USE FINESSE, NOT FORCE
Keep in mind when going alongside that you are bringing a moving object of 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!
Ship handling is a subtle art, the ship is not driven by the ship handler, 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 mid body 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 maximullI cushioning effect.
3. The eddy current acts equally along the entire length ofthe ship, slowing her lateral motion and easing the landing.
4. If the ship is docking with any current, having the ship's up stream end hard alongside keeps the current from getting inside the ship and forcing her back off the pier.
5. The maximum cushioning effect is gained from the ships quickwater when the ship is parallel to the berth.
When the impact of landing is spread over the entire lengh of the flat parallel midbody, and several hundred feet of water cushions that landing, the ship can go alongside with force without damage. The reverse is true when the ship lands at a angle to the berth.
