# Nervous to single hand sailing



## marinesniper (Aug 2, 2006)

Tomorrow will be the first time I single hand it, so far even with a friend I cannot get my 30 footer in its dock space without bumping the sides of other boats or the cement walkway...

I am to the point where I say screw it and just go out and sail then return and deal with docking the best way I can...ouch...

thoughts..should I just go for it...?


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## B747dx (Jul 19, 2008)

*Go For It*

"A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are made for." Admiral Grace Hopper


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## davidpm (Oct 22, 2007)

What exactly is the problem? Bumping the dock is one problem, bumping other boats an entirely different problem.

If I owned the other boat I would prefer you learned to dock only bumping the concrete.
Is there a reason why fenders don't work in well in your situation?


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## marinesniper (Aug 2, 2006)

If I use the really big ones it would, I am thinking about really padding my dock so even if I really screw up nothing gets damaged...

BTW- I only bumped the other boat when I had problems with my prop and the boat would not move anywhere quickly under full power...

I am just nervous I guess, will a shroud break while sailing, will the rudder chain snap, etc...


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## judika (Jan 13, 2005)

Go for it. You will never regret! It will force you to learn things you need to know anyway.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Spring lines are your friend. Learn to use them. They can solve a whole lot of docking problems.


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## davidpm (Oct 22, 2007)

If you are not confident docking there is only one reason. You haven't done it enough. Grab your friend, pick a cloudy day when you have the dock to yourself, and dock, leave, dock as many times as it takes so it is boring. Your friend does nothing but just be there just in case. 

Yes it is only one set of conditions but its a good start.
Once you have done it a bunch of times it will seem so easy you will wonder how it ever seemed challenging.

Let your friend have a chance to while you watch if that is possible. That will give you a different perspective too.


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## davidpm (Oct 22, 2007)

marinesniper said:


> I am just nervous I guess, will a shroud break while sailing, will the rudder chain snap, etc...


I can't help you with that one. The guys with 30+ years experience don't seem to worry about it but I too can imagine conditions where I would like to be in two places at once.

As beginners we are trying to be prudent.

In a thread about crew overboard techniques the consensus was that with two crew if one goes overboard and is unconscious the remaining crew now single handing is not very likely to be successfull in a rescue unless conditions are very mild.

I suspect that if you are single handing and any number of bad things happen your chances of a good outcome are significantly less than if you had competent help.

In both cases the experienced sailors don't like to talk about it much but they seem to know and accept it.

Exceptional skills help but they take time to develop and are not always enough. I think that the bottom line is that sailing has some inherent risk and sailing singlehanded is by definition more risky than with competent crew.

I may get roasted for that comment so am looking forward to how the experienced sailors feel about that.


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## tommyt (Sep 21, 2002)

SD and Davidpm have it right. Practice, in benign conditions, and SPRING LINES!!!!!!!!! If you come in, SLOWLY, and get a mid ships spring on a post or cleat, YOU are in control. If you come in fast, and jump off to pull the boat, you are SCREWED!

Practice with spring line, and you will be fine. I am more nervous today when someone wants to help then when I don't have help. You really have to trust someone a lot to hand them a line, because they can be great or horrible....and it is you boat that will feel the pain.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Marinesniper-

I hope you have a tether, harness, and jacklines rigged on the boat. One major difference between sailing singlehanded and going out with crew is that you REALLY NEED TO STAY ON THE BOAT. No one is there to rescue you or call for help if you fall overboard while singlehanding.


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## swadiver (Jan 17, 2007)

As previously posted - SPRING LINES. I single hand a 30' Catalina most of the time and I use spring lines to leave and return to my slip. In leaving your slip, leave the boat tied with all of the docking lines and rig a spring line from the aft most cleat/pile on the dock side. I run the line around my forward main winch back to my secondary winch and make the line fast. Put the boat in forward and use the leverage against the fender to hold the boat fast against the slip. You can then uncleat all of the lines and store them or whatever. When you are ready to go, check for traffic and so on. Slip the boat into neutral and unfasten the spring line and leave on the dock. Slip the boat into reverse and backout. No hassle, no drama with practice it is easy. When you return the process is reversed. Approach the slip slowly, it helps to have an upwind slip but this works for a downwind slip as well. Use a boat hook to pick up the spring line and run it around the forward winch back to the aft winch and make it fast. Put the boat in forward and hold it against the slip with the spring line and the fender. Make the boat fast with all of your docking lines and your done. No running around or jumping off the boat to slow the boat down. In fact when I had a downwind slip I used the spring line to slow down and stop. With practice it is such a nice calm way of ending a great sailing day. Also, I use jacklines and a PFD with a teather when I singlehand, you need to stay on the boat no matter what. Good luck


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## Serve (Jun 22, 2008)

*Bumpers*

I have lined my slip with fenders. I am a newbie. My skills have improved greatly. My docking has gotten much better. In the beginning the fenders saved me but now, I rarely hit them or hit them with force. However, having them there gives me confidence.

