SLIPS

larglo · Post by **larglo** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 10:14 am

Hi all,

I have noticed when walking around the marina, some have their slips really fixed up nice.
Some have went so far as to make a deck in the front of their slips and put table & chairs on them.

Potted plants, lights, and even fridge's on their decks, any thing to gazz it up.

I really like the deck idea. My slip, being 12 feet wide, I could have a 12' x 4' deck. I have even thought of getting a 40' slip, which is 16' wide, for our boat, in order to make a larger deck. I could place a deck box on it, to store needed items in it, so as to not clutter up the boat.

Do any of you fix up your slips like this? Sure would like to hear about what some of you may have done to your slips.

Larry

ready123 · Post by **ready123** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 10:35 am

Personally I cringe when I see slips with plants etc: unless they are growing herbs.... mint for the Mojito's.

I sit in the camp of if you own a boat get out on it.... of course I happen to have some of the most beautiful cruising areas 20 minutes and more away.... only down side is my season is May to Nov.
I added 40 mins to my car drive just so I could save an hour's boating getting to those anchorages each weekend.

Here's one:

Now if the boating area is boring then I can see why people might stay at the dock..... if that were my situation I would try to find a better place to keep my boat.

When you start staying out for days at a time Larry you will appreciate the difference it makes to one's health and enjoyment.... so spend your time doing that... if the water is not hard why not get out there and float at anchor

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 10:40 am

At our marina, the activity that you describe with additions and all got so out of hand that the marina mandated that it ALL be taken down. It got so bad that people were putting so much stuff on the dock in front of their slips that you couldn't even walk through to get to your boat without people having to move tables, chairs, BBQ grills etc. They had canvas shelters made and put up and all sorts of other things.

When you came through with a wheeled cart to carry all of your items for the weekend and they had to move all of their stuff because the dock was totally blocked......lets just say that many got angry and said things they shouldn't have. They gave little or no consideration to anyone else.

Our main dock is about 3/10 of a mile long and my slip is near the very end. On a busy weekend such as a holiday it was like running a gauntlet just to get to the boat.

Hope that yours works out much better.

I agree with Ready123...use the boat as much as possible. I travel frequently to the North Channel and Georgian Bay and love the beautiful scenery. There is also nothing like spending a few days at Tobermory. What a great place!

jddens · Post by **jddens** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 12:58 pm

My marina does not allow anything on the dock other than a dock box.......

Tuck · Post by **Tuck** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 2:25 pm

jddens wrote:My marina does not allow anything on the dock other than a dock box.......

ditto that. same here. and i'm very thankful for it.

the first marina i called "home" allowed all kinds of stuff and most of it was very tacky, imho. but then again, this paticular marina was mainly full of drunks and as i call 'em, "yahoos".

the marina i call home now, doesn't allow any of that stuff, except for dockboxes. the marina is very clean, well kept, and modern. very nice, and we all like it that way.

larglo · Post by **larglo** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 4:02 pm

At Fate Sanders marina, where I am at present, there is nothing allowed to be put in the walkway. They are allowed to take any remaining space left over depending on the boat length and use it to build a deck. Exp. I'm in a 30 ft slip, my boat is 25 ft, so I can use the extra 5 ft, and place a deck there. And use it for what ever, dock box chairs, etc. That's why I was thinking about getting a 40 ft slip, so I would have extra space to use, if I so desired.

My last marina allowed dock boxes to be placed in the walkway making you have to dodge them while walking. Plus people would leave other items in the walkway too. And it seemed dark and dirty. What is funny is, their slips are $45.00 more per month than where I am now! It was also 12 miles from my home, where as I'm only 2.2 miles from my home at Fate Sanders. I can get there in 2.5 minutes!

I'm located at the beginning of the 30 ft slips, it then expands to 50 ft slips having houseboats and yachts in those. The people take a lot of pride in their area and are very friendly and helpful.

They are in the process of building new docks for 30 ft boats. The difference is, they are 13 ft wide, where as my 30 ft slip is only 12 ft wide. And I need all the room I can get right now till I get more experence in handling the boat, so I may move to one of them when they are finished.

I like the whole 9 yards of boating. My wife and I love to cruise, or finding a nice cove, drop anchor and fish, but there are times when we like relaxing on the boat in the slip, mainly on weekends when there are a lot of boats on the lake. During the week, we seem to have the lake all to ourselves. We had a 24 ft pontoon boat before we got our Trojan. But we love the Trojan a lot more, even though we haven't been able to use it as much as the pontoon, but we will!

Larry

ready123 · Post by **ready123** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 4:14 pm

larglo wrote:They are in the process of building new docks for 30 ft boats. The difference is, they are 13 ft wide, where as my 30 ft slip is only 12 ft wide. And I need all the room I can get right now till I get more experence in handling the boat, so I may more to one of them when they are finished.Larry

Actually Larry that is not in fact correct... more is not better.... if you try to use the extra distance away from the dock you are in fact making it even more difficult to dock the boat.

The solution to your inexperience is not more water to work in it is getting the knowledge and skill to handle the boat. Then practice will make it perfect.... you will not get any better sitting at the dock no matter how wide it is.

