DO WE HAVE ENOUGH FENDERS?
We’ve all put on a show for the bystanders at one time or another when we come alongside a dock or pier. No matter how careful we are something may go wrong. As we gain experience we do better, but all docking circumstances are different, keeping us on our toes. Remind your crewmembers that they should let the boat hit rather than stick out an arm or leg – it’s not worth risking an injury. Even a small boat can hit with surprising force if it comes alongside too fast or a wave pushes it against the pier.
I’m a big fan of a midships spring line for many docking situations, even on fairly small boats. If the bow line is given to a person on the dock first, the bow almost always hits the dock (unless the line handler knows not to pull on it). A midships spring is attached to a strong point at the middle of the boat (a cleat, or a chainplate on a sailboat if there’s no midships cleat). When someone pulls on a midships spring line the middle of the boat moves towards the dock, which is what you want. There are other advantages to using a midships spring line. Check out pp. 142-143 in the Mariner’s Guide for a discussion of docking, and pp. 385-386 for spring lines and techniques used to spring a vessel.
I’m a big fan of a midships spring line for many docking situations, even on fairly small boats. If the bow line is given to a person on the dock first, the bow almost always hits the dock (unless the line handler knows not to pull on it). A midships spring is attached to a strong point at the middle of the boat (a cleat, or a chainplate on a sailboat if there’s no midships cleat). When someone pulls on a midships spring line the middle of the boat moves towards the dock, which is what you want. There are other advantages to using a midships spring line. Check out pp. 142-143 in the Mariner’s Guide for a discussion of docking, and pp. 385-386 for spring lines and techniques used to spring a vessel.
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