I did my first solo this week. I have done so twice now. My confidence sailing alone is high. You need to do it.

I sail a 16" Marshall Catboat. A little different than your 30 footer. Good luck


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## cardiacpaul (Jun 20, 2006)

*docking guide.... crude*

this works going into your home slip, if you're not planing. 










use dock lines to make up a simple guide, tying a good size fender as a joining piece. (you can always use a piece of line across the fender as well, just to make sure you don't rip it in half. )
Practice, practice, practice. you'll be fine.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

BTW, I'm not a big fan of lining the slip with fenders, since that tends to make you a bit sloppy in your docking approach at the dock you will be using most often. *Think about it... what happens if you have to make the approach at a strange marina, and you're used to having the slip all padded and being able to come in a bit off and not worry... you'll come in and screw up your boat.

*Practice docking, often and under varied conditions...learn to use a spring line. Don't set your slip up with "crutches". *
*


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## chuck5499 (Aug 31, 2003)

marinesniper - what marina in miami are you in? lived in miami many years and sail singlehanded a lot - 
as said above - practice and confidence - if you were truely a marine sniper (my two sons were marines but not snipers) you should know the value of practice starting in beign conditions and then progressing to less than favorable conditions 
second - when i single handle - do i get nerverous docking - you bet - if God only gave us so many heart beats i use a lot when coming in to a slip single handed - specially when the wind is piping - but concentration and practice and knowing what the boat will do make it happen 
third - as a single hander - get a great and i mean great inflatable life jacket with d rings - a couple of tethers and jack lines - as someone who preaches safety (some folks on this board are tired of it - i know) you can never be to safe - and in miami with the rude power boaters there - getting thrown overboard is possible - if you plan to go anywhere significant they are manidatory 
ehjoy single handing 
chuck and svsoulmates 
ki4sry 
on the hook in stonington, ct


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## sailaway21 (Sep 4, 2006)

Take CruisingDad sailing with you; you'll not only be sailing single-handed, you may qualify for federal funding under the ADA. And he usually shows up in a Ford truck full of dockside supplies presumably including fenders. (g)


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## cnc33voodoo (May 15, 2008)

being nervous is your bigest enemy.
no point in worrying as it wont prevent anything.
keep focused on the fun.
after a while you will be eating a sandwich while dockiing.

"if its going to happen, its going to happen out there". -capt ron.


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## cmendoza (Nov 15, 2002)

Lots of great advice... I'd like to second davidpm; take a day and spend the entire day practicing your docking. 

One of my wife's biggest fear when we first started out on our Catalina 30 was exactly that, hitting other boats when trying to dock. We spent an entire day (about 6hrs or so) pulling away from the dock and then coming back to it... no jumping off, no yelling and screaming, nothing... 

The key is to learn how YOUR vessel reacts to the different elements, current, breeze, approach speed, etc. take it very, very slow (just enough speed to maintain steerage)... don't worry about what other people think or do. If you think you're off, then you are, "abort the landing" and circle around again. 

There are no tricks and no substitute for experience, just keep practicing until you've got it nailed... once you do, start practicing on days when you have a current or a cross breeze or what have you. In the end, what you really learn is how to compensate for whatever the condition happens to be.<O</O
<O</O

We had one slip mate that always "single handed" when he came back in to the slip, no matter how many people were on board. 
This fellow was a master! His trick? Patience! He would make a nice slow approach, knew how to compensate for wind and current, would bring his vessel into the slip and ever so gently nudge the engine in reverse and then step of his vessel onto the dock and proceed to very matter-of-factly tie off his dock lines... no fuss no muss!<O</O
<O</O

We on the other hand would come into our slip yelling Full Reverse, Full Reverse! 

