Tom,
I guess I'll be the odd man out.
The manager's description of "side by side" is somewhat incorrect. He meant "on the hip".
In general, this is a way of towing that makes both boats as act as one, and in most circumstances would be preferred method.
The tower positions his boat so that his stern is in back of the stern of the towed boat (on the towed boat's quarter) and secured by spring lines fore and and aft and bow and stern lines. The tow boat controls both boats as one boat and they both can be controlled in close quarters.
There are a few problems with this. If seas are running, the boats would bump together with some injury to the topsides. Also, if tower is large (proportionately), the stanchion's of the sail boat might hit the sides of the bow flair of the tower. You also need good fenders. Commercial towers may use large ball fenders. The ideal tow configuration would probably be a towline when at sea and then when you get into calm waters or near the marina and convert to the tow to "on the hip". This would be somewhat difficult for an amateur.
Sailing in and then having a wind shift could have you on a lee shore that is a line of slips of boats.
So the marina operator is justified in requesting that you be under total control of the boat with a "on the hip" tow and avoid sailing in the marina.
Of course life is not that simple. And it's so satisfying sailing it in.
Harvey Rosenberg, C27TR 1985, M-18
------ Original Message ------
Received: Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:25:55 PM EDT
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [email protected]
Subject: catalina27-talk: towed in
My outboard, which has been increasingly recalcitrant all summer, failed me outside the channel into the marina yesterday afternoon. With a 50 ft wide channel and the wind on the nose, I had to get a guy to tow me in. At the point where I would normally make a 90 degree turn into my slip, I just uncleated and dropped the tow line, and turned into the slip with the last of my momentum and dropped on the dock lines. No sweat.
Marina owner then came down .... said I should have been tied up side to side and let the powered boat bring me completely into the slip, I endangered other boats, bla bla bla.
Anyone have any thoughts?
Tom
