LESSON 8: LANDING AT THE DOCK

The same skill of sailing into the wind and letting the boat come to a stop (which is described in landing at a mooring) is applied to landing at a dock (if you've forgotten how to do this, go back and review lessons 3 and 7). However, on a boat as long and as heavy as the Easy Wind, we almost always come into the dock under power. Smaller boats, however do land under sail, and the skipper of such boats has to know where the wind is coming from and figure out an approach to the dock that allows the boat to reach its destination at a very slow speed.

As the boat approaches the dock, the sails are luffing because the boat is headed into that sector of the clock that is between 10 and 2. The boat may come up along side of the dock if it is headed in this direction, or it may come in bow first with someone on the bow (or on the dock) to hold off. Once the boat has reached the dock, it is important to tie up securely and to lower the sails. We need to have our docking lines ready and choose the right knot to tie up the boat. There may be cleats on the dock or pilings (posts) to tie to. A bowline will work on either a cleat or a piling, but you may want to use your cleating skills instead on the cleat (this will allow you to change the length of the line easily}. On a piling you use a clove hitch for the same reason.



On to Lesson 9: Using the Engine -->