Have you purchased a book or e-book on boat handling? You will be surprised how much it will help.... bringing a single srew inboard alongside a dock is quite foreign to any prior experience we may have had before boating.
http://www.boatingwithdawsons.com/eless ... esson.html
Here is a free online one (yes it is that simple):
http://www.ehow.com/how_12604_dock-single-screw.html
It says:
Step 1
Approach the dock from four or more boat lengths downwind.
Step 2
Set up fenders and dock lines.
Step 3
Stand off the dock one to two boat lengths.
Step 4
Slow to bare steerage way.
Step 5
Estimate one boat-length's distance from the dock.
Step 6
Turn and point the bow to a spot about midway along the dock.
Step 7
Shift to neutral.
Step 8
Turn away from the dock when the bow is within a beam's distance of the dock.
Step 9
Make gentle contact with the dock at a spot somewhere between the beam and the bow. Cushion the contact spot with plenty of fenders.
Step 10
Allow 1 to 3 feet of distance between the stern and the dock.
Step 11
Turn away from the dock.
Step 12
Shift to reverse and apply a moderate burst of throttle to stop the boat and pull the stern to the dock.
Step 13
Step onto the dock and secure the boat.
QED

Or if reading and applying it yourself does not work for you find a way to get someone to teach you (a professional tutor)... a short two hour lesson in your boat will give you the skills and have you amazed at how easy it is to handle your boat well.

foofer b · Post by **foofer b** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 10:00 am

Larry, you mentioned the solution in your post---- You have the lake to yourself weekdays!!!!!!!!!! So go down there, by yourself, on a calm day, and practice manuevering your boat. First try it in wide open water, getting a good fell for how she handles-really learning the limitations of the f25 or f26 in my case. Then, move closer to a slip near the end of the dock, and practice approaches. Then try putting her in the slip. With patience (that's why I said go alone), you will learn how to spin her right around. Just remember, go very very slowly, and just bump the engine into gear and then out just enuff to swing her around. remember the she will only back up turning to one side, mine is LH rotation so she backs to starboard. Am I making sense??

duchess · Post by **duchess** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 4:49 pm

Damm but that anchorage is gorgous!!! Where do you do your boating ? i d luv to be anchoring out in places like that . Down here at the jersey shore we dont do a lot of anchoring out now due to being invaded by the damm sea neetles stinginging jellyfish to the those who dont know what they are . Tom "Duchess"

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 6:08 pm

Ready that tells you how to pull up to a dock not in to a a slip . If Had to read that when docking I would crash and burn

Every slip you pull into will be slighty diffrent so take your time , never go faster then you can aford to hit the dock

A professional tutor is a good idea or a frend /dock mate thats handles a boat well. most boaters are helpfull

foofer b · Post by **foofer b** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 7:07 pm

that is a gorgeous anchorage. I bet it is so quiet and peaceful. Must be nice.

rossjo · Post by **rossjo** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 7:33 pm

Larry - do you have 1 or 2 engines in your boat?

2 engines is much easier, but 1 is very do-able with some practice.

Are you on a river or lake? At least you don't have different tide direction every time you dock!

ready123 · Post by **ready123** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 7:48 pm

prowlersfish wrote:Ready that tells you how to pull up to a dock not in to a a slip . If Had to read that when docking I would crash and burn

Read it and understand it before docking.... unless the slip is only as wide as the boat that system still works.
You are 2 boat lengths away from the slip and one away at right angles then you aim for midpoint of the slip and proceed slowly by the time you have travelled those 2 boat lengths to get to the start of the slip you should be much closer to the slip. The remaining steps will land you alongside. As I said before QED

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 9:11 pm

ready123 wrote:
prowlersfish wrote:Ready that tells you how to pull up to a dock not in to a a slip . If Had to read that when docking I would crash and burn
Read it and understand it before docking.... unless the slip is only as wide as the boat that system still works.
You are 2 boat lengths away from the slip and one away at right angles then you aim for midpoint of the slip and proceed slowly by the time you have travelled those 2 boat lengths to get to the start of the slip you should be much closer to the slip. The remaining steps will land you alongside. As I said before QED

If you dock side to ( "land you along side"), most slips ( not all)I have seen you back into (or bow in ) of course there are areas were side to can be the norm. the instutions you had for pulling alongside a dock "How to Dock a Single-Screw Powerboat Alongside a Dock"

http://www.ehow.com/how_12605_dock-single-screw.html
From the site you had

How to Dock a Single-Screw Powerboat in a Slip
.Things You'll Need:
â€¢Boating Safety
â€¢Boats
Step
1Slow to bare steerage way.

Step
2Set up fenders and dock lines.

Step
3Align the boat with the slip from at least one and a half boat lengths away.

Step
4Shift to neutral. Outboard and inboard/outboard boats may need to shift to forward if the steering fails.

Step
5Shift to reverse when half of the boat is in the slip.

Step
6Slow the boat to a stop and shift to neutral.

Step
7Step onto the dock and secure the boat.

IMO they are very poor instuctions like #5 shift into reverse when have the boat is in the slip ? how did it get there ? LOL I guess there talking bow in ? in many slips you can line up 1 1/2 boat lenths ahead i would be in another slip across from mine

BTW QED ??

ready123 · Post by **ready123** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 9:56 pm

prowlersfish wrote: in many slips you can line up 1 1/2 boat lenths ahead i would be in another slip across from mine BTW QED ??

1 1/2 lboat lengths between your bow and the slip (distance off) that is not near another slip.
QED=Quite Easily Done

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SLIPS

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