Docking and Close-Quarters Boat Handling

Prerequisites

This lesson is part of the Day Skipper practical syllabus on boat handling under power. Before starting you should:

Have sailed as crew and know how to handle lines and fenders (Competent Crew level: cleating, coiling, throwing a line, the bowline and round turn and two half hitches).
Know the engine checks and the basic controls of an inboard diesel (see the engine lesson).
Understand how wind and tidal stream move the boat (from the chartwork and tides lessons).

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson you should be able to:

Explain how a single-screw yacht steers at low speed, including prop walk and the effect of wind on the bow.
Plan an arrival at a pontoon or dock: brief the crew, rig lines and fenders, and choose an approach and an escape route.
Come alongside and leave a pontoon in different wind and stream conditions, using springs where needed.
Enter and leave a slip or a stern-to berth, and turn the boat in a confined space.
Recognise the common mistakes and how to abort safely.

How a Yacht Handles at Low Speed

At docking speed a yacht has very little steerage. The rudder only works when water flows past it, and the flow comes from two places: the boat moving through the water, and the propeller wash blowing over the rudder when the engine is in forward gear.

Ahead: prop wash hits the rudder, so a short burst of power ahead with the helm hard over turns the stern sharply, even before the boat has picked up speed. This is the key tool for tight turns.
Astern: prop wash goes forward, away from the rudder. The boat will not steer until it has steerage way going backwards, typically 1 to 2 knots.

Prop walk

A propeller also pushes the stern sideways, most strongly in reverse. A right-handed propeller (clockwise seen from astern when going ahead) walks the stern to port in reverse. A left-handed one walks it to starboard. Find out on every new boat: tie up alongside, engage reverse gently and watch which way the wash comes out between hull and pontoon. Prop walk is a nuisance when reversing in a straight line, and a gift when you want to come alongside with your prop-walk side to the pontoon: a touch of reverse to stop the boat also tucks the stern in.

Windage and pivot point

The bow is high and has no keel under it, so it blows off downwind first. Going ahead, the boat pivots about a point roughly one third back from the bow; going astern, the pivot moves aft. In a crosswind, keep the bow moving and up to windward: once it falls off it is hard to recover at low speed.

Wind or stream: which matters more?

Compare them before every approach. Even half a knot of stream moves the whole boat, while a light wind mostly moves the bow. Where there is a significant stream, berth into the stream, because it lets you approach slowly with good steerage and stop by easing the throttle.

Planning the Arrival

Look first. Motor past the berth if you can, to see the space, the cleats, other boats, and what the wind and stream are doing at the pontoon.
Choose the side and the approach. Upstream or upwind, with an escape route if it goes wrong.
Brief the crew. Which side, which lines, who steps off (only when the boat is close and stopped, never jumping), where the lines go, and the abort signal.
Rig lines and fenders. Bow line, stern line, and at least one spring, led outside everything and back on board, coiled ready. Fenders at the widest point of the hull, at pontoon height.
Approach slowly, at the minimum speed that keeps steerage. "Never approach a dock faster than you are willing to hit it."

Coming Alongside

Wind or stream on the bow (the easy case)

Approach at about 20 to 30 degrees to the pontoon, heading into the wind or stream. Close the berth slowly, straighten up as the bow comes alongside, stop with a touch of astern, and step the crew off with the stern line first if the bow is held by the wind, or the bow line if the stream is pushing back. Then rig the springs.

Wind blowing you on

Stop parallel to the berth, about a beam's width off, and let the wind blow the boat gently onto the fenders. Put plenty of fenders out and keep them at the right height.

Wind blowing you off

This is the hardest. Come in at a steeper angle, put the crew ashore at the middle of the boat with a midships spring, cleat it short, then motor gently ahead with the helm turned away from the pontoon. The boat will lie snugly alongside, held by the spring and the engine, while the crew sets the bow and stern lines at leisure.

Leaving a Berth

Springing off the bow

With the wind or stream pushing you onto the pontoon, rig a stern spring (from the stern to a cleat forward on the pontoon) as a slip line, doubled back on board. Fender the bow well, motor gently astern: the bow swings in against the fender and the stern swings out. When the stern is well out, go ahead, and release the slip line.

