Beautiful sunrise

[mnic001]

I feel like I'm always asking simple questions and not adding back to this community so wanted to share a photo with you all.

I recently spent a week in Stonington, CT. I didn't actually take the week fully off of work, so I didn't sail as much as I would have liked. Nevertheless, I was still able to go out on short outings with the family (and once solo with the dog) around the harbor and Sandy Point Island, as well as lend it to my cousins for a few small trips as well. All in all, really lovely. We kept the boat tied up on this "clothesline" next to the dock for the whole week which was a really nice change from having to drive to a lake and launch the boat to go for a sail. Looking forward to going back, maybe in the fall, and try some more daring trips.

Here's a picture of her tied up (at sunrise, thanks to my 2 year-old son's penchant for early mornings).

[GreenLake]

Beautiful indeed. Very nice.

And a great solution for a tricky docking situation.

[mnic001]

Thanks GreenLake. No one of the group of folks that uses the house had ever managed to use that "clothesline" before so I did feel proud of it. Most of the neighbors have 3-4 piling setups which looks easier in some ways (mostly RIBs -- the local sailboats are all on moorings, slips, or on the hard). I also considered using a lift that is installed on the other side of the dock which has a thousand pound capacity (and bunks which are almost the same as those on my trailer... but intended originally for a jet ski). That seemed a little hairy to try on our first trip though.

The "clothesline" has a couple of carabiner-like clips on either end and a lot of slack to work with. One of those clips attaches to the bow eye and the other clips into a bridle I rigged with an alpine butterfly knot on a line between my two stern cleats. That worked quite well (although it occasionally fouled on various bits of the motor so next time I might make it a bit longer). The "return" part of the line coming back from the far piling was wrapped around a piling on the dock away from the centerline of the boat, forming a triangle, which helped keep that line from rubbing on the port stay. Hopefully that makes sense. Next time we're there I'll take a clearer picture.

I definitely have not figured out how to launch/retrieve elegantly or efficiently. I drifted into the dock a few times (so that's why I bought a used boat). Speaking in terms relative to my position when I took this photo, the wind/waves tend to come anywhere from about 1 o'clock to 3 o'clock. The boat is always on the "wrong" side of the clothesline so I couldn't figure out a way to launch directly from it that left a comfortable enough margin for error. I'll spare you the details of my various failed attempts. Seemingly, hauling it over to the dock first (which itself is a bit awkward...) and launching from there works best. It ends up taking almost as long as getting her into the water from the trailer. I did have a very gratifying tie-up on one outing where I started with her tied to the dock, routed the clothesline to its two attachment points, including an unintuitive path around the mast+shrouds, untied from the dock, hauled on the clothesline and she slid perfectly into position.

Something to keep experimenting with next time!

[mnic001]

A quick diagram of the clothesline:

[GreenLake]

nice diagram.

Why can't the position of the line/boat not be swapped? Is it so the boat isn't driven into the line while tied. A bit unsure about that point.

I'm sure as you get to know your boat you'll get better at maneuvering in close quarters.

[mnic001]

Yes, that's exactly the reason.

[GreenLake]

There seems to be room to tie the line on the inside with bigger separation. That would allow you to sail off/on from the outside??

[mnic001]

I'm not sure I follow. Are you thinking perhaps that I tie the line on one of the other pilings? The others are up a flight of stairs which I think would make casting off challenging.

[GreenLake]

OK. I'm also not sure what amount of sea-room you have. If the line is on the windward side, it should be similar to sailing off the downwind side of a dock.