Dannielle Hayes
Boats docked at Powell Lake Marina on the Sunshine coast
by Perry Mack
Nothing separates the men from the dorks like docking. And we’ve all been the ‘dork’ at one time or another. After reading and absorbing the information in this article you’ll be Captain Cool behind the wheel able to call bad docking play by plays from the dockside patio peanut gallery with the confidence of an NHL announcer on Hockey Night in Canada.
Let’s start with the basics, the equivalent Docking High school and move up to Graduate School. While every boat behaves a little differently, the basic docking manoeuver for a single engine boat goes like this:
1. Place the fenders at dock level and prep the dock lines.
2. Make sure your crew (wife, kids, family, friends) know what to do with the dock lines.
3. Approach the dock at a 25 to 45 degree angle (pointed into the wind or current, whichever is stronger) at a minimum controllable speed.
4. When the bow is ½ to one boat length away from the dock smoothly turn the boat so it moves almost parallel to the dock.
5. Shift to neutral, turn the wheel towards the dock and momentarily shift to reverse to bring the stern in towards the dock.
Tie up the boat and you’re done. Voila, the perfect docking maneuver in five easy steps. If it’s this easy why isn’t everyone docking to perfection every time? If you’ve ever docked a boat you know why. Often the wind, current and other boats require some advanced techniques.
It was Captain Edward A. Murphy who developed Murphy’s Law. There are a few tips that the pros know that you need to know as well. So you can perform like Captain Cool, not the ever-entertaining Captain Chaos.
Top Ten Tips to Docking Your Boat
1. Never approach the dock faster than you are willing to hit it. Contrary to popular fiction ‘Ramming Speed’ is not a nautical term you should employ.
2. It there’s a wind, reduce your boats exposure – roll up the bimini, open glass windows, furl your sails matey.
3. Never kill the engine until all your dock lines are secure. You never know when a crewmember will lose hold of a dock or piling, or drop a line.
4. Abort, abort, abort! If it’s looks like you’re on a bad approach, back out and try again. This highly preferably to the Captain Chaos ‘braille’ method of docking.
5. Use brief applications of power (in and out of neutral) to prevent you from building up too much momentum. Taking it slow in this way makes it easier to maintain control and has the added benefit of being boring so you’ll lose the interest of the peanut gallery and dock smoothly.
6. Turn the wheel first then apply power. It will help keep your bow pointed at your target.
7. Practice at an empty dock (preferably with some else’s boat). Don’t wait until the wind comes up on a Saturday at 5pm when everyone else is trying to dock. The best way to dock in this situation is under an umbrella with a beverage on the patio at Rose’s or the Eldorado Hotel. Seats at these peanut galleries provide an entertaining view of the shenanigans at the launch sites.
8. Boats can be repaired, people can’t (at least easily or always). Make sure everyone knows the plan and their role. Avoid yelling, which often results in what appears to be a Chinese fire drill with crewmembers putting themselves in between colliding 10,000 lb boats or attempting heroic leaps, which can end badly (blood, tears) and push you off your intended path.
9. Boats are not cars, well some boats are, but not yours. They handle differently because although power is often applied from the rear they don’t turn from the front. Boats pivot on an axis, an outboard or stern drive will steer from the rear and many inboards steer from a point forward of the transom. Figure out where your pivot point is and it will simplify turning in tight spaces.
Understand prop torque. Most props turn clockwise (when viewed from the stern). In reverse, this pushes the stern to starboard (right) and the bow to port (left, not the delicious red beverage). Understanding this gives you an edge when maneuvering.