High Sides

[BOAT]

Hey! How do they keep the rope from twisting up when they twirl it like that?

[NiceAft]

I expect someone to tell me I’m crazy, but the voice of the commentator on that Will Rogers clip resembles Rodger MacGregor’s voice , or the other way around. Let’s be clear; I know it’s not his voice, I’m just saying “resembles”.

[Jimmyt]

If it was Roger, that would explain why the rope doesn't get twisted. Roger never participated in anything that wasn't great.

[Herschel]

I expect someone to tell me I’m crazy, but the voice of the commentator on that Will Rogers clip resembles Rodger MacGregor’s voice , or the other way around. Let’s be clear; I know it’s not his voice, I’m just saying “resembles”.

Yes, there is quite a resemblance. I can just hear Roger relating how my 26X could be towed behind a Ford Taurus. Shucks, I couldn't even get my Crown Vic to tow the thing beyond 45 m.p.h. and with a 7 inch riser at the hitch just to keep the surge brakes from holding me back. Yes, the golden voice of our benefactor...

Full disclosure: the original owner did add a bunch of stuff including a double axle!

[NiceAft]

Herschel,

This is a true story.

In 2004, when I was looking into purchasing a Mac, I was with a NJ Mac dealer. I had seen that photo of the Taurus pulling a Mac. When I asked the dealer that very question, this is what he said to me.

He had asked Rodger MacGregor the same question; how did you get a Taurus to pull that boat? He said Rodger’s response was “I didn’t tell the Taurus.”

[jimbo]

The problem no one has mentioned is when a really stiff breeze is blowing you away from the dock; when the bow gets close, the stern will be blown several feet away, and vice versa. . . . . .

That is why I mentioned - if you have room, drive the hull forward under power. The hull will end up parallel to the dock.

[NiceAft]

The problem no one has mentioned is when a really stiff breeze is blowing you away from the dock; when the bow gets close, the stern will be blown several feet away, and vice versa. . . . . .

That is why I mentioned - if you have room, drive the hull forward under power. The hull will end up parallel to the dock.

I unfortunately have to disagree.

Regrettably, I have been in extremely windy docking situations where when the bow has been far along the dock, but the stern was blown five or six feet away from the dock, and rapidly moving even farther.

For over forty years I have been spending two weeks on Lake George, NY. For fifteen of those years I took Nice Aft there. I learned how to compensate for all of the varied conditions I would face while docking, but the extreme wind that can suddenly blow overcomes all tactics I have learned. The high freeboard negates all under those conditions.

I have a loosely hanging line along the side of the boat,stem to stern. I also attach on the dock a line the length of the dock to grab with a hook. When the wind is blowing, there is no way to keep her parallel to the dock.

[Herschel]

I have a loosely hanging line along the side of the boat, stem to stern. I also attach on the dock a line the length of the dock to grab with a hook. When the wind is blowing, there is no way to keep her parallel to the dock.

I do the same, but I put a couple of small floats on that line so it is floating. I put the fenders/floats in the location that I want the boat hook(s) to snag against and stay secured to until I can pull the boat alongside the dock. Upon which I jump with the stern line in hand, secure it quickly to the cleat and then holding the lifelines, move forward quickly to take the bow line from the Admiral and take that to the cleat.

[NiceAft]

In the conditions I have experience, there is no way to do what you explained. Yes, under normal to slightly breezy conditions, but when the winds suddenly comes through those Adirondack mountains and up or down the lake (from the north is the worst), at no time is the boat parallel to the dock. Jumping off the boat to the dock is not happening. I can’t jump off the boat and land on a dock at least seven feet away.

There have been times when I would jump onto the dock, grab the line traversing the length of the boat, and muscle Nice Aft (as it was being blown away) back to the dock.

Under really windy conditions, at no time is the boat parallel to the dock. It’s not for lack of agility; it’s just that I can’t fly:

[BOAT]

In the conditions I have experience, there is no way to do what you explained. Yes, under normal to slightly breezy conditions, but when the winds suddenly comes through those Adirondack mountains and up or down the lake (from the north is the worst), at no time is the boat parallel to the dock. Jumping off the boat to the dock is not happening. I can’t jump off the boat and land on a dock at least seven feet away.

There have been times when I would jump onto the dock, grab the line traversing the length of the boat, and muscle Nice Aft (as it was being blown away) back to the dock.

Under really windy conditions, at no time is the boat parallel to the dock. It’s not for lack of agility; it’s just that I can’t fly:

Yeah - I hear you Ray, if the wind is blowing the boat away from the dock the safest way to approach it for me is to go backwards - I stay on the boat - no jumping off if the wind is blowing the boat away from the dock - I am too afraid of losing the boat doing that - I just drive right up to the dock cleat backwards and when the cleat is right there about 2 feet from the transom I throw a line around the dock cleat and tie it off on the boat. Once I know I have a good connection to the dock - THEN I will "jump" on to the dock. That way if I fall in I just get wet but the boat does not float away without me.

If the wind is blowing INTO the dock I think things are much easier because I just let the wind drift me into the dock. Can't get easier than that.

[Tomfoolery]

If it's a really strong cross-wind that will blow you away from your finger pier and into another boat, use a spring line off the cabin winch. That's about the closest thing you have to a midship cleat unless you tie the spring line to the mast. Or better, just take a quarter turn around the mast to the winch so you can control the length from the cockpit.

I've only ever done that once, on a 34 ft keelboat I used to have, when there was no way I was getting into my downwind slip without help, and there was no one around to help.

https://www.boatus.com/magazine/2013/Fe ... -lines.asp

[NiceAft]

I appreciate all of the experiences you guys have been sharing, but they don’t relate.

BOAT, 99.9% of the time I back in, and I am really good at doing it. Fifteen years of owning Nice Aft, I should be doing something right.

Maybe no one has experienced a wind blowing across a dock so hard that there is no possible way to have the bow and the stern both next to the dock at the same time. If you throttle up to go into the slip really fast, in the time to throttle back to still the forward/backward momentum, the last part in is already a great distance from the dock.

Trust me, strangers have come over to me just to congratulate me on the ease at which I back that Mac into a slip, but in the conditions I am trying to describe, absolutely nothing works. I have been sailing for over fifty years, I am no newbie.

[Jimmyt]

I get it Ray. My ramp is well protected from 3 sides. But, if you get lucky enough to have a strong blow from the unprotected side, it is a docking challenge. Plus, it's too shallow to run more than a foot or two of dagger. Now that I know what will happen, I dock at the fuel dock which puts my stern to the wind. Then, I stand on the dock and walk the boat around the corner, with bow and stern lines in either hand, to line up on the ramp. It's less than 30 ft total distance, so not a big deal. Much less stress for me. Not nearly as entertaining for onlookers...

[NiceAft]

Speaking of onlookers; the very first time I pulled Nice Aft out of the water, I walked alongside to watch the ballast emptying. I was fascinated. An older fellow walks over, and very confidently exclaimed “ That boat is too new for that much water in the bilge.” True story.

[Starscream]

We have a couple of these on board to get the first line onto a dock cleat. Once you have that first one, the second is almost certain.

https://www.cruisingsolutions.com

I haven't really needed them yet, there always seems to be an option if I think a certain dock isn't manageable.