Learning the Lines-
Fixed dock mooring
The Last thing I learned
We travel and live full-time on our fifty-foot boat. Traveling the eastern seaboard, chasing and avoiding the weather. We took delivery of “Sea Boss” on May 31, 2024, in Savannah, Georgia. “Sea Boss” is a 2005 SeaRay 500 Sedan Bridge, and she needed a lot of work to refurbish her and to make her livable.
We planned to spend the summer in Wilmington, NC, to work on restoring her. Prior to leaving Savannah, we decided to have her hauled out to have the bottom paint and cutlass bearings done before we made the two-hundred-plus nautical mile cruise. When the bottom job was completed, we splashed, charted our route, and provisioned. Then another issue raised its ugly head.
Navigating
Our navigational route from Savannah, Georgia to Wilmington, North Carolina, was via the Intracoastal Waterway, also known as the ICW. Along the two hundred and forty-seven miles, there are hundreds of hazards. From shoaling to sunken boats. The morning we cast the lines, we found out the depth sounder was non-operable. Luckily, we had our trusty five-year-old tablet with us and we downloaded the Navionics app. Following “Bob’s” track in the Navionics app and on a wing and a prayer, we made it safe and sound but completely stressed out.
Port City Marina
Arriving in Wilmington, NC, on June 20, 2024, it was non-stop, ten to twelve-hour days, every day for five months. We worked on every inch of her, from removing furniture to access the interior walls to thoroughly cleaning. To rebuild the head system from the toilets to the sewer lines. We serviced all the engines, the air conditioning systems, the black water tank, and the freshwater tank. We replaced all the beds, refrigerators, and freezers. There was so much to do and the list was so extensive, this post would only be about the list and not about the last thing I learned.
Over the summer, we learned a lot about cruising on the ICW and the marinas on the East Coast. In comparison to California boating, most marinas there have floating docks. A large percentage of the docks on the East Coast are fixed. When traveling the ICW, I primarily looked for marinas with floating docks, because it’s easier to get our 95 lb dog on and off the boat, but also we weren’t familiar with fixed docks.
Learning the Lines
Docking the boat on a fixed dock is the same as docking on a floating dock. The placement of the lines and fenders is the learning curve. It took several times to adjust the lines to get them to the right length to account for the tide going in and out. Just as important is the placement of the fenders. As the boat goes up and down with the tide, you don’t want it damaged by scrapping against the fixed dock. The last thing I learned was how to protect my boat with proper line and fender placement while moored at a fixed dock.
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Michelle Wishart
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