Docking with midship springline

[Noah]

I find that the midship springline docking technique (while can be elegant) greatly depends on the configuration (length and width) of the slip. In my case, where my slip is slightly shorter than my boat, arrowhead shaped at the bow, with a dock box on the angle corner, and only a fender width between me and my neighbor--it doesn't give me much time or "runway/wiggle room" to be looping/lassoing/and stopping--before crunching.
Modify message.

Ken Juul replied-
Noah the trick is to have the line preset and waiting for you at the dock.  As you approach, drop the looped spring line over your midship cleat and the  rest is easy.

[Noah]

Ken Juul- you said  I should "Have spring line waiting for me", where? Laying on the dock attached to the aft dock cleat? I'm confused. How do I steer/drive the boat into slip and reach down to pick up the line of the dock at same time, in time to hook on my midship cleat before reaching end of slip. I am on a floating dock with one concrete piling on stern end of slip.

[KWKloeber]

Ken Juul- you said  I should "Have spring line waiting for me", where? Laying on the dock attached to the aft dock cleat? I'm confused. How do I steer/drive the boat into slip and reach down to pick up the line of the dock at same time, in time to hook on my midship cleat before reaching end of slip. I am on a floating dock with one concrete piling on stern end of slip.

The thread might be subtitled "(in the overwhelming number of circumstances) the single most important line on a vessel when docking."

Noah
Are you talking singlehanding?

Where's your piling -- ie in relation to the transom? Behind?  how far?   Alongside? etc

-kk

[Stu Jackson]

Ken Juul- you said  I should "Have spring line waiting for me", where? Laying on the dock attached to the aft dock cleat? I'm confused. How do I steer/drive the boat into slip and reach down to pick up the line of the dock at same time, in time to hook on my midship cleat before reaching end of slip. I am on a floating dock with one concrete piling on stern end of slip.

Noah,

You could try Randy Kolb's invention, discussed in this, with a link, too, imagine!!!

Single Handing 101.2 HOPPING OFF THE BOAT IS UNNECESSARY
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5445.msg33766.html#msg33766

[Noah]

Mostly I am just complaing but open all advice.
Ke/Stu etal--I gave you bad info in last post. The concrete dock piling is one finger over. No piling on my stern finger, just dock roller wheel and shared slip with neighbor tight on starboard. Boat hangs over stern end of slip a few feet and bow rests with anchor slightly overhanging forward tee-dock. I have tried using midship spring for single handing and made a springline with a "hard loop/eye" of vinyl hose slipped over dock line to use as a lasso, but it is a very short line (8ft?) in order to stop boat before I run out of slip. Leaving me one shot at successful lasso manuver. Also at issue is slip is arrowhead shaped with corner cut on port bow with wedge-shaped dock box mounted there, effectively making it even shorter, so unless boat stays centered in slip the when springline bites (puts on the brakes) the port bow swings toward the dock and my stem head hits dock box sitting on corner cut. Once in he. slip I use two bow lines (port and starboard) to keep the boat centered in slip. Deprnding on the breeze,  most of the time I just line up really well, play the throttle and hope for the best.

[Jim Hardesty]

Here is a picture of my home dock.  Got the hook that I hang my spring line on circled.  I make up a new line about every other year or when the line gets stiff and hard.  New 3 strand nylon has better stretch.  I do eyes on both ends but a bowlin and cleat hitch work just fine.  I do a slow approach when the midship cleat is at the spring line hook I reverse enough to stop or almost stop (prop walk takes the boat to the dock) walk up to the midship cleat attach the spring line then pull forward and some steering away from the dock.  Yes I walked away from the helm but the boat was stopped or near stopped.  Also docking starbord to need to watch the prop walk away from the dock but it's doable.  Now I'm secure.  I can get the rest of the lines with the boat pole with no rush.  I've seen ferries and water taxies use the same single line docking when loading and unloading passengers.
I've found most docks while traveling can use similar.  Just drop a line with both ends cleated to the boat over a cleat or piling.  I often take a pass to look over the dock to see whats there and plan.

Jim

[KWKloeber]

. The concrete dock piling is one finger over. No piling on my stern finger, just dock roller wheel and shared slip with neighbor tight on starboard.

Noah,  see there's the problem -- trying to hook to a piling that isn't there!   

Had you tried leaving the spring on the ock cleat and picking it up as you slowly go by?  Yes, you have to leave the helm, but as Jim said it's the easiest way I had found (in the past) Now I have a tight piling on either side and they are well behind the transom so it's easy to leave the stern lines on a hook on each -- and grab them as I slowly pass by.  Then I take to dealing with the springs afterward.  There's no single 'right' answer because every situation is a little different.  When I was in a well protected alip I could reverse, prop walk her over, and step off onto my homemade dock step even with the rub rail with two lines in hand.

