It's hard to keep the boat from hitting against the dock as a result of wave action, heavy winds or strong currents. Mooring whips are a great solution - they're designed to spring the boat away from the dock to prevent damage. Whips installed for this article are manufactured by Taylor Made (www.taylormadeproducts.com) and supplied by West Marine (www.westmarine.com).

Step 1
Join the two-part mooring whip poles together at the couplers using the epoxy packet that's supplied with the product. The epoxy comes in two parts, so you'll need to mix these together before using. Mix thoroughly and be ready to use it quickly, because it won't take long for it to harden. Next, find the bottom section of the pole - it has a PVC collar at the lower end and a 3.5-inch sanded portion with a 45-degree angle cut at the upper end. Coat the sanded portion and the end of this pole with the epoxy, but be careful not to get epoxy onto the angle cut. With a twisting motion, slowly insert the epoxy-coated male end into the coupler of the corresponding top pole. The top pole has a fiberglass coupler at the lower end and a roller tip system at the upper end. The pole is fully inserted when the 45-degree angle cuts match up and fit snugly together in the coupler. Once together, feel free to wipe away any excess epoxy. Be sure the poles don't migrate apart while you're waiting for the epoxy to cure, which usually takes about five minutes.

Step 2
Install the bases and whip poles. Tie the boat up along the dock where the whips are being installed. Position the front end of the base two to four inches from the edge of the dock, directly across from both the bow and stern deck cleats on the boat. Mark the location of the holes to be drilled for both the bow and stern base. Each base should hold the poles perpendicular to the boat. Next, drill the holes all the way through the dock, and then secure each base. Thread the 5/16-inch whip lines through the rollers at the upper end of the top poles, then temporarily tie the line around the lower section of the whip poles. Insert the whip poles into the receiver sockets. Position the poles by rotating them so that the roller tip is in direct line with the deck cleats, so it will smoothly and freely guide the mooring whip line. Tighten the screws in the base units in order to secure the whip poles in the base at the proper location. The last part of this step is to install the black whip pole cleats on the bottom pole at a convenient working height (three to five feet from the deck), with cleat horns perpendicular to the dock.

Step 3
The next task involves setting the dock lines. The standard "X" method works best, because it's suitable for most normal docking conditions. This particular method consists of two "spring" lines and two "breast" lines (which are supplied with the product). The spring lines will keep the boat from moving fore and aft along the dock. They should be approximately the same length as the boat. The breast lines determine the distance the boat will ride away from the dock and should be long enough to hold the boat away at a minimum of three to five feet from the dock. In order for the mooring whips to function properly, it's important that all dock lines have equal tension - with no slack - when the boat is docked. When properly installed, the "spring" and the "breast" lines will form an under/over X. The next task is to set the whip lines. You'll need to untie the whip lines from the whip poles and then tie a bowline knot (or loop) in the outboard end of each line. This will allow for easy placement over the boat deck cleats.

Step 4
Next, you'll need to thread the inboard ends of the whip lines through the holes located in the center of the whip pole cleats. Tie knots in the ends of the lines so that they won't pull free from the cleats. Position the loops in the whip lines over the inboard boat deck cleats. From the dock, pull down on the whip lines. Tie the whip line off on the whip pole cleat. If your water level and docking conditions are fairly consistent, you can make a bowline knot or loop in the whip line to facilitate easy attachment to the whip pole cleat. When properly installed, the boat will be parallel to the dock and will lie approximately three to five feet away from the dock. The whips should be parallel with each other and perpendicular to the dock. Finally, the line that runs from the whip roller tip to the whip pole cleat should be approximately parallel to the water level. Using mooring whips will not only keep your boat a safe and convenient distance away from the dock, but will also protect it from dockside and seawall damage.