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| Crowded marinas? Lots of current or wind? Use these docking tips to dock like a pro. |
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Docking Tips
Want to look like a pro every time you maneuver into your slip? Of course you do! Use these three top docking tactics to get Mom’s Mink between the pilings, and everyone in the marina will think you’re a professional captain.
- SURVEY CURRENT AND WINDAGE BEFORE YOUR APPROACH. Failing to account for these factors is probably accounts for more docking disasters than any anything other factor. There’s no hard and fast rule that will help you overcome the effects of wind and current, because every boat is effected by them in different ways. We hope you know how your own boat reacts to current and wind thanks to years of experience with it, but if not, all you can do is simply to remember that these forces exist, and try to judge how they’ll affect you before you actually attempt to maneuver into your slip. When there’s a strong wind or a roaring current, line up your boat with the slip well away from it. Then shift into neutral, and watch what happens next. You’ll see exactly how your boat is being affected, and you’ll be able to plan ahead for it when you try the maneuver into the slip for real.
- DON’T BE TIMID. Naturally, as the old adage says, you don’t want to approach a dock any faster than you want to hit it. But if you don’t tell the boat exactly what to do, other factors (like that wind and current) will. And the longer it takes you to pull into your slip, the higher the chances of being knocked out of place. So you’ll have to be forceful enough with the throttles to tell your boat where to go, rather than asking it.
- KEEP THE ENGINE RUNNING UNTIL THE LINES ARE SECURED. This is another mistake you’ll see again and again: the captain makes a good approach, shuts down the powerplants, and reaches for the lines. But as he’s gathering them, the boat drifts out of position. Now one or more can’t be reached, and you have to push the boat around, re-start the engines, or grab and pull with boathooks.
Watch a pro, and you’ll notice he or she never shuts down the engines until the last line is secure. That way, the boat can be held in the proper position with judicious
EXTRA DOCKING TIP: If you miss a bow line as you back into your slip, don’t pull back out and try again. Instead, keep backing in and get the stern lines secured. Then put the boat into forward, at idle. When it comes tight against the stern lines, you can turn the steering wheel to the port or starboard to get the bow close to either forward piling, and get the bow lines.
DOUBLE-BONUS EXTRA DOCKING TIP: It’s always easier to maneuver when heading into the wind or current, as opposed to with it. When the prevailing force is on your stern, pass your slip and turn around. Then come in from the other direction, with your bow facing the wind and/or current.
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