I have had my boat for about five years now and always in the same slip at Grand Marina Alameda. The fairways there are fairly narrow and I am some thirty boats down the fairway to my slip near the shore. I have always been concerned as to if I could get the boat back to it slip if I experienced an engine problem. The day before yesterday, midweek, me and my son played hooky and went sailing, almost had the bay to ourselves. Spent about six hours on the water and saw only six other sailboats an equal number of power boats and a fair amout of comercial traffic.
The wind this day was southwesterly 10-15, we saw gusts in the twenties coming across the slot coming back from the north bay and our trip down the estuary saw ten to twelve out of the southwest. With little traffic I though it to be the perfect day to try and sail into the slip. We dropped the main in the estuary took the entrance with head sail only on a close hauled starboard tack and Just made it to the back side of B dock without a tack. Turning down the fairway on an easy port reach, getting to the slip was a piece of cake, carried enough momentum to roll in the jib and coast into the slip.
My only concern was if someone backed out of their slip in the fairway options would be limited, I gave thought to firing up the engine as a back up if needed but, this weekday I saw little movement in the marina and I felt turning the engine on would have been cheating. It was comforting to know how easy it was.
How many of you out there have tried this?
Cepheus dream
C36 MK I # 825
MK I Tech Editor No Mas
Steve
How did you stop the boat without using the engine in reverse as a brake?
__/)__/)__/)__Capt Mike__/)__/)__/)__
Punta Gorda Florida
1990 Std WK M35 Hull #1050
I would love to do just that. With my 25' sailboat I tried it and it was not much problem. I will also try that on a 5 to 10 knot wind. I use the main instead as it can be back winded to stop the boat. It is not as difficlut as it sounds and using the inertia is the best way. I would run the engin but not in gear - I am still not as sur yet. I hope that day does not arrive when I have no choice - but it would be good to know that it can be done.
Haro Bayandorian, 1999 C36 MKII, Sail La Vie #1787, M35B,
Coyote Point, San Mateo, CA.
I try not to use reverse with the engine either, I pace my speed to just drift into my slip, step off the starboard side iof the cockpit and snub any forward motion with a line off the midship cleat.
Getting in the habit of doing it this way under power likely makes doing it under sail more natural, if you need reverse at the dock you misjudged the speed needed coming in. The weght of our boats is consierable, understanding that and using this momentum and taking advantage of this mass in motion, you will realize in still air and current the boat will glide quite a distance before running out of inertia. That old object in motion rule.
That said, each dock can have its own challenges, a heavy current or adverse wind situations my effect the ease of this task. Your mileage may vary.
Cepheus dream
C36 MK I # 825
MK I Tech Editor No Mas
Last Spring my wife and I had some friends onboard with their two children. It was one of those wonderful sailing days where all of the stars lined up. Sailing was great winds, as I recall, were out of the SW at about 10 - 12 knots. Not a cloud in the sky. We thought we would head back to our slip at about 4 pm. Well, after I had the diesel running for about 10 minutes the temperature alarm went off. I looked down and it was pegged! Yikes!! I thought, okay I could call for a two and wait for a couple of hours or I could attempt to sail it into our slip. I looked at my wife and said go ahead and call the drawbridge and have him stop the traffic and open the bridge for us. I did not inform him that we were without power; I figured I can do this.
I left the main and the jib up and sailed through the drawbridge around the outside dock and down the fairway. I doused the sails in just the right amount of time and a friendof mine was on the dock to catch us.
I really had no choce other than sailing it in and I am kind of glad that I did it looking back in retrospect. It's one of those things that you don't plan on but it is comforting to know that you could do it again if you had to.
The next day I discovered that the impeller had just blown apart. Lesson learned - always, always, always have a spare impeller onboard in case it happens in the future.
Glenn Druhot
Carpe Diem
New Bern, NC
35* 6' 10" N / 77* 2' 30" W
2001 C36, Hull #1965
Std Rig; Wing Keel; M35B
We're on D dock at the same marina as Steve. When we bought our boat in 1998, I spend hours practicing docking under power. Then we went back and practiced doing it under sail. When I needed to do it (same engine overheat issue) it was a piece of cake.
That said, I have a very easy slip to get into. With our prevailing summer winds from the west, our dock (bow) facing south, we end up on a run down the estuary, make a 90 degree starboard turn into a fairway between our marina and another one, then a port turn to our own fairway, and then a starboard turn into our slip. Run, beam reach, run, reach into dock as the jib is furled. With as full south wind, we simply couldn't do it because the first fairway between the marinas would be too narrow to try to tack to our own fairway.
Many others have much trickier approaches to both their marinas and their fairways.
If you can't make it to your own slip, you might be able to get to other open ones if you know for sure which slips in your marina are empty.
I always have our horn ready to use.
Stu Jackson, C34IA Secretary, C34 #224, 1986, SR/FK, M25 engine, Rocna 10 (22#)
Just realized that I mis-labeled this post. I have sailed into many docks, it is nothing to be proud of. I should have titled the thread sailing into my slip. This would suggest I did not collide with anything, I have experience with that as well.
Cepheus dream
C36 MK I # 825
MK I Tech Editor No Mas
My basin is at the very end of Marina del Rey. I could easily sail down the main channel to get to my basin, but then my fairway is dead into the wind and a long way to my row of slips. I have thought about trying to short-tack up the fairway to my slip, but I never have. Some VERY expensive boats on the end ties and the fairway is somewhat narrow to get any momentum going. Or perhaps I'm just a chicken.:eek: However, I do have several spots picked out in case the engine dies. There are guest slips, the lifeguard station or I can just sail back out into the ocean and wait for a tow.:o . If all else fails, there's an anchor on board.
Mike
Deja Vu
1991 MK I # 1106
Marina del Rey, CA