In this part two of her solo cruising series (you can read part one, here!), Captain Maria Langer shares her hard-earned insights from cruising over 8,000 nautical miles (mostly solo) on her journey around the Great Loop. Whether you're planning your first solo adventure or looking to improve your solo anchoring, mooring, or docking skills, this guide offers practical, firsthand advice to help you cruise confidently and safely on your own. Read more from Maria at MyGreatLoopAdventure.com!
In Part 1 of this article about single-handing a cruising boat, I explain what I mean by single handing and provide a bunch of tips that I’ve learned as mostly solo cruiser in my Ranger Tug. In this part, I tell you how these tips work for me when prepping the boat and then docking, anchoring, or mooring solo.
It’s important to set up the boat before you actually dock, anchor, or moor. That sometimes requires you to be away from the helm. If there’s no one else on board to sit at the helm, what do you do?
Although letting the autopilot steer you at idle speed can work for quick trips elsewhere inside the boat or in the cockpit, it’s not advisable if you need to get out on the gunwales or bow. (See “Don’t Take Risks” in Part 1.)
In these instances, it’s better to bring the transmission to full idle and let the boat drift. Do this in an open area with little or no traffic and a low chance of drifting into land or obstacles.
Then, if your life jacket is not on, put it on. Do not go out on the gunwales or bow without a PFD on. Remember, if you fall into the water, no one is there to haul you in. That’s also a pretty good reason to stop the boat’s forward movement before getting out there, no?
Only when you are sure that the boat isn’t going to drift into trouble should you step away from the helm. Have a plan for what you’re going to do, do it as quickly as you can, and get back to the helm. If it takes you several trips, so be it.
Suppose I’m coming into a slip with a starboard tie (my preferred side because that’s where the helm is). Before entering the marina, I drop at least two fenders on that side and adjust the height if necessary. Dropping these fenders is as easy as pushing one off the gunwale from my helm window and the other from the cockpit. I can get to and from the cockpit to do this in about 5 seconds, usually leaving the boat on autopilot in forward idle while I’m doing it. If there’s no other traffic and I’m not in a closed area, I’ll also loosen the midship line I can reach from the cockpit and lay it on the gunwale. I’ll do the same from the helm for that line.
Then I come into the slip slowly, always having full control of the boat. Pulsing the throttle between idle, idle forward, and idle reverse prevents my speed from getting out of control. I get the boat next to the dock where I’ll need to tie up and bring the boat to a nearly complete stop. This is a skill you should already have.
With the boat at a stop or near stop, I use the thrusters, if necessary, to move it sideways, close enough to the dock to step off. With my thruster remote turned on and on a lanyard around my neck, I walk back to the cockpit, grab the midship line I prepped, and step off the boat. If the boat has drifted away during that short walk, the thruster remote will bring it right back. (I don’t jump for the dock and don’t allow anyone on board to do it either.) I then secure the line to an appropriate cleat and walk forward to secure either the line at my helm window or the bow line, both of which I can reach from the dock. I drop more fenders or adjust the ones that are down once the boat is secure with at least two lines.
Of course, if someone is there, I’ll just toss him or her the forward midship line fro the helm, then step off to get the aft midship line. (And here’s another quick tip: don’t toss you line to any warm body that happens to be standing there with a hand out. Too many folks on docks don’t know what they’re doing. Personally, I prefer to handle the lines myself than to allow a notive to handle them. And yes, I can tell you stories; there’s a good one in my book.)
Once the boat is secure, I come back on board and shut down the engine.
I should add here that although I often can dock the boat solo from up on the command bridge, it’s not quite as easy. I prefer docking from the inside helm.
If it’s the same situation with a port tie, I can still do it. I can reach the port side line and fender from the window across from the helm and all the fenders and lines are set up exactly the same way on both sides of my boat. Remember: it’s rigged for solo cruising.
Casting off is normally pretty easy, unless wind or current are pushing me hard away from the dock. In normal circumstances, I’d get the boat started and all ready to go. Then I’d release all of the lines except one. Which one depends on the situation.
If conditions are calm and the boat doesn’t seem to want to move, I’ll usually keep the aft midship line tied until I’m ready to step on board. (It’s closest to my usual cockpit boarding spot; I seldom board from the swim platform.) I release that line and step on board, then go up to the helm and maneuver away.
If the boat wants to move because of wind or current, I’ll often loop the forward midship line around the closest dock cleat to keep the boat in place and hitch it to the boat cleat outside my window (or the other window, if a port tie). Then I’ll release the other lines, leaving the aft midship line for last. I’ll release that and step on board. Then I’ll go up to the helm, unloop the forward midship line from the dock, and maneuver away.
