DOCKING

USING WIND AND CURRENT TO ADVANTAGE

Too often the seaman brings a shoreside mentality aboard ship and thus looks upon
wind and current as hindrances to be overcome, rather than as aids to be used with
the rudder, engine, tugs, and anchor to put the ship alongside a berth in a safe and
seamanlike manner. A powerful tug can combat a moderate wind and current,
although at best the docking will be sloppy, but even the finest tugs do not make it
possible to fight a strong wind or current. Nor is it necessary for them to be asked
to.
Before starting the docking get out on the bridge wing and feel the wind and
weather on your face. Look up at the stack and down at the water. Look out to the
horizon and check what the future weather conditions might be. Constant
awareness of wind, weather, and current is essential to effective shiphandling.
How do the effects of wind and current compare? Air is about nine hundred times
less dense than water, so for a given velocity wind has much less effect on the ship
than current. An increase in the velocity of either the wind or current will increase
its effect on the ship, both varying as the square of the velocity. The relationship of
density and velocity to pressure is expressed:
P=pv2/2g
P= resultant pressure
p= density of the fluid (air or water)
V= velocity of the fluid
g= acceleration due to gravity (32.2ft. /sec2)

A 30-knot wind exerts the same force on an equal area as a 1-knot current. This
ratio is altered by variables such as the surface area of the superstructure, the ratio
of the ship’s draft to her freeboard, and the vessel’s trim. While the shiphandler
should not apply this formula to every docking situation, the ratio 30:1 can be used
as a base to help understand the relative effect of wind and current.
As a ship’s speed is reduced, the momentum of the ship and the effectiveness of
her rudder and engine decrease while the wind and current remain the same. When
the ship is dead in the water, only the wind and current act upon her, although at
some prior point these outside forces have become dominant. If the docking has
been properly planned, the ship is so positioned that as the wind and current “take
charge” they assist the shiphandler in docking the vessel. Until that time, the ship’s
angle of approach and speed are adjusted to compensate for wind and current, and
anchors and tugs are used as necessary.
Let’s look at some of the ways in which the wind and current may assist the ship:
A wind blowing off the berth can be used to overcome a ship’s lateral motion
toward that berth, instead of using the tugs and engine.
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A wind blowing on the berth can ease a ship alongside if the shiphandler stops her a
few feet off the berth.
A current that runs across the end of the berth acting on the ship’s quarter can
assist the ship in turning into a slip. She is landed and pivoted on a cluster of
pilings or a camel rather than being steamed into the slip while fighting the current.
Don’t fight a wind blowing off the berth. Position your ship at a greater angle to the
berth and deliberately give the ship more lateral motion as she comes alongside.
The engine is kicked ahead with the rudder hard over to move the stern towards
the berth and the ship is then held alongside by tugs. The larger angle of approach
compensates for the wind’s effects while the ship has headway. As she slows, the
lateral motion as the ship comes alongside into the wind.
The tugs and rudder move the ship toward the berth, the anchor holds her up to
the wind, and the wind checks the lateral motion that develops.
A strong wind on the berth causes the ship to land with too much lateral motion, so
it may be necessary in such a situation to back the tugs or ease alongside with an
anchor as described in Chapter 8, Plan to tugs are in position to perform this work,
or have the anchor on the bottom and ready to use.
When the wind is quite strong onto the berth put the ship alongside earlier in
docking. Don’t fight a strong wind: let the ship go alongside and slide up the
stringpiece into position. The ship can’t be blown heavily against the dock after
stopping in position if she is already alongside. These are but a few examples of
ways in which mariners use wind and current as tools rather than allowing them to
become problems.

MEASURING SLOW RATES OF SPEED

The minimal speeds used while docking can be accurately measured without
instrumentation or complication using this rule of thumb:
“A ship moves 100 feet per minute at 1 knot”
If in doubt of a ship’s speed, note the time on your watch and the ship’s position
relative to a bollard on the pier. After any convenient interval of time (say thirty
seconds), again not the relative positions and you will immediately know the ship’s
speed.
You don’t know the distance between bollards or other convenient reference points?
It can be estimated with sufficient accuracy by comparing the distance between
points with the ship’s beam.
Having moved in one minute between two bollards placed 150 feet apart you know
the ship in making 11/2 knots.
When determining ship’s speed, don’t ignore the obvious. Engine revolutions equate
to speed through the water. This is so obvious that it is often forgotten during the
approach to a pier or when proceeding in pilot waters, yet engine revolutions are
nearly as good an indication of speed when maneuvering at low RPM as when at
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sea.
Learn your ship’s RPM /speed ratio. If 10 revolutions equal 2 knots, then 60
revolutions equals 12 knots—it isn’t necessary to continuously consult a detailed
table to determine ship’s speed through the water.

