Another thruster Question/Comment

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jdshep

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My brother has a Tiara 2900 Open and he docks next to me on the Cheboygan River, Cheboygan, Mi. This week my job was to help my brother get used to his new boat as his last was a 18 foot outboard and the new is a 30 foot twin 375 hp in board. The Tiara is 12 foot beam boat about 12000 plus pounds. The river has a good current maybe 2-4 knots (guess) what ever it is I found there was no way I could hold his boat without shore help. The throttles are very touchy and trans alone was borderline at holding against the current. After several in and outs we have decided we will be rubbing poles and more if we don't have help. Walking the boat sideways seemed to be a non option as the throttles were needed and that was very scary. No thrusters and this current ment much more skill was needed then I could muster. In the next slip (mine) I use my thrusters (2) on my 46 foot Meridian sedan bridge and have no issues even without any shore help, but on his 29 Tiara without the thruster cheater my skill level is far short.
This slip is a stern in floating dock with a center pole, however it is very wide, maybe 22 feet so the pole lets you drift a lot. Normal current pushes the boat off the dock. The dock has vertical posts at about six feet on-center.
suggestions for a docking plan when help is not handy would be appreciated.
john d
 
I would recommend a few of those "wheels" to spin off of and in to whilst not damaging the hull. Then practice, practice, practice.
 
quote:
Originally posted by KiDa

whilst not damaging the hull.

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Whilst?

You're English now? I say, old chap, Tea and Scones promptly at 4'oclock, eh...wot? Bloody good of you to invite the other chaps to your flat, you (w)anker! ;)

I see your "whilst" and raise you...God Bless the Queen.
 
whats wrong with rubbing poles? that's what rub rails are designed for.
 
What Pdecat said.

Also, you can always use a spring line.

You should not need one though, that boat should be easy to handle against a 2-4 knot current with a little practice - and Yes I have run the identical boat.
 
The way I read it, a wheel won't help - the boat will never touch this dock. The problem here is a 2-4 knot current taking him AWAY from it. He can rub the poles, but THEN what? He has a 12' wide boat in a 22' wide slip. The Cheboygan river is probably oh, about 47 degrees right now? That's not a fun swim, and doing it with your cooler and cellphone, I mean, that's just plain inconvenient! :)

Your options are down to a spring line or a thruster. I'm normally on the pro-thruster side, but a 29 Tiara isn't a very good candidate for one. Some people don't understand the function and versatility of a thruster. They don't understand that with a lever on the dash you could rest that boat up against the uprights on your dock, against the current, while the passenger secures the lines. The problem is that this docking scenario is one of, if not THE worst out there. If the slip were downstream, you could install a wheel as KiDa suggested and pivot off the dock. If the pilings were closer you could pivot on them, but your brother really can't make use of either of those options.

Most docking situations aren't that challenging, so at resale time, the thruster will show massive depreciation on a boat that doesn't otherwise have a need for a thruster. By the time he recoups that loss, there's a good chance that he'd have been able to buy a larger boat instead.

So we're really down to finessing the spring line. I had a line holder on our dock at our last marina. It was just a simple adjustable pole mounted on the dock with a hook on the end. You could leave a spring line attached to the dock and hang it on the pole, so as you (he) approached the slip, someone could grab the line without dockside help.
 
Maybe try to see how the boat handles the "walking" maneuver? Mine does walk a little, but not a whole lot, requires judicious use of throttles.
 
One thing to try would be to rig a spring line cleated near the outboard end of the dock with an eye splice on the boat end. Hang the eye on a piling or somehow make it so that you can grab it with a hand or a boat hook from the deck of the boat. On approach to the dock, back in with the stern quarter toward the dock and aim so that you can grab the spring line. As soon as possible attach the spring line to the appropriate aft mid-ship cleat and continue backing using the dock-side engine in reverse (with throttle if needed) and alternately shifting the outboard side engine into forward to help the bow in. If the spring is set up correctly the action of backing against it will draw the boat in to the dock. Next attach a bow line, then stern, then an after bow spring.

As an alternative to grabbing the spring line from the boat, back in til the stern quarter almost touches the dock and have crew step off and rig the lines from the dock. The key in either case is to back at an angle to the current to get the stern quarter to the dock. The spring line is a better "cheat" than a thruster.
 
We have a bow thruster BUT most of the time to get into our slip we don't use it (depending on wind) - what we do at our slip is the first two lines that go on the boat are the spring lines(on the finger pier side of the boat) that are set up to prevent the boat from going too far into the slip - once these lines are tight, they force the boat to swing towards the finger pier. Use a telescoping boat hook if needed. Our boat is 8.5' wide in a 14' wide slip. To help with confusion, we put a Green string on each of the 4 springs lines - think the leaves are green in spring. That's just what we do to help us out.
 
I have a 29 Open and find the handling to be exceptional. I do however understand your problem with the current. I think Sea Gull has the right idea. Get a spring line on it and use it as a pivot/leverage point. Let the motors pull the boat into the dock.
 
if there is only one pilings between that slip and the next boat, this may just be one of these situations were a thruster woudl be useful.

if there are more than one piling for the boat to rest against, without touching the other boat, then i dont see what the problem is. just get telescoping boat hook (i have one that extends for 6' to 15') grab the spring line (end of floating pier back to midship cleat) and back on it. that will bring the boat alongside against the current.
 
quote:
Originally posted by PascalG

if there is only one pilings between that slip and the next boat, this may just be one of these situations were a thruster woudl be useful.

if there are more than one piling for the boat to rest against, without touching the other boat, then i dont see what the problem is. just get telescoping boat hook (i have one that extends for 6' to 15') grab the spring line (end of floating pier back to midship cleat) and back on it. that will bring the boat alongside against the current.

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Single piling even with end of dock. I am in the next slip on other side of piling and after our first try I hung 4 fenders on the side of my boat that will be in danger. My slip is 50 foot long and I dock even with piling.
I think we will try rolling around the end of the dock, unload help while facing up river and work a couple lines. If he does not drop off the piling before we get a stern line on we should be able to work two lines and get him in. They are going to put a PVC cover on the steel piling so rubbing should not be a issue. They put a pad up higher for my boat, but the Tiara is several feet lower and there he is just on rust.
John d
 
steel pilings ? yeah, you'll need some protection.

a few years ago, i was in a slip with a single piling at the end as well. everbody in the marina had lines tied from the pilings to the dock, as tight as possible to act as guide. that worked pretty well... in a wide slip, you could even bring the line at an angle to force the stern in. but you're definitely going to need something, like a roller on that steel piling to protect the rub rail.
 
That seems to be one of the problems with "yachts" these days; the "rub rail" isn't really designed for "rubbing".
 
If I understand this correctly - did the marina put a 30' boat in a 50' slip?

Geesh, around here your lucky to get a 25' slip for a 30' boat.
 
Michigan's having a tough time ecomically, which translates into some serious bargains at the marinas. (excludng fuel, of course)
 
quote:
Originally posted by In the know

If I understand this correctly - did the marina put a 30' boat in a 50' slip?

Geesh, around here your lucky to get a 25' slip for a 30' boat.

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Yes, but that is a floater and on the shore side it gets shallow, so 35 or 40 feet might be the limit. i am in the next slip which is high and my 46 foot has plenty of room. Piers are about 50 feet long.
John d
 
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