![]() Keep the changing tides as well as the type of dock in mind to ensure that your boat will be safely tied to the dock. How does the type of dock affect your typing method?Īs it turns out, the type of dock that you’re dealing with makes a huge difference in the way you should approach tying off. Small boats are especially susceptible to becoming stuck under the dock if they are not properly tied. Or, the line could snap, allowing your boat to move wherever the water takes it. Tightly tying your boat at high tide can cause it to hang from the dock at low tide. This is most often the case for small to medium sized boats. What to do if your cleats are below the dock ![]() If you tie your boat to the dock at high tide without thought to low tide, your lines may snap, freeing your boat. In extreme cases, your boat may become lodged underneath the dock, resulting in tipping and possibly sinking. When this happens, your boat is much freer to move, which can cause problems.įor example, if your lines are loose, the boat can impact other boats nearby, and it may come into contact with the dock itse f. If your boat matches this description and you tightly tie your boat to the dock at high tide, the lines will become somewhat slack when the water falls during low tide. Are the bow cleats and stern cleats generally above the height of the dock? If so, this scenario applies to you. This is most often the case for large boats. What to do if your cleats are above the dock Let’s consider a few cases that you may be familiar with so that we can take a look at the proper ways to tie a boat to the dock with the tides in mind. When you tie a boat to the dock, you must be sure that it is tightly attached so that the lulls of the water do not lead your boat astray. The length of the lines that you use and the arrangement of them can make all the difference between coming back to a sunken boat beneath the dock or returning to a boat happily tied to the dock, above water. This information is critical to arranging the lines that will tie your boat to the dock. You must also consider exactly how the tide will change. It’s not enough to merely consider if the tide will change. So, take your time, consider the tides, and properly prepare so that this doesn’t happen to you!Īs you consider the tides, think about whether the water is likely to rise or fall before you return to the boat.Īlso think about the height that the water will change. Obviously, you do not want any of these things to happen! The deck and/or hull becomes severely damaged due to imporperline arrangement.The lines do not allow the boat to lower into the water, eventually flipping it over.The boat catches on the dock, causing water to fill from the outside. ![]() How can a boat sink when tied to the dock? If you have ever witnessed this at the docks, you know that a sunken boat is every captain’s nightmare. If you do not consider the tides at this crucial step, you may find yourself with a sunken boat. Why must you worry about the tides when tying up your boat? While you can use any simple arrangement that you want, you should always keep the tides in mind. If there are no trees on your shoreline you can loosen your anchor chains a few feet to allow the same.If something were to go wrong, it’s much easier to unravel the dock lines if you originally put them in a simple configuration that’s easy to see. It is best to disconnect your anchor chains from the dock and tie the dock to a tree on shore, which would allow it to move around freely and settle into the ice. If your floating dock is a T or L shape layout or has fingers, be sure to disconnect those floating dock connector bracket allowing each straight section to float around separately. In that case, be sure to disconnect all hinged connections. ![]() If your docks are in, or can be towed to, a calm protected bay where no ice shove occurs, you may be able to leave it in during the winter. You may be able to keep your floating dock in the water over the winter if the floating dock is located in a protected bay and the fingers are properly disconnected and secured. Although we do not recommend leaving any dock in the water over winter, there are some shorelines that make it almost impossible to bring a floating dock out of the water. ![]()
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