Springing off the stern

Rig a bow spring as a slip line to a cleat aft, fender the stern quarter, and motor gently ahead with the helm towards the pontoon. The stern pins in, the bow swings out; then go astern clear and slip the line.

Always use slip lines (both ends on board) so nobody has to step back aboard a moving boat.

Turning in a Confined Space

To turn a single-screw yacht in little more than its own length, use prop walk and short bursts of power:

Turn towards the side your prop walk will help (for a right-handed prop, turn to starboard: reverse walks the stern to port, which helps the turn).
Helm hard over, a short firm burst ahead: the stern kicks round with almost no forward movement.
Neutral, then a burst astern: prop walk keeps turning the stern while the boat stops.
Repeat, keeping the helm hard over the whole time.

Stern-to and Slip Berths

Stern-to (common in the Mediterranean): drop the anchor about three to four boat lengths off the quay, reverse slowly in letting the chain run, take the stern lines ashore, then tighten the anchor chain so the boat sits clear of the quay.

Slips between piles (common in the US, where berths are called slips): motor in slowly bow or stern first, the crew drop loops over the windward piles first, then make fast to the dock.

Worked Example

You are returning to a marina in a 10 metre yacht with a right-handed propeller. Your berth is on the port side of a pontoon running north to south. The wind is easterly, force 4, blowing you off the pontoon, and there is no stream inside the marina.

Because the wind blows you off, you plan a midships spring arrival. Fenders and lines go on the port side; the midships spring is led from the midships cleat, outside the shrouds, coiled ready for a crew member standing by the shrouds.
You approach heading south at about 30 degrees to the pontoon, a little faster than usual so the bow does not blow off.
As the shrouds come level with a pontoon cleat, you go into reverse. Prop walk pulls the stern to port, towards the pontoon, as the boat stops.
The crew steps off (not jumps) and drops the spring over the cleat; you go gently ahead with the helm to starboard (away from the pontoon). The boat lies alongside while the bow and stern lines are rigged.

Common Mistakes

Too fast. Momentum is hard to stop: a 6 tonne yacht at 3 knots carries a lot of energy.
Crew jumping ashore. This is the cause of many injuries: wait until the boat is close and almost stopped.
No escape route. If the approach goes wrong, abort early, go round again, and rethink.
Lines led inside the guardrails or under stanchions, so they cannot be thrown or bind.
Forgetting prop walk when reversing out, so the stern swings into the next boat.
Fending off with hands or feet between boat and pontoon. Use a fender.

Summary

At low speed, steer with short bursts of prop wash over the rudder; the boat will not steer in reverse until it is moving.
Know your prop walk; use it to tuck the stern in and to turn in a tight space.
Plan, brief, and rig lines and fenders before the approach; always have an escape route.
Wind on: stop parallel and drift in. Wind off: midships spring and motor ahead against it.
Leave with slip lines and springs, so the boat does the work and nobody has to leap aboard.

Check Your Understanding

Which way does a right-handed propeller walk the stern in reverse?

Answer: To port.

Why does a yacht steer well with a short burst ahead even when stationary?

Answer: The prop wash flows over the rudder, so the rudder works before the boat gains speed through the water.

The wind is blowing you off your berth. How do you secure the boat?

Answer: Put a crew member ashore with a midships spring, make it fast, then motor gently ahead with the helm turned away from the pontoon so the boat is held alongside.

With a strong stream along the pontoon and a light wind, which way do you approach?

Answer: Into the stream, because the stream has more effect on the whole boat and gives steerage at low speed over the ground.

How do you leave a berth when the wind is pinning you on?

Answer: Spring off: for example, rig a stern spring as a slip line, fender the bow, motor astern so the stern swings out, then go ahead and slip the line.

What is a slip line and why use one?

Answer: A line led round a cleat or ring ashore with both ends on board, so it can be released and pulled back without anyone stepping ashore.

What is the golden rule for approach speed?

Answer: Never approach faster than you are willing to hit the dock: as slowly as you can while keeping steerage.