I think the pins are about a foot from the edge of the pool. The auto cover needs room for the motor head. That sticks out a couple of feet more than the width of the cover. Three sides of my pool coping are wide (8 feet or more). The motor head would have blocked most of the narrow side if we had put it on that side.
My pool and my house are separated by a grassy play area. I didn't want people sitting with their backs to the house and the play area so that side of the decking is just wide enough to walk on. The other three sides are much wider so people can walk, sit on chairs, etc.