# During the Age of Sail, how did ships dock at port?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 20, 2022, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786 "2022-05-20T19:40:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2022, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786/1 "2022-05-20T19:40:24Z")
It’s been windy, and fire-y, lately here at home, so naturally I watched _Master and Commander_ the other night. It got me wondering to myself:
“_Self, if everything from sloops to [first-rate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-rate) ships-of-the-line are rigged for speed and power under full sail, how do they get that last mile to the wharf/quay/pier without slamming into the structure, or land?_”
Modern ships have bow/stern thrusters, or tugboats help maneuver large ships up to the dock, but these weren’t available ‘back when.’ What happened, did the crew leap into smaller rowboats to tow the bigger, main ship that last mile? Did they sail close enough to throw lines, so shore parties could pull them in? How’d they handle wind pushing them _away_ from the dock/wharf/pier?
Tripler
This is the stuff that I think about at night.
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2022, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786/2 "2022-05-20T19:43:29Z")
In some cases they may have been able to just sail in. I’ve been pleasure boating with some competitive sailors on the Great Lakes and been on board when that’s actually done, the boat sailing into its berth entirely on wind power. In expert hands there can be a lot of control over speed and direction.
There were probably multiple ways to handle the task.
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### Author:  [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2022, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786/3 "2022-05-20T19:45:06Z")
You are correct, the ship would be under reduced sail and would come close enough to the dock so that lines could be thrown over and secured. However I don’t believe that the lines were used to “pull the ship in”.
And, some captains were known for their poor ship handling capabilities. I’m currently listening to the Librivox recording of _The Log of a Sea-Waif_ by Frank T. Bullen. He mentions one incident where a ship smashed into the dock, narrowly avoiding major damage.
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### Author:  [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786/4 "2022-05-20T19:58:07Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#):
>
> However I don’t believe that the lines were used to “pull the ship in”.
“Warping into dock” is mentioned in novels, at least. I will have to look for a detained, non-fictional 19th-or-earlier century description.
Beyond that I’m sure captains had the skills to brace the mainmast square on a beam reach and heave to, etc., but I don’t know what the “standard” procedure was. But I can tell you that on a small boat you don’t need full sail for some fine manoeuvring.
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#):
>
> I’m currently listening to the Librivox recording of _The Log of a Sea-Waif_ by Frank T. Bullen. He mentions one incident where a ship smashed into the dock, narrowly avoiding major damage.
There was some related stuff in _Two Years Before the Mast_, wasn’t there?
ETA I don’t remember all the different accidents, but, coincidentally, at the very end he does mention warping ashore in Boston and hauling her in, and earlier he mentions a ship unmooring and warping to where she could get under way.
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### Author:  [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2022, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786/5 "2022-05-20T20:02:29Z")
They were towed in with rowboats or used a technique known as “warping” or “kedging”: they dropped a light anchor known as a “kedge” onto a small boat which was then rowed towards shore and dropped into the water. The boat was then pulled towards that anchor while another kedge was sent out a little further, and so on, until they had “walked” the boat all the way to the dock.
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786/6 "2022-05-20T20:15:56Z")
When i was learning to sail a 27’ Catalina sloop, my instructor taught us to sail all the way through the marina and right up to the slip. Usually the main channel was against the wind, so we were tacking back and forth like mad. “Ready about! Hard alee!” again and again, the channel was no more than 50 yards wide.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2022, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786/7 "2022-05-20T20:17:14Z")
> [@Tripler](#):
>
> “ _Self, if everything from sloops to [first-rate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-rate) ships-of-the-line are rigged for speed and power under full sail, how do they get that last mile to the wharf/quay/pier without slamming into the structure, or land?_ ”
Hey Trips! How’s it going?
The ships often had to wait for high tide to make their way in. @DCnDC describes a common skill at maneuvering used back then. Can’t recall the details but John Paul Jones was supposed to be particularly skilled at that kind of maneuver that he used to eventually get some British ship to surrender while his own ship was on fire and in danger of sinking.
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2022, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786/8 "2022-05-20T20:38:30Z")
I’ve sailed boats from small Catamarans up to [The Clearwater](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_River_Sloop_Clearwater), almost a tall ship at 106’ long and a topmast height of 108’.
On the big boats, most sails would be dropped fairly early, maybe a few hundred feet out depending on wind & tide. Then hopefully you would continuing into the berth. If you fall short, either your own ship’s boat or the port’s boat would take a line and row the rest of the way to tie off and use a capstan to pull the boat it.
Quite often the boats would be mooring anyway and going ashore was via a small boat.
