something fixed (could be a fender you
SAILING TIPS Mike Huston toss over but this only works on a calm
day). Practice coming up alongside
the reference (say 10 feet from it) and
Handling a Sailboat
stopping the boat with the reference
right beside you. I am suggesting this
in Tight Spaces
for a reason; most of my students have
a tendency to pull the boat into a slip
with great care. But once the crew hops
Applying Your Maneuvering Tools off the boat they relax and think they
are done. What they are forgetting
The second of a three part series on boat handling.
is to bring the boat to a full stop (it is
almost always still moving forward).
This article is the second in a series impact. Here is a fairly simple exercise; What I teach them is to look sideways,
on handling a sailboat in tight spaces. on a calm day, drive the boat for 1-2 at the dock or another boat, and see if
Last month’s discussion covered the minutes at 1 knot (say between .9 and they are still moving; and if so, to do
tools we have available to control a 1.1 just to be real about it). To do so you something about it. Practicing with the
sailboat under power. If you have will likely need to shift between forward reference point beside you helps create
not read last month’s article I would and neutral as most boats will go faster this habit.
recommend doing so before reading than this at idle. Repeat the exercise at Once you are comfortable stopping
this one – it can be found online at 2, 3 and 4 knots. Then go from the faster the boat with the reference point beside
www.48north.com, click on the link to speeds down to the slower speeds, see you, work with your crew to stop the
January’s magazine and turn to page if you can use a touch of reverse to slow boat with it beside or in front of the
42. down to the next lowest speed without bow. Have them call out to you the
Now let’s start applying the tools over shooting. Also pay attention to distance and point to the ball. We
we discussed last month to achieve your surroundings so you can get a feel use calls like “1 boat length,” “half a
different maneuvers. I will also include for each speed. boat length,” “10 feet” and “5 feet.”
some suggested exercises. The simpler Lastly, do this same exercise into This really helps with mooring balls
maneuvers will be listed first because a wind and then turn so the wind is because they usually disappear from
they are used later in more complex at your back. If the wind is strong the skipper’s view when you get close.
maneuvers. enough, going down wind may require Then try doing this exercise with wind
Please practice all of these skills in operating in reverse. If you want to or current, both helping and hurting.
a safe place – most of the early skills can practice in current you will need to use You should find it much easier to
be done around a stationary reference the SOG (speed over ground) reading stop going into the wind or current,
point in the water, like a mooring ball on your chart plotter or GPS rather then and this is why we usually approach
or a fender tossed overboard on a the knot meter. And if you are going mooring balls from downwind or into
windless day. I would suggest doing with the current, say a 1 knot current, the current. However, we still need to
them where there is little traffic and, skip the 1 knot speed as the boat will be good at stopping with the wind or
unless you want one, no audience. To be dead in the water and you will have current behind us as we may need to
start with, do these exercises without no steerage. dock in these conditions.
wind or current and then, when you Dock lines and manual labor can
feel ready, add them to perfect your Stopping – This skill is almost always also be helpful in stopping a boat when
skills. Just to be clear – these are all to used as part of docking or mooring. docking. They can become critical in
be done under power, no sails please. Sure, we may go dead in the water to some situations – say the engine fails to
One final thought, boat handling takes fix something but we usually just shift shift into reverse or the skipper comes
patience, things should be done no to neutral and let the boat drift to a stop. in too hot. For this reason, we usually
faster than is needed to maintain good At the dock this is unacceptable, we teach crew to take the mid-ship dock
control of the boat. need to be able to stop the boat within line with them and, once they are on
a predefined space – far enough into the dock, to hook it around a cleat near
Controlling Speed – There are two parts the slip to let the crew off, but without the outer end of the slip. This way, if the
to this skill; the first is learning how going ‘crunch’ at the end of the slip. skipper cannot stop the boat, they can
to control the boat’s speed by using There are three tools we can use to simply tighten the line to stop the boat.
the throttle and gear shift. The second stop the boat, propulsion, dock lines The mid-ship line works best, it gives
part is staying aware of how fast the and manual labor. Wind and current you time and line to work with and
boat is going (you can’t control what can also have an effect, either helping it will generally pull the boat into the
you are not aware of). This second or hurting, so they will also need to be dock without twisting it. This twisting
part is sometimes the hardest for new taken into account. is the main problem with using the
boaters. Start by practicing with the throttle bowline; pulling on it will swing the
Propulsion is the main tool, but and gear-shift. You will need a reference bow toward the dock and the stern out
wind and current can also have an point like a mooring ball or piling – (usually into another boat). The stern
48° No r t h , Fe b r u a r y 2010 Pa g e 32
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