Favorite Mods: Mid-Dock Cleat
Your most satisfying or successful modifications
Here’s another simple but useful mod from Paul Stovner:
Her writes:
I must credit and thank Dave Bacon for this idea. In his book The Gentle Art of Pottering he recommends putting a docking cleat at the mid-point of a P15, because after all he states “it’s just a dingy.” He goes on to say this works for quick and easy docking.
I did this on my SCAMP Frisky with a couple of modifications. I used a folding cleat and mounted it under the gunwale. This keeps it out of the way and reduces the chance of it hooking my life jacked if I need to re-board from the side after a knock down. It also gives me a line on each side I can use to help right the boat if it is knocked down or turtled.
And Dave was right, it works really well for quick tie-ups at the dock.
I discovered (from the previous owner) this simple trick on my 12-ft SF Pelican. Rather than trying to jump off at the dock with a bow and stern lines in hand, it's far simpler to initially tie up using the midship dock line while I'm still in the boat. The additional midship dock line could easily be used for a spring line too, if needed.
If you are going to tie up to a dock, consider making a fender board. The fenders will be less likely to ride up as the boat moves and the board goes against the dock. The fenders you have would be tied through holes in the 2 x 4 and the whole thing is suspended from the boat.