4 years later, I'm no where near as good as he was, but I can bring my 40' in and gently place her against a dock between two mega-yachts without worrying about my insurance coverage ;-)
<O</O
Keep at it, the confidence gained here will serve you well when you're out there... while there are certainly technical aspects to the various components of sailing, the final outcome relies on one thing - the ability to calmly analyze and react to a situation as it unfolds.

Fair winds,<O</O
Carlos & Maria<O</O
SV Rocinante<O</O


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## imagine2frolic (Aug 7, 2008)

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, in calm situations, and as posted before take a friend along to do nothing, but be there JUST IN CASE! Soon it will be second nature, and your nerves instead of being jumpy will be itching to get going.

If you are worried about something breaking. Then maybe it needs to be surveyed? Do you know how to reef? Reefing is your friend.


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## BillHartz (Jan 17, 2009)

Failure to maintain sufficient headway to assure steering ability is a common docking error. You can't maneuver a boat when the rudder isn't moving fast enough to exert force. Be sure you understand the wind and water movement that is in play and enter your slip positively bearing to the upwind or upstream side so you fall off to your fenders on the lee side. Practice in open water to be sure you know how far it takes to stop your boat under a given speed. If you don't have control of your speed and stopping distances, you have no business bringing it in to a slip and determine that away from the slip and other boats. Follow the advice regarding a spring line and secure it before getting off your boat. Practice, practice.. the practice some more.


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## lapworth (Dec 19, 2008)

I just learned how to sail last year and by the end I could sail into my slip. I also have an old boat so it has already had a few bumps. If you come in slow you can always walk it in or use the rudder like a paddle. Either way once you do it you have more freedom.


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## jaschrumpf (Jun 22, 2002)

I have a 28' boat that I back in to my slip. Our marina has finger docks with two boats between each pair of docks, so you've only got a short dock on one side or the other depending on which side of the slip you've got. There is also a piling about 20' out from the end of each dock, and one in the middle of the slip. You can see the pilings from their shadows in the picture.

That's my slip near the middle of the attached image, on the top of the main dock to the right of the white powerboat. The finger dock is on my port side as I'm backing in. There is a piling right at the end of the finger dock, and the outer piling is right by the starboard bow of the powerboat.

I have a spring line run from the outer piling on my side that has an extra 8' or so of line after the bowline loop. As I'm backing in, I put the bowline over my main winch on that side and a couple of loops of the extra line around the piling right at the end of my finger dock, which both springs her and ties her on that side.

Then I can walk forward and hook the permanent line attached to the outer pilings, on whichever side I need depending on the wind direction, to my bow. 

If the wind is from the NW, or my port side, I'm done except for tying off the other lines. If the wind is from my starboard side it will push the stern of the boat up to the finger dock, but I put a fender on that side of the boat for that condition.

I'm still working out the best system for doing all this, but there's certainly not a lot to do for one person working alone. Certainly, if anyone has any suggestions for improvement, I'm all ears.


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## nk235 (Apr 8, 2007)

I used to have a 25ft light displacement sailboat. It was my first boat so I was nervous docking but quickly mastered it. It was so easy because I could move the tiller and the actual outboard in sequence so it would turn and also since it was so light, stop on a dime. All my friends were all very impressed with the tight spots I could perfectly dock this boat into. I thought I was "the man" and always wondered why so many people were afraid and didn't know how to dock......Anyway long story short, I moved up to a heavy displacement 32' with an inboard deisel....Now I know just how hard docking can be! The best analogy is going from parking a smart car to a piggy backed tractor trailor!

Over the course of my first season I progressively got better at docking and one of the most important things I can attribute it to is learning to manage and use PROP WALK to your advantage. This coupled with proper planning are in my opinion the two most important parts. With the older 25' I had I could stop on a dime and quickly make adjustments. Now with my 32' is takes about 10-20 seconds on full reverse to stop the boat from even making 2knt forward so I really have to know what the wind, tide, and prop walk will do when approaching the slip.

When I first got the boat I could not figure out why I couldnt back up! Its because when the movement of the prop in reverse causes my boats stern to "walk" to port. No matter where I would put the wheel the boat would always move back to port. Now I know if I am backing in I need a good 20-30 yards to allow the boat to get some speed going in reverse. The speed allows the rudder to work so I can actually position my boat in reverse into the slip. 

I also use prop walk to make tight turns if I need to and to generally control the boat much more effectively. So now instead of feeling like a tractor trailor it feels more like a box truck Just keep practicing and learn how your boat responds as every one is different.


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