Undocking Technique

[colobear]

I like to keep the stern away from the dock. If there's room I'll push the stern away by hand and back out. If it is too tight for that I'll use the boat hook to push the stern further out. If I have to back out of a narrow slip I'm with Roger: fender heavily, let people know what I'm doing, GO SLOW, offer free beer for those who save the day

[hardee]

No arguments from here. Just that the boat will pivot around the force points, which in the case of twins will be between them, assuming the RPMs are equal. With a single, the boat turns the direction the OB is pointed by sliding the stern over until you are pointing at what you want and then you straighten up the steering. Leaving the dock stern first, need to turn the aft end of the OB away from the dock and back out, the bow will likely swing towards the dock. The Original question was getting away with twins. My point was that with the inboard engine going into reverse and the outboard engine in forward, the boat is going to want to spin towards the side the engine is reversed on, which is towards the dock.

I use a similar move to stay at a dock for a short term (like dropping or picking up a passenger. Stern tie from the boat cleat to a dock cleat, then the outboard into forward at idle speed. Holds the bow against the bow fender snug until the engine comes out of forward and into neutral.

Then untie, rotate the bow out with the inboard (dockside) engine in forward and the outboard engine into reverse until the desired angle is near, then switch to both in forward and move away.

Can you tell --> I my twins.

Harvey
SleepyC

[hardee]

[JamesTXSD]

Besides our 4 "sausage type" fenders, we use a round fender towards the bow. That gives us the protection we need when docking/undocking. Often times, wind and current will pin you against the dock - simply pushing one end of the boat away will result in the other end "dragging" the dock. Since we can't "fender" the engine, using a spring line to rotate the stern out (as previously mentioned: with the line around something on the dock but NOT cleated) gives the opportunity to get the stern out at 45º or more, hold the boat with the line, straighten your steering, then back out with some power on to keep the bow from sliding towards any dock neighbors. The line also works as a "brake" (like holding a small airplane with the brakes while you apply power for take-off) while you get the stern at the angle you want for departing.

We used this technique with sailboats that had low hp motors. The round fender allows the bow to pivot easier with more protection. Also, by backing out with a spring line on the bow, you are not rotating with your engine near the dock, and as you release the line, it will trail off the bow - no danger of getting the line in the prop.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

[rogerbum]

Just as an aside, I like my bow line to be just long enough to reach the stern but not long enough to reach the props. That way if someone tries to be "helpful" and doesn't properly secure the bow line it can't foul the props. The same thing could apply to the method Jim describes. E.g. even if backing out single handed, you can get rotated around, release the bow line, back away from it and (if forward motion is required to get out), motor over the bow line and retrieve it when your into more open water.

[hardee]

Roger,

Agreed, bowline can't reach the props. Mine comes back and secures with a slip knot to the hand hold on the cabin bulkhead, where it is ready to pickup and step up in docking, with bow and stern line in hand.

Bow line reaches to the stern cleat, and stern line reaches past the mid-ship cleat so both can be controlled until boat is secure to the dock.

Harvey
SleepyC