' Parking ' a boat.

[Scully]

As some of you may know I am/was a keen sailor.

 

'Parking' a yacht or ship is not an easy thing to do, and not great for stress levels, although adrenalin levels are sky high.

 

It's nothing like parking a car in any way. To begin with there are no brakes, added to which, even with no engine running, the wind will blown even the heaviest boat one way, whilst the tide, or force of the sea will pull another.

 

I've recently been reading one of my sailing books in which the following analogy appears when 'parking ' a yacht/ boat/ ship.

 

Try this analogy

 

* Imagine you are driving a car , powered by around a I horse power lawn mower engine. And having to park it in a space with 6" of clearance each end.

 

* to make it interesting lets simulate leeway drift ( the effect of the wind on a boat ) by making the car slide sideways at one km per hour. And, the tidal current by making the parking space move along the road.

 

* you can have two more lawn mower engines either side to help push the car sideways into the kerb. But remember they too are slipping and sliding along the moving road.

 

* sounds too easy eh? So, to add another problem, we won't give you any brakes, you have to slow the car down by spinning the wheels backwards. AND, when you do this, you have to let go of the steering wheel, because most ships don't steer when going astern ( backwards )

 

* finally you only get one go at it, unless you want a very large bill arriving for damage to your boat, the kerb ( key side ) and any other boats you have probably hit while you were busily messing it up.

 

You can see why I love sailing so much !! It's always fab to arrive at a new destination or port, but hey!.....it can be fraught at times..

 

Happy days!

 

Scully

 

Edited 11 Sep 2013, 10:37 pm by Scully

[Nick]

Nice one Scully, brings back memories of parking supply boats in Peterhead during winter gales! Some advice on this was that Companies didn't like it when some slight damage occurred as the bill would be thiers, but a major event was an insurance job and was much cheaper!!! However during 37 years at sea I only recall one major even when a cruise liner in the Caribbean ran into the back of our cargo vessel. A few other smaller incidence but exactly as you describe it was never easy and large or small all boats always feel precious.

 

Happy days indeed.

[Reggie]

Last Sunday, my OH went to help a friend get his cabin-cruiser out of the the River Avon-Stratford - to get it on dry land for cleaning and essential maintenance. My OH had the trailer ready on the slip road - and a crowd of tourists/site seers gathered - as our friend [83yrs old] brought the boat in - he looked at the crowd and shouted out to them with a 'foreign accent' - 'ls this the EU' well more like Est viz the EU. Luckily, they got away before Custom and Excise arrived. This river floods badly - and one year the boat landed 15ft up from mooring and onto the vicars lawn!! lts all good fun. This piece of river is like Wind in the Willows. Or Mole and Ratty land.

[Herecomestrouble]

Yup.........I have been at the wheel of a 110' motor yacht and it's a 'twitchy' thing to do under power.

I did it ok, but I liked standing on the rubbing straight ready to jump off with the warp when we 'parked'.......gosh that was many moons ago.

HTC