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Tips for Short-Term Docking

Effective docking strategies for short-term stops.
Boating Safety

Another plug for the midship cleat involves its use in everyday docking situations. For instance, stand on any dock and watch how most boats approach and tie up. Often, the bowline is sent over first. That's a no-brainer. When making an approach, the easiest thing to do is to point the bow in. And it makes sense; if the approach isn't to the skipper's liking, it's easier to back or veer off from a bow-on position. But what happens if the bowline is set up on the boat, the line is also secured on the dock and the boat has a bit too much way on? That bowline, in effect, becomes a forward spring, Newton's Law takes over and "crunch."

Let's take the same angle of attack, but the initial line sent ashore is bent to the midship cleat and then led forward rather than being bent directly to the bow cleat. The line is then handed to a person ashore, or a crew member can step on the dock with it. The skipper can then come ahead or go astern with confidence, as the line can be easily controlled from aboard.

When attempting a single-handed approach, depending on the vessel, it's usually more convenient for the boat's operator to reach a midship line rather than a bowline. Either way, if the midship line sets up inadvertently, the bow won't catapult in and take a hit. Instead, under most conditions, the boat will approach the dock broadside rather than bow-in, especially if the skipper comes ahead while steering away from the dock.

Using that midship spring can allow a vessel to come into a dock space just slightly longer than its length — for instance, between two other boats on a fuel dock. Each time the boat is given a small burst of forward throttle, it not only comes ahead on the spring, it also gets closer — and still parallel — to the dock. Then, by coming astern, the skipper can limit forward motion while excess line is taken in. The process is repeated until you're alongside. Like everything else, it takes practice to do this single-handedly or even with coordination between skipper, crew and dock personnel. Of course, fendering is essential.

As in any situation where someone takes lines on a dock, the line must always be controlled from aboard. The person ashore needs to be sent a looped line and told where to place it, all adjustments being made from the boat. Anything short of that means control of the boat is being handed over to the line handler on the dock. You can bet when something goes wrong, the dockside line handler won't be at fault — it'll be, and rightly so, the skipper's fault.

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