Boating Tips - Docking

Learn must have tips and advice from The Encyclopedia of Boating Tips. In this video,you'll learn about docking.

Female Speaker: Dock lines can be classified as permanent or transient. Permanent dock like should be protected against shape and cut to size to fit the vessel and slip. You can use either braided or a three-strand nylon, put the diameter suited to match the size of your vessel. Transient dock line should consist of at least two bow and two stern lines that are of length equal to two-thirds that of your vessel. You also need two spring lines that are equal to your yacht length. Be sure to keep your lines properly stowed and easy to reach when needed. Carry extra lines when cruising for lengthy periods. Fenders will protect your boat from dock damage as well as make it easy for you to raft up to other vessels. They are also used to enable you to get off a dock if wind or current are problems. Take a look at these illustrations and use these techniques for safely moving out. Fenders come in cylindrical, flat and round shapes and are available in sizes to match your boat. Buy the biggest size that you can store onboard. Remember, fenders are the only thing between your pretty gel coat and that ugly concrete dock. You can also use fender boards for difficult dock situations. Dock boxes and ladders are found in most marines in pivot docks. Dock ladders make it easy for someone in the water to get back on the dock. Some ladders are also used to get on and off a vessel, depending on type conditions. Some yards have passerelles, they do double duty, they can launch the dinghy or ferry crew back-and-forth from a dock. Be sure to have your dock box well secured to the dock or high winds will blow it into the water. Nothing is scarier to a boater and nothing creates more ondeck yelling between crewmembers than bringing a vessel into dock. Additionally, just to embarrass you further, there are usually a few ondock who are more content to snigger than offer a helping hand as you precede to wipe out a large chunk of shiny top side. However, with some practice and preparation you can easily dock like a pro and not even have to yell a wicked word to your mate. First, have all your lines and fenders ready and know the wind and current conditions. Proceed slowly and don’t hesitate to abort your docking if you feel that something is not right. Generally, it’s far easier to dock at twin-screw vessel than a single-screw one. In order to maneuver your vessel into a tight space, it’s usually just a matter of putting one engine in reverse and the other in forward. Remember, at low speeds, your rudder is useless so don’t try turning the wheel, your boat response to prop action far quicker. Male Speaker: Come in slowly and stop headway while your keeping starboard engine in reverse. As the stern moves to port, continue backing with both engines at idle speed. As you move into the slip, go ahead with a port engine to align the boat properly. As the boat becomes aligned, put both engines into reverse. When fully into the slip, kill sternway by moving both engines briefly into forward. Stop the vessel by shifting into reverse while putting the helm over to port to begin the turn. As you enter, shift into forward on putting the helm over to starboard. A short power burst will kick the stern to port and align the vessel with the slip. Keep the helm to starboard as you shift into reverse. This will keep prop walk to port and allow you to back into straight. When fully in, put the gear in forward to stop sternway. Female Speaker: Skippers need a clear view of the stern, if they are coming into dark stern first, and it’s helpful to manipulate the controls while facing backwards. That is turn around and shift gears with your hands behind you. You will see most professional captains doing at this way. If you are not completely confident, don’t attempt to dark the boat in high winds or strong current. In quaswind and current conditions, even professional captions have trouble. You can learn to dock your boat by going to a quiet spot and putting down two markers that represent your outer dock pilings, then try backing down your boat between the two markers. You’ll soon get the hang of it. Remember to always drive very slowly when coming into any dock. Powerboats with single screws have a much tougher time docking than sail boats. That’s because sailboats have much less upper winded area and more importantly they have larger rudders. You can dock your single screw powerboat a lot easier if you have a bow cluster. This is like having another engine in the bow. With single screw vessels, it’s recommended that you come into dock about first and use a rudder and engine controls to manipulate your movement.