Boating basics

J

jeffreytcole

Member
exMember
Joined
Apr 25, 2007
RO Number
26018
Messages
128
Ok, I hope I don't get laughed off the board for this but wiser men than me have always said the stupid questions are the ones not asked so here they go.

1. I have taken boater safety courses both online and classroom and have owned/operated small bowriders but nothing has prepared me for the docking and undocking of a cabin cruiser. Is there some advice out there on how to do this? We have been successful only when my son is onboard and able to jump on the pier and catch the boat. When it's just the Admiral and I it gets trickier. Almost to the point where she doesn't want to go out because we have to come back. We went out yesterday and the nest neighbor helped us tie back up (probably so we wouldn't hit his sailboat) and I still hit the shore power connection with the bow pulpit. It was always so much easier just reaching over and throwing a line on the cleat. I must note that our slip is subject to current which is an additional factor we deal with and it always seems to be pushing us away from the dock.

2. In a smaller bow rider, it was common and fun to jump the wake of other boats. Not so much fun with a deep v cruiser. I can handle the wake pretty well when idleing or a little faster but on plane traveling about 25-30 it's not so good bringing 6000# plus of boat out of the water. What is the best angle to take wake of another boat without dropping off plane every time I pass another boat?

Thanks in advance,

Jeff
 
welcome.. dont' worry, the only stupid questions are those you're afraid to ask and then wished you had asked :-)

as you get into larger boats, you have to approach (litterally) things in a more "professional" manner. i don't like that word but you get the picture... jumping off, leaping off, fending off and running doesn' work and can be downright dangerous.

you need to practice getting in. a few things can help. First make sure you leave your lines at the slip and that you have a telescoping hook handy to reach them.

the first line you need to get to is your spring line, from an outer piling or cleat on a finger pier forward to your midship cleat. (assuming you're coming in bow first from your description). that magical line will not only prevent you from slamming into the dock or your power pedestal but also will bring your boat alongside with no drama regardless of current. Just put the boat in FWD gear, wheel away from dock and it will come alongside.

as to wakes, jumping them is never a good idea... if you're going to hit one, slow down a little bit, try to take it at a 30deg angle and use the throttle as needed to keep the bow a the angle that will result in the smoothest crossing.

and of course, take it easy. dont' come in the slip too fast... rule nr 1 "dont come hit faster than you want to hit anything"... but rule nr 1b is equally important... "the slower you go, the more impact currrent and wind will have". find the right balance to control the boat.

and dont' forget that the angle of your drive will drastically affect what happens when you throw it in gear. I often see people making a perfect approach before throwing it all away because they put the boat in reverse to slow or stop but forget that they still have the drive/ob at the wrong angle (turned away from dock). so... when they put it in reverse, the stern kicks out and of course the bow gets thrown into the dock. usually they panic, give it a little more RPM making things worst.

always be aware of your outdrive position before you shift.

hope this helps, post a picture of your slip and boat, others should have some more detailed advice
 
PascalG, you're good to go buddy.
The best thing we can say, is to take your time, keep the boat out of trouble, you will learn in the process and don't worry about how long it takes, just do it right.
I can say this because , that was me 30 years ago, now I make all boats walk, and talk.
Takes time to learn, it looks easy, we all know, it's not, we've all seen people who just don't know.
Learn to do it right.
 
Thanks Pascal, you make it sound so easy. I guess practice practice practice is what I need to do. I will try to scan a sketch of the pier and current movement when I get home. No scanner at work. I think I understand what you are saying about the "magic" line though. I will look at the config. when I get back to the marina. They are supposed to put a center cleat on the finger but I think I might break down and spend the 15-20 bucks and put one on myself but I can use the cleat on the "aft" end (in reference to the boat) of the finger and throw it on my midship cleat.

Thanks again,
Jeff
 
Jeff - I'm with you buddy because I'm new to boating (with a larger cruiser) and it's definitely a learning experience. This is my first season with a larger twin screw boat, and luckily I have a very experienced boater helping me. So that's one suggestion I have. See if you can find someone to teach you a bit or hire a captain to do so. One other thing that helped me a lot after one failed docking in a crosswind was that I drew diagrams of my slip with arrows indicating the wind coming from all different directions so I could think about how I would handle docking in various conditions. I docked two weekends ago with the same crosswind that I had with my failed attempt with no problems. I agree with Pascal about that springline BTW. It's always the first line the Admiral attaches. Sounds like we both dock bow-in with a finger dock. My dock has pilings to tie lines off to so I don't have a cleat on the dock. If they let you, consider hanging fenders from the dock and leaving them there (along with your set up lines). As everyone says, take it slow and stay calm. I'll add to that by saying if it isn't working out don't keep pushing it while docking. Just back off and try again.
 
if you install a cleat, or if the marina installs one, make sure it is capable of taking the load. while you're not going to need a lot of power to spring the boat, the cleat needs to be secured with no chance of coming out.

this is how it works... as you approach (left) you grab your spring line from the dock and tie it to the midship cleat. if you dont' have a mid ship cleat, you can use the bow cleat. A telescopic hook comes very handy when current or wind pushes you away.

you can then go forward, slowly with the wheel turned away from the dock to bring the boat along side and hold that position as the other lines are secured. Obviously if you're alone don't leave the boat in gear while going on the dock to tie the lines :-)

springline.gif
 
Hire a captain for a few hours and he/she will give you the basics to grow on. Once you have the basics of how a boat moves in the water and understand the effects of the wind and current it will become second nature. If your lucky enough to have a dock mate like Pascal that’s perfect but to many people think that someone who has a big boat or has been boating a long time know what they’re doing but that’s not always the case and you don’t want to pickup bad habits from them.

