Docking next to Bulkhead

Skip Boyer said:
We have a slip very similar to what you are looking at. Pros; short walk to parking lot, we have finger on both sides, (only slip like that here) etc. Con; the aluminum catwalk starts getting noisy about one or two am when people are departing in a less than sober state. LOL
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Hmm...I'm in North Carolina too, with a bulkhead slip, and a finger on both sides of me.
 
That's a great slip. When you said bulkhead, I was imagining what others were thinking.... A slip with a wall next to your rub rail. Getting off of that typically requires you pivoting off the bow and backing out - either partially or fully down the fairway. That situation sucks.
 
Blueone said:
This is similar to what I have...vertical 4x6 posts mounted to a floating dock. I then mounted fenders to the posts like these. That way it’s just my bow rail against the post in a south wind.
I had fenders against the hull for a short period but no matter what I did they would scratch
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Docks with those posts are the only ones I like. Keeps the fenders off the Blue when tied up and lets you know where the dock even is sometimes when you're pulling in.
 
Going to be tough to dock in any kind of wind unless you have a thruster, you only can approach from one direction. The marina i am at has the same problem trying to lease similar slips. They discount them and still have a problem filling them
 
Michael Mirra said:
Going to be tough to dock in any kind of wind unless you have a thruster, you only can approach from one direction. The marina i am at has the same problem trying to lease similar slips. They discount them and still have a problem filling them
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My thought, too. With stern drives I go past my slip to the pivot point then start to reverse in. The pivot point is about midship. If the fairway is wide enough he could turn to port to line up and then back in. My marina is to tight for this with boats overhanging their slips.
 
JimT said:
My thought, too. With stern drives I go past my slip to the pivot point then start to reverse in. The pivot point is about midship. If the fairway is wide enough he could turn to port to line up and then back in. My marina is to tight for this with boats overhanging their slips.
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You are one of the guys I was talking about in my previous post:
"I have a bulkhead slip. When other boats come down the fairway, pass their slip to about midships and then back right in, I think, "I wish I had it that easy"."
 
Years ago I had a 40' sailboat with a single prop on a 40 hp diesel. Docking required careful planning of wind and current. I would drive 10 slips past mine, stop and back up to the slip. Many times because of the wind/current I couldn't get the bow to come around to make the turn into the slip. I had one afternoon I tried 5 times without success and much embarrassment. Put in bow first and the next morning with no wind backed in first try.
 
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Place three large round fenders on the wall side in strategic locations and keep them there for the season. Then it will does not matter what direction the wind is blowing. You will be able to get in and out with no mishaps. The OPr has twin 8.1s and his boat will easily handle this situation. I would place one fender on the wall outside of the slip for days when the wind is pushing the boat in that direction. Then another fender on the open end of the slip. A third one somewhere in the middle of the finger dock that protects the aft end. If the wind is on the bow or stern, no problem. If it is 90 degrees to the hull you can back down slowly and the fenders will protect you. Here is a big guy in Frankfort, Michigan getting out of an identical slip in a much tighter space. It helps if you know how to pilot a boat. This guy does. Practice makes you a better skipper.
 
sbw1 said:
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Place three large round fenders on the wall side in strategic locations and keep them there for the season. Then it will does not matter what direction the wind is blowing. You will be able to get in and out with no mishaps. The OPr has twin 8.1s and his boat will easily handle this situation. I would place one fender on the wall outside of the slip for days when the wind is pushing the boat in that direction. Then another fender on the open end of the slip. A third one somewhere in the middle of the finger dock that protects the aft end. If the wind is on the bow or stern, no problem. If it is 90 degrees to the hull you can back down slowly and the fenders will protect you. Here is a big guy in Frankfort, Michigan getting out of an identical slip in a much tighter space. It helps if you know how to pilot a boat. This guy does. Practice makes you a better skipper.
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Good size boat there!
 
I have a side tie at my fixed bulkhead. Usually no problem.
My boat measures about 45+ feet from anchor to further steps aft point in platform and my spot is 50 feet long so it can get a bit tight.
Stays put with a bow line, stern line, and two spring lines to keep it from moving too far back and forth.
Gets a little more challenging when a strong wind is pushing me off of the dock. It makes coming in a little tougher, and when tied up and hanging out on the boat it means I have to keep pulling the boat closer to the dock with the lines to get on and off. Not a big deal though, except when my hands are full.
 
If you want stern in, just get to your slip, rotate 180 like you are leaving, then back it in. You don't need to go past your slip then back in. Even though I am not on a wall like this, I often rotate 180 to back upwind and not have the wind push me more down wind as I would have been going downwind.
 
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