I was just looking at a nice Vue picture in the gallery:  a sailing-ship coming into dock.   The problem is that the vessel is coming into dock without any visible means of propulsion.   There are no sails showing  - well, I can understand that taking the sails in within port is a good idea.   On the other hand, there is nothing else, other than blind faith, to coax the ship to the dockside.   I'd guess that sailing ships needed to be towed in by rowed boats and that the harbour-pilot, in those days, supervised the rowing, whether or not he participated.

Can anyone confirm how this worked, please?

Depending on the size of the ship, some were sailed right up to the dock, and then the sails were dropped at the very last second, and the ship reach dockside by the power of inertia.  Others, usually anchored out in the harbor, and had supplies brought to them by barge.  And yes, some were towed to dockside, usually by oar in the era before steam.
DPH

OF course, it depends what style sailing ship and what era we're talking about. If you're talking about a full three-masted clipper or similar, then I would imagine that pilot boats or tugs would be needed to bring it in to dock or, as David suggested, sailing in until the last moment then dropping sails to allow yourslef to coast in by inertia.

If it's a current style tall-ship (some of which still retain the classic lines of yore), then it's quite possible there's an engine located somewhere below decks which allows for the final propulsion.

JonTheCelt

Quote - OF course, it depends what style sailing ship and what era we're talking about. If you're talking about a full three-masted clipper or similar, then I would imagine that pilot boats or tugs would be needed to bring it in to dock or, as David suggested, sailing in until the last moment then dropping sails to allow yourslef to coast in by inertia.

If it's a current style tall-ship (some of which still retain the classic lines of yore), then it's quite possible there's an engine located somewhere below decks which allows for the final propulsion.

JonTheCelt

One of my Maine Maritime Academy Classmates became Captain of the Gazella Primero for a few years. The Gazzella Primero was one of the last Portugese Working Fishing Schooners.
http://www.gazela.org/ships/gazela/gazelahistory.htm

She had a 1 lung Diesel Engine, but that was used for heaveing the Anchor.

Cheers
DR

Are you sure about all this? I thought they used sea turtles and ropes made from human hair??
  

Thanks for the replies.    I seem to recall that the captain of a RN destroyer got into a spot of bother a few years back by unintentionally ramming Australia.   Not surprisingly, Australia won.

It also depends on the Harbor. Some Harbors allowed more control and such when approaching and leaving, due to tides and winds. Some offered much less!

Some general rules of docking sail ships. Unless there is a strong current approach a dock from the leeward side whenever possible so that your boat is heading into the wind. Basically you turn 180 degrees into the wind to make your sails flap to kill your boats speed. When you turn a boat into the wind in order to coast up to the dock, called shooting, if you turn slowly the boat will carry a lot of speed, called Way, and coast a long distance. But if you jam the helm hard over you will kill the boats way and she will coast a short distance. How much speed a given ship carries depends on her weight and size. A skipper must know his boat. In a strong current running against the wind the dock is approached on the run from the windward side with shortened sail , usually jib alone, to reduce speed, immediately prior to landing the sails are dropped to kill headway. Bow on approaches to docks are dangerous and require perfect timing, approach is made at moderate speed with sails slightly luffing so that the vessel ideally comes to complete stop at the dock. Other docking options are to come to a dead stop a distance from the dock drop anchor and let the wind slowly drift the ship towards the dock, by slowly letting out anchor line you have a controlled movement up to the dock. The anchor can also be used to assist in leaving the dockside by hauling her in, pulling the ship away from the dock. Option 2 complete stop a short distance from the dock and use of tow line to oxen or dock side capstans to reel the ship into berth. However with big cargo ships they usually dropped anchor in the harbor and used barges to ship cargo to and from shore, a lot easier to dock and much easier to get under way, also some ports did not have enough depth along side the quay to accommodate a fully laden big ships deep draft, so she had no option but to anchor in the harbour. Hope this helps, Ron

Yes, it's very helpful.   Thanks.