You could go it alone but you might end up like a friend of mine 10 years later and still be clueless.

Mark
 
"You could go it alone but you might end up like a friend of mine 10 years later and still be clueless."

very true and one way to avoid that is to look back at what you did, how it work out and consider what you could have done different. So, you got the boat in the slip and didn't hit anything... that's fine... but could you have done a better job ? did you come in at an angle pushed by the current ? did you have to use a little more power at some point ? ask your self why. maybe because you didn't react in time and by the time you did you had to bump the throttle a little too much ? did you turn in too late not taking the current into account ?

on the other hand, if you really believe that any landing you walk from is a good one then you're never going to learn.

I think this is what makes the difference... as i've said before, docking a boat is not rocket science, it's all about the attitude and the will to learn.
 
Giolic is on the right track with his advice to hire a Captain. Get a few recommendations and shop around. Both times I purchased a boat, I've used delivery captains to give me a thorough briefing on the operation and location of all boat systems, and boat handling. The nice part about hiring the captain is that he (or she) can tell your admiral what to do during docking manuvers without her saying, "Stop yelling at me!" You spent a lot of money on your boat, spending another $300 will help you enjoy it even more. Good luck!
 
I Second all of the suggestions about a captain and practice, practice. I am in my first season with a 28ft twin engine express as my first boat. The nerves got pretty jangled the first several times coming back to the dock and my wife was equally uptight. But things have gotten MUCH better. The practice has made the biggest difference. Now I think docking in my slip is kind of a fun challenge. I am reasonably confident I'm not going to smash anything so the challenge is just to get it as perfect as I can on the first attempt.

A couple of things to add. First, discuss with the Admiral exactly what she should be doing and what you will be doing. We both are better and enjoy it more when we have a plan and we execute it. Her biggest frustration is not knowing what to do. So we cover it well ahead of time. Now we have a clear routine when docking and undocking and it's becoming second nature.

Second, DO NOT be ashamed of aborting your approach and trying again. Once I gave myself permission to just stop and approach again instead of trying to make a bad approach worse, the pressure went down. If you listen to most on this forum, you'll hear plenty of descriptions of second and third attempts. No shame in that. If nobody gets hurt and nothing gets broke, that's all that matters.
 
Jeff,

I'm pretty close to you up in St. Simons....if you find yourself cruising the ICW up here, shoot me a note in advance and I'd be more than happy to give you a hand and some pointers to practice with. I'm back and forth to Florida quite a bit and pass St. Mary's on the way, so I could come by your slip sometime as well. I've been where you are moving up in boats and it truly does take some practice and planning. The key is to have the admiral with you so that you learn the right way to do things together, and then have a clearly communicated plan each time you dock. It's a lot like a flight checklist...just communicating it to each other on approach and having that confirmed with each other will go a long way in taking away the anxiety and then you simply can execute. And like others have said, if you mess it up you back off and start over. No harm in a second (or third) attempt!
 
Charles Low (or Lowe?) has a book out -- Boat Docking. You could pick up a copy as a reference.

We all have had docking issues at one time or another. Good Luck.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sun Gauds

Giolic is on the right track with his advice to hire a Captain.

You spent a lot of money on your boat, spending another $300 will help you enjoy it even more. Good luck!

Click to expand...


I read a message that a new law that when you buy a boat the dealer is required to give you 5 hours of helm training? In looking for it I was not correct. I'm correcting this message.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Capt. Art

quote:
Originally posted by Sun Gauds

Giolic is on the right track with his advice to hire a Captain.

You spent a lot of money on your boat, spending another $300 will help you enjoy it even more. Good luck!

Click to expand...


By law when you buy a boat the dealer is required to give you (I think if I recall correctly) 5 hours of helm training.

Click to expand...


Can you cite that law, because I for one have never heard that before?
 
never heard that one before !!!

maybe it's a New York thing...
 
Take it as slow as the conditions allow and never panic!

Last weekend I had to try docking in windy conditions three times before I finally got the boat where I could get off and tie it up. I thought that was terrible! But I didn't panic and just kept adjusting my approach until it worked. Funny thing is that I had several people watching and they complimented me on how well I docked. Well, I think I should have been able to get it where it needed to be on the first try, so to me it was a failure. I think they were really influenced by my calm demeanor, not my docking!
 
I will try to find the law & link to it. I'm at work & can't do it right now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top