Docking with Loop

[@berndminde1674]

Awesome technique! I don't have the shepherd's hook - I just hook to the cleat and hope for the best! I put a snubber in the line! Nice soft landing! Fair winds!!

[@TallyHo322]

I like the snubber idea.

[@antknee8695]

Thanks for the great video. I do the same with the aft spring, but the hose around the line idea is brilliant.

[@markchodroff250]

I had a 35’ sailboat and rigged two lines in a V cradle to catch The bow as I was coming in , just reached over and attached one spring line to the rear cleat by the wheel and I was in ! Sailed many times by myself, great set up never hit the dock or the other boat ! P.S. make sure you make a knot 24” or so in the V line so the bow won’t hit the dock !

[@TallyHo322]

That would be great, except we don’t have any pilings or piers between my slipmate and me, so no place to tie off one leg of the V. One guy on my dock made a V out of 2x4’s…sort of captures the bow between the finger pier on one side and the 2x4 thing on the other. When my son and I were taking lessons on a Catalina 36, my son was at the helm, and came in a bit hot…the instructor started off “a little more reverse…”. Then …A little MORE reverse… then HARD REVERSE! I cringed as I thought we were going to hit the concrete dock pretty hard…. But I noticed a line tied between the piers on either side of the slip, and a “net” of some kind to catch the boat and keep it from plowing into the dock! Whew! It was the slip they always used for training… I guess my son wasn’t the first one to come in a bit hot.

[@markchodroff250]

@@TallyHo322 your son was lucky! LOL . I think you might need to rethink the idea and come up with something really new ? Or always have hands to help dock ?

[@TallyHo322]

@@markchodroff250 We both were! I kept wondering who is going to be responsible (my son…which meant me) or the instructor! I have several friends on my dock, and they always come over to lend a hand when they see my me coming in…but I single-hand 95% of the time…so I don’t have crew most of the time. But all is good…my loop works great. Greg

[@ubman13]

Nice idea, thanks for posting.

[@Allformyequine]

I do exactly the same thing but use a rear winch; works perfectly!

[@rswaim7607]

Great idea!

[@christopherstevenson9737]

Nice single handed method. 2 questions A. What’s the hook made of? And how is it attached? B. The marina doesn’t have issue w something new attached to finger pier?

[@TallyHo322]

Hi Chris, the hook is a Shepard’s hook from a garden center. It has 2 short legs that would normally get stuck in the ground. I took a 2x6 and drilled 2 holes in it, to stick the legs of the Shepard’s hook into. Then I screwed the block of wood to the outside wood of my finger pier. My marina allows us to drill into the wood (at our own risk…if we drill into one of the plastic floats we are in trouble)… I had made a wooden hook (2x4 post and a cross arm) but it wasn’t quite tall enough and I pulled it off the pier one time backing out when my bow pulpit caught it. The metal,Shepard’s hook is pretty compact (narrow and straight up), takes less room on the finger pier, and in general looks better than my “hangman’s gallows” made out of wood. Cheers, Greg

[@christopherstevenson9737]

@@TallyHo322 Thanks Greg. Will see what my marina says