Like the others, I use an aft spring line from a midship cleat located at my boat's pivot point. But one time I was entering my slip in the dark with a strong wind blowing off the dock and misjudged my approach. I was just a little too far away from the dock and by the time I had taken the few steps needed to get to the spring line the wind had blown my boat too far away from the dock for me to get the spring line around anything. What happened after that was embarrassing but, fortunately, it occurred in the wee hours of the morning so no one was around to see and no damage was done except to my ego. But, to avoid a repeat of that problem, I made a spring line holder that extended my reach by four feet.