How to Dock in a Crosswind on a Catamaran (in a tight space) | Inspire and Learn

[@mentorforhire]

Great vids well explained. I prefer to use a spring too

[@nimrodofbeaulieu2638]

I would like to say Thank you team for another great video. My wife and I are recent Cat L420 owners and before we bought her I watched all your docking videos. OMG what you say and demonstrate works perfectly We are based in the Adriatic where we are mored between wooden piles. I cannot tell you how much value these videos are. Thank you so much SV Catapult

[@TMGYachts]

Thanks for your cooment SV Catapult, glad we can help! Enjoy the adventure! Cheers, Joe

[@Sailing-alma]

Super

[@priit47]

Just so thankful for your videos. These are really really useful and helpful, and they help me and others to operate catamarans by themselves in real situations. You are just so excellent, really thankful.

[@RobSangster]

Great video, looks useful for my new berth :)

[@TMGYachts]

Glad this helped Rob!

[@ChristineAtherton-h6p]

Thanks team, I needed this about 3 weeks ago - but no damage other than to my ego!

[@TMGYachts]

😂

[@tmattoneill]

Nice! One trick is if you're needing to drop anchor as you back into a spot versus into a cradle dock like that. Would love to see this with cross wind but using an anchor as your bowline.

[@TMGYachts]

This is a great idea, we will add this one to the list :)

[@devinpratt8436]

These videos are very much appreciated. This one was of particular interest. I have Lagoon 400 S2 in a berth, Med mooring, with a boat on starboard and a concrete wall on port. The concrete wall is leeward, which makes backing into the wind impossible. I have been fortunate so far that the wind has not been strong enough that I have lost control. Any advice if backing in is not an option? I do ask for a tender assist between me and the concrete wall, but I want to plan how I would handle it if the tender was not available.

[@yoz77]

Thanks. Your videos are great. Why don’t you lock stern windward line first as is done almost always ?

[@jbrownson]

Good video, thanks

[@TMGYachts]

Thank you!

[@antoniocappuccini1498]

Thanks for these superbly made videos! One question: just generally speaking, I learned at school that the windward (stern-)line is gotta be the first to fix. Not in this case. And I wondered why. Thank you

[@TMGYachts]

Hi Antonio, this is a good question. Given the berth demonstrated in this video, the leewater line was preferable as we were resting on that side of the pen - and this is the quickest way to stablise the boat. Had we been backing into a double berth with another vessel in there, on the windward side of the other vessel, the the windward line would be preferable as we could have then driven on it to lift the us off the other vessel, and keep it to windward alongside its own windward finger dock. You have been thought the right way, just slightly difference situation. Joe

[@antoniocappuccini1498]

@@TMGYachts OK, got it. Thanks for your reply!

[@nimrodofbeaulieu2638]

Hi guys I know there must be a way but I can’t find it. Would love a video on how best to prevent twist in halyards Our L420 main halyard is a 2:1 purchase (ie is fixed at the top of the mast and has a block on the main head). It always seems to have a twist in the halyard Any help greatly appreciated Jonathan & Rachel Catapult

[@jonny-dn]

How would you handle docking in a similar horseshoe but with wind blowing you off the side you wish to dock at? We have a smaller cat and a boat next to us so in your scenario we would be blown onto our neighbour.

[@TMGYachts]

Hi Jonny, For backing into a double berth with another vessel parked to leeward, the manoeuvre is much the same, however you cant pause like I did when you have overlap with the pontoon. You need to get the into the pen fully, then secure a windward like on your stern cleat and drive on it. This will hold you off the other vessel and against your own finger while you secure all other lineds. Of course make sure you are well rendered on your leeward side as you inevitably will rest on your neighbor for a short while... Hope this help, Joe

[@jonny-dn]

@@TMGYachts Yes it does help Joe, thanks. The problem with a stern line though is you have to be almost fully in the berth before deploying it. By that time you invariably find yourself alongside the other vessel, particularly in a blow. I suppose your point about waiting for a lull in the wind then applies here. Often we are too fixated at getting in at all costs after a tiring sail! Thanks again, much appreciated.

[@ysesq]

can you show us solo ?

[@geoff850]

I loathe to criticize you, as I have found most of your videos very helpful, but I am afraid this one avoids the elephant in the room- namely trying to dock on a finger, while blowing off it, in twenty knots, with another boat in the adjacent finger with little room to spare. I have done it using a completely different technique, which I picked up from an Outremer video.The trick is to back downwind, and aim as close as possible to the docking finger. When slightly up wind of it start the turn, and the wind will bring the bows around, plus the boat will be pushed downwind, and then quickly reverse inwards to dock. ps. if you have B&G don't use the spindle to lock the helm, use Follow Up to lock the rudders.

[@TMGYachts]

Hi Geoff, Thanks for your comment, glad the videos have helped. For backing into a double berth with another vessel parked to leeward, the manoeuvre is much the same, however you cant pause like I did when you have overlap with the pontoon as you'll end up resting on your neighbor. You need to get the into the pen fully, then secure a windward like on your stern cleat and drive on it. This will hold you off the other vessel and against your own finger while you secure all other lineds. Of course make sure you are well rendered on your leeward side as you inevitably will rest on your neighbor for a short while... As for the approach, if backing downwind and turning into the berth, 20 knots of wind will blow the bows very fast downwind and very quicky your bows will be too low to enter the berth. My logic with backing INTO the wind and turning into the berth means you are driving the bows into the wind, with enough speed to maintain control, you have much more control of the bows forcing them to windward than trying to control them moving downwind. Of course, if conditions are not safe to dock then best to anchor off until conditions are better to save doing any damage :) Which boat are you driving Geoff? Joe

[@geoff850]

@@TMGYachts Hi Joe, I 'm the owner of a Lagoon 42. Re your response, why I beg to differ is that when one backs up to the finger from a downwind position the boat is exposed to the wind beam on for far longer than doing a snap turn as I have previously described. This results in the boat essentially moving diagonally into the dock, as there is no way one can bring the bows upwind to align with the dock finger(unless there is a bow thruster) . Whereas, by turning into the dock from an upwind position one can get the boat perfectly aligned to the dock finger. Yes, if one gets a stern dock line on a cleat it will bring the bows upwind with help from the engines in forward, but invariably it's a bit late by then - especially in strong winds.

[@tracyoliver550]

@@TMGYachtson the L46, I can say as an owner, that both methods can work but in any wind over 12knts the extreme windage of the boat complicates both. Pic your poison, bows swinging too fast off the wind or not being able dive them enough up into the wind. It seems the lack of momentum of a bow swinging to leeward would make the approach from downwind safer, but if things go south I’ve found that the approach from upwind allows for a much easier escape if they do. When approaching from down wind, without adequate speed, if the bows fail to be driven perpendicular enough to the wind to enter the slip, you have no escape since by the time you realize it, you’re nearly against the leeward boat. Of course, adequate speed avoids this but comes w an entirely different set of risks and can be in violation of my person rule of never approaching a dock any faster than I’m willing to hit it.

[@TMGYachts]

@@tracyoliver550 Thanks for your comment. So many different circumstances for docking, and ultimately various ways to do a manoeuvre depending on experience and vessel handling. As I always say, best to anchor off and park later if you can get away with it :)

[@jonny-dn]

@@tracyoliver550 Agreed, approaching up-wind, stern-to allows for greater control and at any point during the 90 degree turn you can use engine power to keep you away from the neighbouring boat to leeward. The problem comes in getting the bows round and then having enough momentum to get you in the berth before you are blown across 😁