This time of the year, a lot of us are headed to the sunny south to charter a bareboat for a
week or more. Some (if not most) will be chartering a catamaran and will have to get the hang of handling the wide, two-hulled boats around the docks. Here are three tips:
1. Around the docks, use the twin engines to their best advantage to get the boat in and out of tight situations. Usually, the boat will be moored stern-to-the-dock when you arrive, so leaving is not a big issue. You just drop the mooring lines and motor ahead. Once free, you may need to make a tight turn; use the engine on the outside of the turn in forward and add revs and put the inside engine in reverse. With the engines opposing themselves, you can actually spin the boat in its own length it you need to.
2. You may need to dock the cat alongside at some point to take on water, fuel and groceries. Try to approach the dock from the leeward side and with your bow as close to the wind direction as possible. Get the fenders and docking lines rigged early and make sure your crew understands their jobs. You can make the cat crab sideways with the engines and rudders; put the outside engine in slow forward and the inside engine in slow reverse and turn the rudders slightly away from the dock. The boat will move sideways and you can adjust the forward motion and angle of the motion by adjusting thrust on the engines and the rudder angles.
3. Mooring stern-to will be a challenge the first time, but with twin engines it should not be too difficult even for novices…unless you have a cross wind. In calm conditions, position the cat so its stern is squarely in the center of the slip you want to occupy and then back gently in. Make sure you get the bow lines and forward springs on the pilings and under control before backing into the end of the slip; then tie off the stern lines, crossed, to the bollards or cleats on the dock. In a cross wind, you will need to use engine revs and rudder angles, much as you did when docking side on, to offset the side force of the wind. You can make the boat crab slightly to windward while backing to keep the hull in the middle of the slip.
With a little practice, you will discover that handling a big cruising cat around the docks is almost easier than handling a single screw monohull.
Andrew, have you actually docked at catamaran? It is substantually more involved that what you are describing. For first time catamaran charterers I would suggest having the pilot with the charter company give you a lesson. Slow is good but being timid with the throttle isn’t. You will need power bursts to get the boat to move through wind and currents. If you are a beginner, don’t worry about the rudders. Center them and use motor controls only. But make sure you keep hold of the wheel or it will spin when you are reversing.
Also a note,
When I come in to dock on my own, I “lock” the wheel in the center to avoid having to touch it while I use the throttles to move her.
David, thank you for your input. I can assure you that I have sailed and successfully docked many, many catamarans of all sizes, even large power cats. I have also taught students how to sail and dock these vessels as well and have been the captain who performs checkout sails for a charter company. That being said, in my experience it is very unlikely that a company who charters catamarans will do so to a first timer with no experience. Most require a checkout sail and will offer the services of a captain if they feel the charterer cannot capably handle the vessel, though there certainly have been exceptions to this.
I do wholeheartedly agree with all of your points on how to dock a catamaran, especially in leaving the rudders centered. A lot of times I will go so far as to lock the wheel and just use the engines for steering, especially when in reverse so the wheel cannot spin.
Also, I did not write this particular sailing tip, I merely shared it with Cruising Compass readers as a point of reference. Thanks again for your input and for reading Cruising Compass!
I can’t think of a single time when backing into a slip that I did not lock the wheel and use throttles only. Otherwise, the wheel will spin wildly out of control and divert the thrust from the engines in a direction you don’t want.:)
Andrew: Since you have the knowledge and perhaps know other skippers with CAT docking experience, a pamphlet on CAT docking and picking up a mooring is waiting to be written. I would buy it. I have chartered CATs for almost 50 days but have docked only about 20 times. I want to know how to use multiple motors, prop wash, prop walk, spring lines like I did on a monohull. I tried but it did not work. OK I did not use multiple motors on a monohull. Thanks
Hi David, You’re right, a pamphlet or book on cat docking would be helpful; especially for charterers. I’ll give it some thought and in the mean time I’ll explore writing an article on the topic for Blue Water Sailing’s Mutihulls Quarterly. Thanks, Andrew