Sorry, Thor, but it’s more like 40 bow and 60 stern here.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
I think the determining factor may be access. If the slip has short finger piers, it’s much more convenient getting on and off through the gate then over the bow pulpit.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Thanks Bob. This is super informational.
That’s what I thought. It might be tiring after a sail. So better to keep things easy.
Thanks Bruce. I chose slip N34. It’s the 2nd slip from the canal. With a port side finger. And facing west. So all boxes checked. 
Thanks Butch. I chose the slip. Its time to practice and figure out what suits me. There a couple of big motor boats right behind my slip.
Hey Joe… honestly I see more and more stern in , maybe the sugar scoop boats prefer it .
At our club it’s about 80% stern in.
Our waterfront policy strongly suggests stern in for two reasons :
- Bows are less vulnerable to damage than sterns. ( we have more control of how we drive our boat than how others drive their boat )
- Newer hull designs carry beam much further aft. The “target” for a boat approaching their slip is bigger if the boat next to them is bow out.
Our policy also states that the decision is boat and condition specific. Any boat with doubts about safely docking at their assigned slip is allowed a temporary berth at the rigging dock. ( sort of like the cone of shame in dogs world )
I’ve dry-sailed for the past 20 years, so it’s been a while for me having to worry about basin maneuvers. Our neighbors in the basin have been helpful and have encouraged us to take our time and learn how to handle Soave in any conditions. (they are still meeting us at the dock ready to help)
Rob
s/v SOAVE
NS33 #009
Westport, CT
I just did a little poll of my marina using Google Earth. It’s a big marina, mostly power boats, and I got bored about 2/3 through it, but the trend was consistent as far as I got: 43 sailboats bow-in, 39 stern-in. That’s approximately 52% bow-in.
There are 12 charter boats on my dock and three of them are very active on weekdays when I am down there. It is impressive to watch them back down the fairway faster than I go when I’m going forward and then just turn into their slips and stop. Doing something a lot tends to make one very good at it. (Practice, as Joe points out.)
There were quite a few newer Beneteau and Jeanneau boats on my previous dock. Most of them like to back their really wide rears into the slips. (Single slips.) Some of them could barely fit between the fingers and I heard a lot of bow thrusting on that dock. Here I just hear passengers chatting away.
I go bow-in because I spend one night a week on the boat and I like my privacy. Plus, the afternoon sun would nuke the heck out of the cockpit and heat up the cabin more if the boat were stern-in. Stern in would probably be better for maneuvering, but this works OK and better than my previous slip at any orientation.
Siva: N34 looks about perfect. But if it turns out not to be and if you are a good tenant you can always put in for a change.
Siva -
You have your slip. You’ll practice and, eventually, on a calm day, you’ll practice backing her in. Once you’ve done this a few times, you can make further decisions and, who knows, change your slip, if need be.
Have FUN - that’s important.
Ernie A. in Toronto
Thanks Brian. The Google Earth idea is a good one. Practice is all I have to do.
Yes. I visited the slip. There is a 25’ Catalina on my starboard side. Yet to meet the neighbors.
And the slip looks pretty wide. Except for 2 big fishing boats right behind the slip. So, stern in would be a better thing to do. Will continue to practice.
-Siva
At our marina about 90% of the sail boats are bow in. A few slips work better stern in. I have had 5 slips in the marina. Three I docked bow in and two I docked stern in. This was all so I could do a port side tie. The first slip would have a cross current of up to 5 knots which added to the excitement entering the slip.
Prevailing winds in the marina come from the beam.
I have found my 26 backs up very nicely except cross winds can blow the bow down.
Mark Powers