Single-Handed Casting Off and Docking - What To Do When Things Go Wrong 

Preset the bow line in a bowline on the end of a boat hook. You can slip it onto a cleat on the dock easily from a good distance, and it just comes off the hook with a yank.

I use a midship aft spring line when docking One line on cleat at the end of your dock After you put the line on you just power against it and steer the bow I leave it in gear at idle and it holds the boat until you put the other lines on You can also use it to position the boat for departure Reverse sequence then take the engine out of gear and it’s the last line off when it goes slack When wind is going to push the bow on departure you can position the bow toward the wind in the slip before you take the spring line off

Brother, the first step I do is to prepare the shore lines for removal. That means untangling and ensuring all tie offs are a single cleat hitch.. that way you’re not fighting the boat while removing 5 turns and 3 hitches on a line.

it's not easy! One thing I really don't like is when someone pulls or pushes on my stanchions. Let alone tying a boat to them. They are not made for that. Ask anybody who spent hours pulling them out, cleaning and re-bedding them.

Jumping on someone else's boat should not be part of the boating regime. I have never jumped on a neighbors boat except the time that I fended a boat from the motor of a neighbors boat. It's not difficult but takes practice to solo a sailboat. I do it nearly daily.

You did well. You talked through the process, knew enough about wind & prop walk, and adjusted to the situation. Maybe solo sail with a friend, meaning, bring someone along but still do everything yourself. A 2nd set of eyes and immediate feedback on the situation could smooth the rough edges in “what to do now” moments. I know I was working through what I would do/have done in similar moments, without being critical of what you were doing. However, my Catalina 22 looks a bit smaller than your boat. 😆 I’m happy you posted this so we all could reflect on our own skills. Looking forward to your next solo sail! Fair winds! 🍻

I respect that you’ve taken the time to make a video, but seriously, can I suggest you get a sailing instructor to spend a day with you on your boat so you can learn some techniques for docking. Best wishes on your learning journey! 👍

I just went to do the exact same thing slipped the bow first went to undo the spring and the bow came out. Your walk down the boat holding it in technique is what I needed. Possibly lines set to slip too. Good video - single handed leaving the dock is a nightmare

Sharing your mistakes helps other to learn without having to make the same mistakes themselves. I've got a bit of feedback; first, you should try to decouple boat speed from engine speed in your mind. Just because your engine is fast doesn't necessarily mean your boat is fast (though it could). When moving slowly, you will have less rudder control. However, you can use prop wash in forward to get a lot more maneuverability than you might expect. Turn your wheel, put the engine in gear, apply an appropriate amount of throttle, idle down and take the engine back out of gear. This will push water into your rudder and cause the boat to turn quicker. The idea is to only be in gear for a brief moment, because you don't actually want the boat to move forward. I suggest practicing this technique in open water. One more helpful hint I have for you is that if you have strong prop walk on your boat in reverse, its ok to gain a bit of momentum and then switch back to neutral and just let the boat drift. you'll have a lot better steerage in reverse this way. This is getting long for a youtube comment, so I'll just end by saying you did a lot right here. You were going slow enough that when things went wrong, they only went a little wrong. Nothing was broken and you didn't panic, and that's a bigger win than some people will give you credit for. Cheers!

Good on ya for posting it though!!! You’ll get there.

Hello new subscriber here from Frenchman’s Bay I am a solo sailor and for me docking gives me lots of anxiety because I have same problems a lot watch this I definitely can relate and no matter what I do I just hope for the best 🤞

Well! If no damage, it’s a success 👍🏻

So what do you do when you have a swirling 5 knot runout tide with a 6 knot side wind and your on your own

Nice one Sir, nicely explained, with beautiful visuals, hats off to your talent with cameras❤, We met last week during Timelapse, if you still remember me Sir😊

Great job in a difficult situation. Always more challenging sailing solo. Keep those videos coming.

Keep a short forward running spring tied with a loop at the first cleat or pulling coming in. (Measured for length to keep the bow off the dock forward) Grab it and pop it on the forward cockpit winch. Pop the boat back in forward at idle and it should keep you pinned to the dock while you gat the rest of the lines on. Proper cleat hitch will make it much cleaner to get the lines off also might do the bow line last if wind is going to push you around. Great job going with the flow reversing out of the fairway though.

Seems like that initial reverse with the rudder a bit to starboard (that then in reverse kicked the rear to starboard instead) threw you off a bit. An earlier counter steer once you had it straightened up going forward again (then quickly back to center before the reverse to avoid another unintentional yaw) and it would have been golden. I once mashed a dock pretty hard trying to burn off speed but had the rudder hard over without realizing it. I'm sure I'll do it again.

Everytime I shove off, I do it myself. Catalina 30 owner in Dana Point. I've never had or needed help to depart, return etc. Practice makes perfect.. I've been sailor since the 80's

How not to dock a sailboat!

t'aint that hard McGhee

Goowd... this is the easiest going in, in perfect still weather and you managed to f....k it up ....Congrats and by by ...

Tying onto the stanchions of your dockmate’s boat? WTF? If I saw you do that to my boat, I’d give you holy hell. Learn how to control your boat or sell it!

Wow u did not just use the stanchions on another mans boat ???🫨 and on the top of it so the torque of pull will have full effect on the deck mount 😣