Float plane and boat on the water near a dock on Harrison Lake near Harrison Hot Springs.
by Perry Mack
It’s unlikely that there is a more social past time than boating. It often brings strangers together for a great day or weeklong adventure. When everyone speaks the same language, crucial aspects of the trip (docking and undocking) have a better chance of going smoothly and safely. Sort of like flying a plane – taking off properly is important, and my personal favourite - landing properly.
Here’s some terms for crew and captains to share.
1. ‘Cast off’ – release all the dock lines. It might sound like the pilot episode of Gilligan’s Island (and we all know how that turned out) but everyone should know what it means – no confusion.
2. ‘Take in the slack’ – pull in the extra line mooring line. Make sure your crew knows that they should wait for you command or things may not go as planned.
3. ‘Ease off the … [insert line name here]’ – let out the line.
4. ‘Snub the …’ - prevent that line from slipping.
5. ‘Secure the …’ - fasten the line so it is fixed in position.
6. Aft Bow Spring – a line attached from the bow cleat that runs in the same direction as the back of the boat (aft)
7. Forward Bow Spring – a line attached from the bow cleat that runs in the same direction as the front of the boat (forward, duh)
8. Forward Quarter Spring – starts at the aft cleat and runs in the same direction as the front of the boat
If you’re like me, you nodded off after number five. The reason these terms are important is that they will save your Canadian Bacon when docking under challenging circumstances - the difference between being a ‘dock hero’ versus a ‘dock dork’.