Wind today.

CurrentSea

CurrentSea

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Decent wind and chop today. Crap ride from connetquot.
Get to my marina and towboatus has 2 tow boats guiding a searay down the canal. Try to hold but wind was pushing me all over. So I turn around and went back out to give them time to get it in the slip. Came back and docked no issues.

Neighbor came in and ended up sideways across the canal luckily there was no anchors as boats were out.

If your boat does 5 mph at idle speed and you got a 25mph wind and your backing into it you have to power up or wind will push you.

Now if wind is pushing you in slip then plan accordingly as its a different story. Keep bow in wind.

Issue with today's wind is it was variable and cross wind and there was a current in the canal.
 
Tough wind, rough seas on the Bay made for lots of water washing the deck and windows. Tobay was beautiful all day. Strong wind kept those greenflies away! Loved it. Looks like some nasty Tstorms heading in now.

So true about the need to use power to dock in winds and seas like today Dave. Watched so many captains going sideways because they were not using enough power to maintain control, or they didn't back into the wind stern first to maintain control.

Then there were the smaller, open boat captains that had no choice but to get their passengers flat out soaked as they headed back into nasty southwest winds and whitecaps.
 
First time I ever got to understand how diesel is so different than gas, yes I too need to come in hot, but was so much easier and in more control than my gas boat.
First time in a heavy wind with this boat. I do know that when I came in, the winds were stronger than they were all day. Just saying, the perfect docking was not me, it was the boat.
 
Agree 100% Walt. Guys at my dock always tell me how well I dock, but it Isn't me, it is the torque of the diesels. I certainly understand how to dock better than I used to, but the diesels give you amazing control of the boat. If they saw me dock my 310da on a windy day, they would think I had a twin brother. The difference with the diesels is amazing! I actually look forward to docking nowadays.
 
With my Viking and her Detroits I could thread a needle with any cross wind...

With my Amberjack and her Bravo IIIs, I am a menace.

Fortunately, I don't care how many times I need to pull away and start over. Eventually I will get it after enough time in the saddle but boy is it humbling.:)
 
Mark,
100 + ours on my 2003 Amberjack, one season. I was pathetic docking that boat on a still day. Your way ahead of me.
 
HAhaha... Ill never touch a single engine boat again in my life.... ( even my dingy makes me look bad )

: )

rob
 
It's nice to hear you guys talk about how hard a twin I/O can be to dock. Mine was a real nightmare for me. It got a lot better this year once I put a counter rotating drive on the port side, but it still isn't nearly as easy as a twin inboard. At least now it backs up straight and if I treat it more like a single engine and use the wheel when backing up it works a lot better.
I get a kick out of the dockside QB's that feel the need to shout out directions to guys with twin I/O's when they haven't got a clue. It usually starts with " you got two engines" "put ------ in reverse, and ------- in forward". That's when I know they either haven't seen that I only have two controls instead of four, or they never docked a twin I/O. Especially one where they both turn the same way.
 
quote:
Originally posted by mintregila

With my Viking and her Detroits I could thread a needle with any cross wind...

With my Amberjack and her Bravo IIIs, I am a menace.

Fortunately, I don't care how many times I need to pull away and start over. Eventually I will get it after enough time in the saddle but boy is it humbling.:)

Click to expand...


Mark: Let me preface this by saying that I am not that great at backing in to slips. I get it done, but it isn't always pretty. Fortunately I dock alongside the bulkhead in my slip so it is really easy at my home dock.
Anyway. Since I went to a counter rotating drive on one side I find it a lot easier to back up with both motors in reverse at the same time and using the steering wheel to line me up.
If I have to pull back forward a little to re-align things I usually do it with both motors.
Once I lost the twin engine mentality things got a lot easier.
The problem for me with the twin I/O's is that the pivot point is back at the swim platform. If you need to move that back end over a foot or so either way, the bow swings a lot more. Once I start with one in reverse and the other in neutral or forward when trying to line it up to back in, the bow is all over the place.
I still do the forward/neutral or forward/reverse thing for turning around, but that's about it.
The bad side of it all for me is that since I pull alongside my own slip I don't get nearly enough practice backing in.
 
When I was a kid, Im still a kid compared to you guys (most are just about old enough to be my father), I was to take my dads single I-O up and down the canal and practice docking. The tighter the better (goes for women too).

I used to run the boat over to the mechanic for winter storeage in late october and my dad would meet me there by car. Once he got there I would leave the house (15 minute ride via boat). The mechanic would stand at the dock and just watch. He wished his own son had the passion I have for boats.

Whats the old saying, practice makes perfect. To this day, I still practice docking. To me, there is nothing better then a heavy wind and current when you are trying to dock. Its the ultimate challenge.

The best thing you can do is abort a docking. Much like pilots learning to land when they do a touch and go, its what I do with docking when I practice.

No shame in still practicing, makes you sharper..
 
Thanks guys. I am getting the hang of it. With the bigger inboard boats I never touched the wheel unless pinned to the dock by wind. Now between lighter boat and out drives the movement is less predictable in breezy conditions. I am also on the inside of a T dock and it seems like close quarters when the wind is pushing the boat around.
 
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