-kk

[Ken Juul]

Noah, next time you are on your boat time yourself.  Wheel to midship cleat, two beat pause, then back to the wheel.  Probably less than 10 seconds.  At docking speed you don't travel far in 10 seconds.  Since your line is going to be on the dock you may need a boat hook, have it ready before you get close to the slip.

Google mid ship spring lines.  Lots of videos and tutorials about doing it this way.

[Noah]

Thx. In looking at Jim's photo, while I don't have a piling to stage my spring line on, I may be able to rig up some kind of line holder to my dock boarding step's handrail that would get the line off the dock and position it for easier pick-up.

[tommyt]

Noah,

We single hand a lot or have very inexperienced people with us.We also use a lot of different transient slips so have to adjust for them. Some of those slips are like yours and are not our favorite. We rely heavily on the mid ship line.

Ours is one long line that runs outside from the mid ship cleat back to the stern cleat and is marked for the slips we use most. We have the mark adjusted to where we want the boat to sit in the slip or as close to the pier as we want dependent on the situation. That gives us a line with lots of slack to drop over the dock cleat or post dependent on the situation. I always wanted to be a cowboy but never got the lasso down enough to trust 14,000 pounds of boat to my skill.Dropping the line over the cleat or post we are still in reach of the wheel and throttles and can control the play out of the line as we go forward.

In the case of a slip like yours where your stern is out beyond the dock we would loop the line from the mid ship cleat and create the right size loop back to the dock cleat/post  and forward to the winch as the strong point rather than the stern cleat. In your picture it would be as if your spring line and stern lines were continuous and instead of going to the stern cleat it would go to the winch.

Our ideal, when the wind is not blowing us off the dock at 15 knots, is a port side tie in slip longer than yours. After having marked the line to the correct spot we pull in with enough speed to maintain steerage, drop the engine into reverse to pull her to the dock, drop the line over the cleat, and back into idle forward to tighten the mid ship line. If a perfect day that boat stops with the anchor just above the pier, the engine keeps her against the dock. We leave all permanent lines at the dock for our return. We walk forward, put on the bow lines, reverse the engine to pull the boat back on the bow lines to attach the stern line, and then shut down the engine. We then make the spring line a shorter spring and tie off the starboard stern to a post if available.

I would have to disagree with Ken, 10 seconds is an eternity with most docks and especially yours. We don't leave the wheel for more than a couple of seconds and if we miss we are there to hit reverse hard to stop. Most of the time we look good.

[KWKloeber]

Thx. In looking at Jim's photo, while I don't have a piling to stage my spring line on, I may be able to rig up some kind of line holder to my dock boarding step's handrail that would get the line off the dock and position it for easier pick-up.

No pix of it, but dock neighbor of boat that I race on, affixed a vertical 2x4 to the end of the dock and up near the bow -- and hangs stern, spring, and bow lines off of hooks on them.  Things can be "engineered" so as to not necessarily require drilling, etc, for fastening to docks.

That's how I "affixed" spring line cleats to the main dock run and supports for an overhanging dock box to the municipal dock and not get into hot water.

-kk

[Noah]

I appreciate all of the suggestions and ideas. I will experiment and sea...

[Jim Hardesty]

Some of the sailors in my club have added a strong 4*4 a foot or two above the dock and at the end of their dock.  They rig a line from the midship cleat to the stern cleat.  When they dock they drop this line over the 4*4 and slowly power forward.  They feel that this holds the boat to the dock better with less power and no steering and their wives are more comfortable doing this vrs catching a line.
FWIW  I use a similar method leaving my dock single handing.  I snub up the stern line, power forward and to the dock.  Walk around and release all the other lines, boat stays fine with just the one line.  Then when every thing is ready to go I'm behind the helm, then quickly idle, neutral, zero wheel, release stern line, then pull out.  Then its bursts of reverse then to neutral to reduce the prop walk backing out.
Jim

[RV61]

Just to add our Mid ship spring line we call the blue stopper line is cleated to dock stays at dock when we are out and luckily we have several dock posts on our slip and have added large hooks to hang the dock lines when we are out. This line is also a different color line than any other dock line so there is zero confusion as to which line is the spring stopper line I let deck hands know grab the blue one in case they do not remember what a spring line is..

[Stu Jackson]

What's all this stuff with leaving the wheel?

You HAVE TO.

It ain't an issue, you ain't goin' fast. 

It shouldn't matter.