From: tarkkone@klaava.Helsinki.FI (Lauri Tarkkonen)
Newsgroups: rec.boats
Subject: Re: Sailing into a slip
Date: 2 Oct 92 00:05:26 GMT
Organization: University of Helsinki

In <1992Oct1.151709.2081@progress.com> gerard@progress.COM (Gerard Bras) writes:

>tarkkone@klaava.Helsinki.FI (Lauri Tarkkonen) writes:

>>When I still had a boat without engine, I felt that the find coming from the
>>side is the most difficult. If you have to dock without the engine and the
>>wind is corming more or less straight from your back, you can slow your boat 
>>by making a tight 360 degrees turn just before you enter your place. The
>>360 turn will slow you to a almost dead stop, if done very quickly, but the
>>wind will push you in. If you do it nearly enough you do not have time to
>>accelerate to an unmanageable speed. You have to watch out, that you have 
>>enough speed for the whole 360 degrees.

>Neat trick.  Too bad it won't work in the marina I deal with.  If you can 
>360 antything bigger than a Laser in the fairway under sail I'll give you a 
>dollar.  The fairway is maybe 50' feet wide.  My boat, excluding pulpit, is 40'
>long.  Even with the engine I have to back and fill to turn around.  The net
>result is that this stunt will have a low probability of success and that
>the cost of failure is likely to be high.  Chalk it up to being chicken I 
>guess.

This was not an answer what you have to do in your marina. This was an answer
to the question how do you slow down aproaching the dock down wind.

At the moment I have a 40 feet sloop (with an engine), but I actually have
left a dock with sail and approached it (actually a couple of times) with
the sails. 

I had a contract with the dealer (I paid a part of the boat with it) that
I take some of his potential customers for a sail during the Helsinki
Floating boat show. To convince the people taking the ride, that the boat
is manageable by a husband and vife crew, I just for the case of demonstration
left the dock and returned singlehandedly without bothering to start the 
engine. The passengers participated in the sailing after we got out and 
before we got in. I must confess that I did it only because I had
promised the dealer a proper show.  I can promise you that most of the 
potential customers were quite impressed and so were some of the people 
exhibiting boats beside the dock I used.  The space available was triangular
about 65 feet a side. I can tell you that usually I use the engine, but
if I need I know how to manage without it.

>Another thing.  This advice totally ignores the variables of local 
>circumstance.

I never said this is a trick you use without considering the local circum-
stances.

>Large marinas can be quite busy.  Pulling a 360 in the fairway may not be
>an option during daylight hours.  Some docks are near shore and occasionally
>have narrow channles through the shoals.  Still want to 360?

Pulling a 360 does not take an awfull lot of time, if the other boats are
using engines they have the abilitys to keep clear. If my engine power is
not available and I have to dock downwind and the wind is hard I do not see
many options. You know about a better alternative? 

>I'm all for sailing.  I believe that most circumstances can be handled
>with sail alone.  If you have the time and inclination for the wind to
>be fair for your maneuver it's even possible that *all* circumstances can
>be handled under sail.  However, back in the modern world there
>are times when the engine is really the tool of choice.  IMO, it is an error
>to let pride of seamanship come before practicality. 

I am not talking about situations where the use of the engine is a matter
of choice. I am just talking about how to try to survive, when it is not.

>If you spend even a modest amount of effort and time on a diesel engine you
>will find it to be a most willing and reliable ally.  All it really wants
>is clean lube oil, clean fuel, adequate cooling, and a battery that
>will crank it.  It is my opinion that these are no more difficult to
>keep in good order than the rigging of any boat big enough to have an
>engine.  

You never seen some rope that has been left in the water catching some 
innocent sailor's propeller and making the otherwise perfect diesel useless?
Because I have seen and heard about so many engine failures, it took me
more than two seasons to start to trust in the first engine in my boat.
It had sofar never failed, when I needed it. Then the lever pulling and 
pushing the gears on failed, and I can tell you that I was happy to have
a plan and the ability to dock without the engine. In my present boat the
engine has not failed during the eight seasons I have owned the boat, but
still I always do a mental plan - how to approach that particular dock
with the sail only and even if I use the engine my approach is to use
the engine power as little as possible. Several times I manage without
even putting the gear on. It has nothing do with pride or something like
that, it has to do with the safety, I would be worried if I would not
know that I can control my boat with the sails.
 
>As early as the latter part of the nineteenth century, when a lot of cargo
>was still moving on sailing ships, steam fired harbor tugs became the norm.
>I think those old timers knew a good thing when they saw it.

I feel that too many people have too much confidence in their engines and
too little confidence in their sails. As I have stated already several 
times, I have seen more small accidents happening to sailboat docking
under engine than under sail. I have rescued a sailor in a 25 knot breeze,
when his engine stopped and he did not have confidence in his sailing
skill. Actually he expected me to tow him under sail, but I refused and
dropped the sails and used the engine. But I can tell you that, had my
engine not worked I am quite confident that I would have been able to
get us in with the sail, even if the harbour was uppwind.
>  
>>Practice it for some times in open water to get confidence in your 
>>manouver.

>Good advice.  Then do some mechanical maintenance so you'll
>have confidence in your engine.
      
Might be hard for you to understand that the problems are caused by
the people with too much confidence in their engines, because they do
not plan the situation properly and believe that the engine will baill
them out of any situation they will encounter.

>cheers,
>gerard

- Lauri Tarkkonen