Learn My Secrets to Docking a Boat

It's a beautiful day out and you decide to invite a· Size does not matter because the techniques are
bunch of friends to go out on your boat (size doesn'tthe same for a 17' center console to a 100' Mega
matter). After cruising around, you decide to head toYacht.
a popular restaurant. As you pull up, you start to get· You need to practice docking just like a pilot
nervous. There is one space open between otherpractices touch and go's and you, hopefully, practiced
boats with about 4 feet extra at each end. Yourparallel parking when you starting driving.
guests are having fun, the music is playing and there· The old saying goes "Practice makes perfect".
are about 75 people on the dock watching veryThat saying is actually just plain wrong. It actually
closely to see how you do, secretly hoping thatshould be "Practice makes Permanent". If you
something goes wrong to satisfy their oh-ohpractice something wrong over and over, then you
moment need.have made it Perfectly Wrong. You want to practice
My first real challenging docking experience happenedbut you want to practice correctly.
when I was asked to move a yacht to the Ft.· Just like a pilot, you have many factors that come
Lauderdale International Boat Show. If you've everinto play every time you dock. Wind, Current, the
walked the docks at one of these shows, you knowDock configuration, People and Rain are just a few.
how tightly packed in all the boats are. I enter theIn a smaller boat, for example, everyone standing on
exhibit area. I have to maneuver around a very large,one side can make you look like you're going to flip
very rusty steel "I" beam, make a sharp left and putover and take control of the boat out of your hands.
my bow between two other million dollar yacht bowsYou need to find an empty dock with no other boats
and swing my stern so I'm lying up against the yachtwithin 50 feet of your working area and enough
next to me while keeping my Stern within 6 incheswater to be able to escape if something starts to go
of the floating dock. I have no ability to stop and Iwrong. If you do not have a personal dock to use,
have about fifty owners, captains and dockhandsclosed Restaurants and public docks are good
watching me closely hoping nothing goes wrong.locations. You can even ask your local marina where
After getting into position, ten people jump on boardyou fuel up if you can use one of their docks after
and finish attaching me to the dock and other yachts.hours. Once you find that dock, then you need to
My pulse was racing, my palms sweaty, my nervesstart working on the next steps.
on edge, but my knowledge of what to do got meI just have to make this comment. I'm always
through it.amazed when I see captains docking and expecting
No doubt, docking can be stressful but there arethe people on board to "Catch" them to the dock.
ways to relieve that stress. Having knowledge andI've seen boats come to the dock bow first and the
experience helps. Having a few drinks before dockingcaptain yelling at their mate, spouse, partner or friend
to relax the nerves is not the answer, but couldto grab the piling and yelling at them when the
become part of the problem. In this series, I'm goingdockage goes south. Your job as captain is to put
to cover docking, docking techniques along with do'sthat boat at the dock like you are always the only
and don'ts. All references in this article are about twinperson on board. When you tie it up, you should be
engine, inboard boats. I'm also going to be doingable to do it by yourself without having help or
different articles on Face docks (plain old straightrushing. When you can do that, you have "Practiced
docks) and Slip docking.to make Permanently Perfect".
Let's start from the very beginning. You've bought aI'll see you on the Helm.
boat.