Securing Your Boat at the Dock

By Dusty Miller

It’s that time of year again and at this point I thought we would never make it. It’s wonderful to see the ground again and the boaters all headed for the storage sheds and marinas to see how their pride and joys have survived the long and cold winter. But you know worry comes with ownership and this starts the moment the vessel gets back into the water. I have been boating all my life and I can tell you I still wonder and worry about the boat sitting at the dock in my absence and this goes on all summer until the boat is pulled out again in the fall. A boat is like a big stubborn baby, it relies totally on you. At the dock the boat is constantly moving like a child in a playpen and if you don’t remove the sharp objects something is going to get hurt or damaged. You give your boat a bath with tender loving care and clean it up and all you want to do is take it for a pleasant carefree ride but as soon as you let the lines go the big baby, with a mind of it’s own, heads out to play with the other boats in a scratch and dint game in tub town. When you finally get your boat under control is when you realize that the boat depends completely on your judgment and skill whether it is at the dock or underway.

So many times have I seen boaters try to tie their boat up on a Sunday night and head for home. Thinking the boat will be fine on it’s own…but, the fenders are in the wrong position and at the wrong height and the vessel is without any spring lines, with the bow and stern lines holding the vessel so tight against the fenders that the lines are chaffing on the fibreglass. These problems result in the lines gnawing away at the fibreglass when the winds get up. Whatever the angle or position of your lines make sure that they do not touch any part of the boat except the chalk or the cleat. If there is no alternative the part of the line that is exposed to the fibreglass should be covered with either a shammy secured to the line, a piece of a garden hose split down the middle and wrapped around the line or worse case a padded bunch of rags, basically, anything to protect the fibreglass. Many times I have seen side decks and toe rails with gouged out troughs working their way into the fibreglass. Given enough time this can result in a very costly but also dangerous problem as the lines themselves become worn through. Another popular mistake is tying a line directly to shore above or below the deck line. The boat needs slack to be able to rock at the dock and if it can’t something is going to be damaged. One time in the Toronto I witnessed a new vessel being tied up to the dock with a tight bow line and stern line. When all of a sudden the stern line rose up from the deck level about three feet. Now if you are familiar with the Toronto harbour you will know that it is a rather active arena with good size rollers that seem to resound around the docks forever. In this case the first wave caught the boat and the boat rose about 3 1/2 feet on the tight line and dropped rather quickly. The lines tightened even more and there seemed to be a pause and the three through-bolted cleat ripped clean out of the deck as the boat dropped another two odd feet. By the time anybody was able to secure the boat the stern had drifted out and the bow had drifted into the dock and further waves had caused the bow to come against the dock in a smashing action and needless to say this was a very costly lesson for the new owner.

When you are about to leave your vessel for any amount of time it is a good idea to step back and examine how the vessel is positioned-Murphy’s law can apply here. In other words, if the winds get up what’s going to happen? If the lines tighten? If they slack off? Boating is a reciprocal action if you look after the boat, it will look after you and if you prepare for the worst, it won’t happen. So, enjoy the spring launch and we’ll see you on the water.

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The above article was originally published in Power Boating Canada Magazine.