DETECTING LATERAL MOTION

It quickly becomes second nature for an experienced mariner, who lives and works
more closely with the elements than perhaps any other professional, to make
allowances for wind and current. It is equally important that the shiphandler also
develop an appreciation for the less obvious lateral motion that results from:
1. Turning as the ship is approaching the berth.
2. Extended use of tugs.
3. Checking or holding the lines before the ship is alongside.
These actions cause sideward motion independent of any motion caused by the
wind and current, even when the ship is making no headway. If not checked, the
ship moves laterally toward or away from the berth or comes alongside with
excessive force. Lateral motion may be desirable at times and is not so much an
effect to be avoided as a factor to be watched for and used to advantage.
Lateral motion is easier to detect when working from the centerline of the ship
because you have a better view of the vessel and her heading. Watch objects
ashore located ahead or astern. Use their change in alignment as a range to detect
lateral motion, and note when the distance from the pier increases or decrease
independent of heading, wind, and current.
The ability to detect this sideward slide through the water and make use of it is a
mark of an accomplished shiphandler because it is one of the effects that is least
appreciated by an inexperienced pilot or master.

SETTING UP TO BACK
Prior to going astern, especially when docking without a tug aft, a single-screw ship
should be set up so her inherent twisting effects are an aid rather than a hindrance.
Since the approach is planned to allow for this effect, only one additional maneuver
is required.
When going starboard side to the berth put the rudder to port and kick the engine
ahead until the stern develops a slight swing to starboard. Note that it is necessary
to consider the rudder’s effect on each end of the ship rather than simply on the
ship as a whole. Near the berth the rudder is often used to move the stern rather
than to change the ship’s heading. After this slight swing of the stern to starboard
has begun, go astern to slow or stop the ship. While backing, the stern checks up
and probably moves to port as the propeller and quickwater take over, but any
movement of the stern to port is minimized since you shaped up to back prior to
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putting the engine astern. The maneuver is repeated as required so the ship is
stopped in position and parallel to the pier or wharf.
When berthing port side to, the ship is set up to allow for the same swing of the
stern to port. Since the ship’s angle of approach decreases each time the engine
goes astern, the initial angle of approach is greater for a port side to docking. The
rudder and engine are used to check the motion to port as necessary so the ship
does not come parallel to the berth until she is in position. The quickwater partially
checks the swing so the ship lands easily.
Knowing that the ship swings in this manner, it is logical to use astern bells to
change her heading to starboard rather than only the rudder. This provides an
opportunity to simultaneously slow the ship and change her heading.
Don’t overuse the rudder when docking. The rudder can often remain hard left
during the final stages of a docking maneuver whether docking port or starboard
side to, since it has so little effect at these slow speeds. The hard over rudder is in
the position in which it will most likely be needed, and having it in this position
saves time required for the steering engine to move the rudder should it be needed
to check the ship’s swing. Do the same when backing the engine in an anchorage or
during other maneuvers when the ship has little or no headway – the rudder need
not be shifted when backing the engine unless the ship develops significant
sternway.

QUICKWATER
Quickwater develops when the flow from the engine going astern starts moving up
the ship’s side. This occurs first on the starboard side at about 2 knots and by the
time the ship has little headway there will be considerable flow up both sides of the
ship. The quickwater strikes first on the quarter so the stern moves away and the
bow, heads toward the berth, and its effect is more pronounced when docking
starboard side to. The quickwater eventually moves up the full length of the ship so
she is affected equally fore and aft, the cushion being used by the shiphandler to
reduce the ship’s lateral motion or move the ship away from the dock.
Like other forces, which affect a ship, quickwater is planned for and used as an aid
by the competent shiphandler. Quickwater affects a docking or undocking ship but
is strongest when there is shoaling or a bulkhead under the berth. This contains the
flow and increases the pressure acting upon the hull. If the ship approaches with
excessive speed it is necessary to back more strongly than desired for a greater
length of time, and resulting excessive flow of quickwater becomes a problem in
spite of the best planning. This is one more reason for approaching at the minimum
possible speed.

