a boat
into a raft of other boats that are Med-moored to a pier with
"zero clearance" between boats. Works quite well, once you
have practiced.
Also causes strange looks from other boaters as you drive around
backwards.
Ralph Caruso, "On y va", C34, #777, Ches. Bay/Magothy, rxc@nrc.gov
Subj: Re: [C34] Backing a C34
Hi! Backing into the slip is frustrating. Liz and I do it
routinely and it's always an adventure. Our slip has finger piers on
both sides and it’s at the end of the fairway. What we do is as we
approach, I ready lines on starboard, bow and stern, as we approach
the end pier, I hop off the boat onto [hopefully] the pier, grab
both lines [which hang over the lifelines] then Liz does slow
reverse as I pull the boat along side into the slip. The wind and
current plays dramatically on any maneuver and Mondays docking blew
the stern past the finger pier, which was difficult. We figure as
long as someone is on the pier with a dock line you can get her in
the slip. It seems "prop walk" is more "prop
twist" as the boat spins clockwise so we try to turn past what
we intend to be our direction. I am toying with the idea of a
"mooring whip" which looks kind of like a fiberglass
fishing pole with one end attached to the piling where you would
place a dock line on before departure then on arrival you could grab
the line and at least make connection with the piling. Anyone else
try this? We've been at it for three seasons now and familiarity
does seem to make it easier. Good luck!
Jan & Liz Rupinski, La Vie Dansante, C34 #, 1311, Cape May, NJ,
jrupinsk@eticomm.net
Subj: Re: [C34] Backing a C34
I think your key statement is "familiarity
<<<Does seem to make it easier". In the beginning,
when Annie or I had a poor docking, we always tried (if time
permitted), to pull out and do it again so that we didn't leave the
boat "spooked". Don't give up!>>>
We do have a terrific advantage now in that we have plenty of
forward room to get the boat straightened out before we go into
reverse AND, being on the Columbia River, we always have the current
going the same direction.
John Meyer, Shekinah, #1392 jsmeyer69@hotmail.com
Subj: Re: [C34] Backing a C34
<< That is go past the slip so the the aft end of the boat
is at the port forward pilon. Put a line on and start backing up
using the line to corner the boat in.>>
Keep trying, you will do it.
My first attempt at this 2 seasons ago resulted in a method we now,
affectionately call "Bumper Boat" when I accidentally used
the pilon as a fender... No damage was done to "True Love"
thanks to her rub rail... but, my ego was definitely bruised... The
dockmaster gallantly declared, "Thats what pilon's are for! No
problem!" Practice has definitely improved my style since then!
Jeanine Jackson, C34, #1406, Stamford, CT, JCSailor@aol.com
Subj: Re: [C34] Backing a C34
Thanks for all the suggestions. I am on a fairway with slips on
both sides..I'm on the left heading in..Also our slips are double
but I don't have a boat next to me yet..(thank God!) We have a
strong tidal current and a good southwest wind in the summer..It
will be an interesting summer to say the least. I look forward to
trying out some of the ideas everyone has posted....Thanks again.
Al Moreau, "Dun Wish'n", #1488, amoreau738@home.com
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