On small boats when the conditions are right and the skipper good, we would just slide in the berth. like we were professionals or something. On the Clearwater we cheated and used the engine except for one time we used the yawl boat and the capstan method.
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### Author:  [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2022, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786/9 "2022-05-20T21:39:38Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> Hey Trips! How’s it going?
Howdy! Good to see ya!
> [@Broomstick](#):
>
> In some cases they may have been able to just sail in.
> [@DPRK](#):
>
> But I can tell you that on a small boat you don’t need full sail for some fine manoeuvring.
> [@DCnDC](#):
>
> They were towed in with rowboats or used a technique known as “warping” or “kedging”
> [@Fear\_Itself](#):
>
> my instructor taught us to sail all the way through the marina and right up to the slip.
> [@What\_Exit](#):
>
> . . . we would just slide in the berth
Thanks to _everyone_! After reading the responses, I realize there’s probably _a lot more_ leeway with wind and friction in nautical sailing to help slow the ship down when berthing\*, as opposed to what I was mentally comparing it to: a frictionless, silent glide and huge collision when the [NCC-2501 _Belknap_](https://stexpanded.fandom.com/wiki/USS_Belknap_(NCC-2501)) comes into spacedock under a Cadet for a helmsman.
‘\*’ Note: Thank you for the term–I couldn’t think of a better way to explain it, and didn’t know there was a simple, succinct word.
Tripler
No one can hear you scream "Oh sh\*t, stop-stop-stopppp!’ in space. . .
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### Author:  [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2022, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786/10 "2022-05-20T21:42:20Z")
You guys are making me think of the first time I saw Captain Jack Sparrow berth a ship. You probably can’t do that twice.
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### Author:  [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2022, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786/11 "2022-05-21T21:43:45Z")
I too could sail my 30’ Newport into its slip, with difficulty, so I usually used the engine.
When wind was from the shore: used engine.
Wind parallel to shore: used the (large) headsail only, which could be rolled up around itself quickly.
Wind from the sea: I could use the headsail, reduced, to gently get me to the slip.
Furl the sail at the last minute and step onto the pier with mooring line in hand.
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### Author:  [@Honolulu\_Lulu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honolulu_Lulu)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2022, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786/12 "2022-05-23T13:44:03Z")
When one gets close enough to the pier that the ship could coast into position, let go of the sail and let it luff (flap in the breeze).
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### Author:  [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2022, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786/13 "2022-05-23T13:51:55Z")
In the O’Brian novels, lots of times ships **didn’t** dock (or leave) if the wind/tides weren’t right. Mostly merchant ships, since they didn’t have the crew to tow the ship in with boats. But there are multiple instances of ships waiting for the wind to turn around so they could work their way into or out of a tricky harbor.
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2022, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786/14 "2022-05-23T13:52:00Z")
Once you’re talking a Square Rig or a big sloop or ketch (like the Clearwater), that method doesn’t work well. It does work well for smaller boats with a good skipper and crew that knows how to listen.
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### Author:  [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2022, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786/15 "2022-05-23T17:35:57Z")
I’ve sailed a 35 footer into the slip in San Diego. I didn’t like doing that because 1) it wasn’t my boat and 2) neither were the ones already parked there. I had visions of causing many dollars of damage, so the rest of the time we used the motor.
But we did a perfect docking the one time we tried it.
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### Author:  [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2022, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786/16 "2022-05-23T17:45:15Z")
Check out how they used to do it in Bristol, England. It was a major port back in the day. Ships would use the river’s tidal bore to help them move in and out, but before modern docks, the ships would actually lean over when the tide went out and straighten up and float again when the tide came in. It’s a fascinating history.
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### Author:  [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2022, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786/17 "2022-05-28T14:36:56Z")
> [@Limmin](#):
>
> I too could sail my 30’ Newport into its slip, with difficulty, so I usually used the engine.
This is what I remembered as a kid–my friend’s folks had a J35 that would drop sails on coming into the harbor, and then fire up an engine to make that last quarter mile.
Tripler
Gawd, that was like, 30 years ago. Do I still have sea legs?
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### Author:  [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2022, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786/18 "2022-05-28T14:42:02Z")
> [@Tripler](#):
>
> Gawd, that was like, 30 years ago. Do I still have sea legs?
I’d say yes. It’s like a bicycle…
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### Author:  [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-age-of-sail-how-did-ships-dock-at-port/964786/19 "2022-05-28T15:46:39Z")
This makes me happy, since I’ve worked with the Navy in the past, and do now.
Tripler
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