BRIDGE MARKERS
Common sense dictates that a marker or light be placed on the stringpiece to show
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the location of the bridge when the ship is in position. Unfortunately, this is rarely
done. Too often the ship is alongside with the first lines run before someone on the
dock decides that she should shift 50 feet ahead or 30 feet astern. Aside from being
both annoying and unprofessional, this practice costs both the ship and the terminal
a great deal of time and money. The stevedore or terminal operator knows where
the working hatch or manifold should be spotted, and every shipmaster knows the
distance from the bridge to the bow or manifold, so the bridge location can easily
be marked on the dock prior to bringing the ship alongside.
Shipmasters and pilots must work to make the use of bridge markers and lights
more common.

USE FINESSE, NOT FORCE

Keep in mind when going alongside that you are bringing a moving object of
considerable mass alongside an unforgiving and immovable pier or wharf, an
evolution that requires some degree of finesse. Beware the shipmaster or pilot who
tells in most graphic terms how the ship was “forced” into a berth against wind and
current, having been “belted” full ahead and full astern until she was “driven”
alongside the berth within feet of certain calamity. This is no professional speaking!

Shiphandling, like lovemaking, is a subtle art: the ship is not driven by the
shiphandler, she is caressed, and this must be foremost in your mind as you give
those last commands to ease the ship alongside.

GOING ALONGSIDE
It is extremely important that the ship is flat to the stringpiece as she comes
alongside. This is true for several reasons:
1. The frames through the entire midbody of the ship can absorb the impact of
landing, rather than having the impact concentrated within a small area of the
hull.
2. A parallel landing traps the maximum quantity of water between the hull and
the pier or wharf, and thus develops the maximum cushioning effect.
3. The eddy current acts equally along the entire length of the ship, slowing her
lateral motion and easing the landing.
4. If the ship is docking with any current, having the ships upstream end hard
alongside keeps the current from getting inside the ship and forcing her back off
the berth.
5. The maximum cushioning effect is gained from the ship’s quickwater when the
ship is parallel to the berth.
When the impact of landing is spread over the entire length of the flat parallel
midbody, and several hundred feet of nearly incompressible water cushions that
landing, the ship can go alongside with surprising force without damage. The
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reverse is true when the ship lands at any angle to the berth. It is common to see
water trapped between the hull and a solid-faced pier or wharf go several feet into
the air as the ship comes alongside, indicative of the energy that this hydraulic
cushion is absorbing. If the hull has any angle, the water rushes toward the end
that is farthest off the pier and the cushion are lost.

ALL SECURE
The ship is alongside and the lines are being run ashore one after the other to
make her fast. The number and placement of these lines varies with the location
and construction of the pier, the type and size of the ship, and the weather and
current conditions that are expected.
Ships usually run sufficient head, spring, and stern lines, which keep the ship from
moving forward and aft. Unfortunately, these lines are often a hindrance rather
than an aid in keeping the ship alongside in a strong current—especially after the
ship has been allowed to get off the pier at one end. The tidal current gets on the
inshore side of the hull at the bow or quarter, an eddy current develops to further
increase the strain on the lines, and the ship moves ahead or astern into the
current. The ship rides outward and ahead on the lines, pivoting on them much like
a water-skier at the end of a towline, while the lines at the opposite end of the ship
pull her in so she begins surging up and down the pier. This surging occurs because
there is a greater strain on the upstream lines than on those leading downstream,
and causes shock loading those parts lines.
Breast lines, the lines that are most effective in keeping the ship alongside, are too
often overlooked although they should be doubled up like any others. If there are
sufficient breast lines to keep the ship alongside, the strain on the lines leading
forward and aft remains equal and the ship does not begin surging.
The surging is aggravated by passing ships whose hydrodynamic forces move the
berthed vessel first away from and then toward the moving vessel, while also
pulling the docked ship off the wharf. A pressure wave moves ahead of the
approaching ship, and there is a decrease in pressure between the two ships due to
the flow of water as they pass. It is especially important that the ship is kept hard
alongside, with sufficient breast lines run and all lines up tight, at berths exposed to
passing ship traffic.
Remember too, Mate, to call the ship that is approaching at excessive speed on the
VHF radio and tell her to slow down. No longer is it necessary to stand by and
watch a catastrophe develop because you cannot communicate. Look over the side
and make sure the ship is alongside, then go to the VHF radio and tell the passing
ship to pass at minimum speed with the engine stopped to assure that your vessel
is not pulled off the pier.]]]