Anchoring can be tricky and it’s why I’m very particular about where I drop anchor. I prefer shallower water with little or no current or wind that isn’t very close to shore or other boats. Shallow water means less rode payed out so the anchor can be deployed and retrieved quickly. The goal is to minimize the uncontrolled movement of the boat any time there is no one at the helm. You also want to minimize the risk of the boat drifting into very shallow water, land, or another boat while the anchor is off the bottom.
I point the boat into the current or wind. If there’s little or no current or wind, I bring the boat to idle, walk out onto the bow via the gunwales, and use the windlass controls there to drop the anchor. When it hits bottom, I wait to see what the boat does, paying out line little by little. The goal is to stretch out that chain rather than put it in a big pile on top of the anchor. Often, at some point, the anchor will catch and the boat will swing as it moves backwards. I pay out the rest of the desired rode and head back to the helm. Then I put the boat in idle reverse to stretch out the chain and set the anchor more firmly. I usually don’t need more than 10 to 15 seconds of reverse to do this.
If there is more than just a little wind or current, I do most of this from the helm. I have windlass controls there, too. I’ve marked my rode with a red/white/blue/gold for 25/50/75/100 foot lengths so any time I see a colored marker going by, I know exactly how much is out, even if I missed the previous marker.
Once the boat is anchored, I set an anchor alarm. I recommend that you do, too.
Retrieving the anchor on my boat can be a bit tricky, and that’s because of the limited size of my anchor locker. With more than 50 feet of chain out, the chain tends to pile up just under the windlass as I pull it in. It becomes necessary to go out on the bow to move that chain aside, sometimes in the middle of hauling in the anchor.
As you might imagine, this can be stressful when there’s a lot of wind or current. That’s why I’m so picky about my anchorages. I know that there’s a chance that the anchor might be off the bottom for a minute or more with no one at the helm.
Knowing what could happen is the best way to plan ahead and prevent it from happening. If the wind is blowing me toward shore and I figure I have about five minutes before it’s a problem, I’d better get the anchor up within four minutes. That’s a lot easier when I’m anchored in 10 feet of water instead of 50.
I know that all this makes it sound scary to anchor out solo. It isn’t. Practice as much as you can in different conditions. You’ll get the hang of it — and you’ll know what kind of anchorages to avoid.
If you want a true test of your ability to control your boat single-handed, catch a mooring ball. This is a lot easier in a boat like mine with a shorter freeboard than one where the gunwales are much higher than the water’s surface. Let me explain how I do it.
I prep the boat for mooring by removing the dock lines from the two bow cleats. I then attach a very long, very thick dock line to the starboard bow cleat. I run it through the mooring chock and under the rail. I then walk the line back to the cockpit and secure the bitter end loosely to a rail there. That keeps it ready to grab quickly but prevents it from getting into the water to foul my prop.
Next, back at the helm, I maneuver to the mooring ball, making sure I’m pointed into the current or wind. I drive up right beside the ball, close enough that the ball may tap against the hull. As soon as it’s abeam my window at the helm, I drop the boat into idle. I then hurry out to the cockpit, loosen the line, and wait. The boat’s forward momentum takes it past the mooring ball. If I did everything right, I should be able to slip the line through the loop at the top of the ball. Then I grasp the bitter end tightly and start the walk back up the gunwales to the bow, holding onto the rail firmly all the way. By this time, the wind or current should have taken over and the boat begins drifting backwards. The ball is generally moving forward in relation to the boat as I walk forward. When the ball is in front of the boat, I reach over the bow, dip the line under the anchor, bring it up to the port side mooring chock (under the rail), thread it through, and secure the bitter end on the port side bow cleat.
Sounds pretty intense, doesn’t it? Believe it or not, I can usually get it on the first or second try.
There are three things to keep in mind:
Oh, and here’s another tip: use an anchor alarm at mooring balls, too
Casting off from a mooring ball is pretty easy. After getting the boat running and ready to go, go out to the bow, release the line from the port side cleat, grab the line at the starboard side mooring chock, and pull it in quickly. The key is to prevent it from drifting back near the prop and rudder. Stow it or secure it on deck (depending on how much you’re drifting), get back the helm, and maneuver away. The mooring ball itself should not be an issue since you’ll always drift away from it.
That covers most of the basics of single-handing a cruising boat. Lots of what I covered applies to other kinds of boats, too. This is what I teach and let students practice in my single-handing classes.
Don’t expect to be able to do all of this the first time you try, especially if your experience with the boat is minimal. It takes practice. Get out there and practice as much as you can.
Maria Langer is an OUPV Captain and mostly solo cruiser. In addition to cruising in her Ranger Tug, she also teaches boat handling skills, single-handing techniques, and chartplotter/autopilot use on her own boat or in client boats. Her book about her Great Loop experiences, My Great Loop Adventure, will be published in June 2024. You can contact her through her blog at www.MyGreatLoopAdventure.com.