Manoeuvring long keel sailboat out of birth in wind - Any tips?

[Chiara’s slave]

As you say, be well fendered. Keep the speed down, don't shout and apologise nicely. There are those who have got it wrong and those who are going to, its just part of life. On occasion, I have intentionally, laid alongside another boat and then warped mine over to the correct finger pontoon as crosswind meant that we basically the only way to get in.

Landing gently on the boat next door is surely a technique lots of us use. If you’re all fendered up, its no different to rafting, which we all do from time to time. I’ve never had anyone complain about this, though I’d usually announce it was going to happen if the owners are on board, and apologise for interrupting their tea and biscuits.

 

[14K478]

Boat came with 5 big fat fenders. I added six more…

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Boat came with 5 big fat fenders. I added six more…

I bought another 10 size 4 fenders 2nd hand on ebay recently. We have loads of room for light cargo, might as well use it.

 

[Poignard]

I bought another 10 size 4 fenders 2nd hand on ebay recently. We have loads of room for light cargo, might as well use it.

Advice given me when I first started by a very experienced sailor:

"What's needed is plenty of fenders and a sense of humour."

It took me a while to realise he meant the skipper whose boat you are coming alongside.

 

[doug748]

Landing gently on the boat next door is surely a technique lots of us use. If you’re all fendered up, its no different to rafting, which we all do from time to time. I’ve never had anyone complain about this, though I’d usually announce it was going to happen if the owners are on board, and apologise for interrupting their tea and biscuits.

I have seen it done and done it a few times, the owners always seem to be around. There are three problems:

1) The neighbours always think there has been an incident and look slighted. Any explanation looks like you are excusing your incompetence. They wear long faces or worse.

2) Passing mariners also feel there is an incident ( or performance theatre in the offing ) and they have to "help".

3) You now have to take forward and aft lines across to your berth - which leads to more potential entertainment under 1) and 2) above,

So not keen.

.

 

[PhillM]

I have seen it done and done it a few times, the owners always seem to be around. There are three problems:

1) The neighbours always think there has been an incident and look slighted. Any explanation looks like you are excusing your incompetence. They wear long faces or worse.

2) Passing mariners also feel there is an incident ( or performance theatre in the offing ) and they have to "help".

3) You now have to take forward and aft lines across to your berth - which leads to more potential entertainment under 1) and 2) above,

So not keen.

.

TBH that was not my experience. I would much rather intentionally raft up and haul her over to the required finger than mess it up trying the almost impossible. As I said earlier, know your boat and its performance limits. Then act accordingly.

 

[Saltram31]

Whenever I leave my berth irrespective of the wind direction, I always make sure I have enough distance from the berthed boats when reversing out by giving a burst off astern then into neutral. I then turn her accordingly in her own length, using forward and reverse (prop wash) alternatively, with the rudder hard over and without making way.
She will go backwards in a straight line if the wind is directly from astern.

 

[Shuggy]

I find my fin keel boat much more awkward than her predecessor which had a full keel, a tiny engine with an offset prop and a bowsprit. She could be relied on to do two things - to turn to port on a sixpence (shove tiller hard over to starboard, give several short bursts of full ahead) and put her stern into the wind if she was left in astern for any length of time and if there was enough wind.

This boat has eight feet between the prop and the skeg rudder and she is completely unpredictable, because there is no prop wash left by the time it gets from the prop to the rudder, and the prop is too close to the CLR to act as a "sea anchor".

When in doubt, warp.

I thought that sounded familiar then I worked out who you are. Hello, fellow pointy Nicholson owner!

 

[14K478]

I thought that sounded familiar then I worked out who you are. Hello, fellow pointy Nicholson owner!

I fancy that if we asked Ray Wall about it, his reply would be similar to Ettore Bugatti's comment on his cars' awful brakes _ " I make my cars to go, not to stop!"

 

[Shuggy]

In the same way that gentlemen don’t sail to windward, Nicholson 55/43 owners don’t motor astern. It’s not the done thing.