Common Power Boat Docking Mistakes |
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It doesn’t matter which harbour we visit, we witness so many power boaters making the same common docking mistakes.
It is almost like they have taken lessons to dock badly, and they keep repeating their bad docking procedure over and over and over again. They get really good at bad docking! Very few sailors on the other hand, have difficulty docking their sailboats.
The worst part of it is that the crew gets upset, there is usually a lot of yelling, sometimes there is injury (certainly potential for injury) and often times damage to the boat or a neighbor’s boat or dock. Too many times, family members don’t want to go boating again as result.
The good news is that these power boat docking mistakes are so easily corrected. Some of the most common docking mistakes we see are….
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Where is your Pivot Point? |
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 The pivot point of a boat seems to be a topic of much interest and there is a lot of confusion surrounding what it is, where it is and how it affects boat docking.
Some of the boating forums we visited have many self-proclaimed experts challenging and arguing with each other about who has the correct answer and why it is important. One "expert" insisted that physics was his area of expertise and insisted that the pivot point was between the propellers while other "experts" and boaters challenged him and argued with him.
Simply put, the pivot point is......
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If you have done everything, but your head still smells, it could be an aged hose allowing vapor to pass through the rubber. To check this, tie a wet rag around the hose for a couple of weeks. Then, store it in a sealed plastic bag for a couple of days. Open it and, if the rag smells of septic, it is time to replace the hoses.
The Kuchs, Ontario
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 The internet is a great source of entertainment and misinformation—especially when it comes to docking a boat. A 30-second video, just doesn't cover it!
You may have seen the YouTube "how to dock a boat" video of the "show off" Captain bringing a yacht in bow first to a parallel dock and turning the boat perfectly with the hull just inches from the dock. Not a word of instruction of what he is doing at the helm.
Or, the "Yahoo" who comes in at great speed on a sailboat and turns at the last minute with just the right momentum, to come alongside the dock perfectly.
You may also have seen the Captain who instructs boaters to approach at about 45 degrees in a twin inboard flybridge, then pivot so that it slides parallel against the dock, lining up his spring line cleat with the dock cleat, so his crew can step off the side deck with the line and tie it.
They look impressive, but....
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It's Not Your Fault!...Docking a Power Boat is Difficult |
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download this page in pdf format
Is docking your power boat an easy procedure, as it should be? Do you confidently and safely bring your boat into your slip or alongside your dock AND secure it to the dock in any conditions without yelling, swearing, jumping, boat hooks, bionics, dock helpers, guesswork or embarrassment?
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- Does your docking procedure get "screwed up" by a gust of wind at the last minute?
- Is the cleat too far away for your crew to reach? or even worse
- Does the dock hit your hull as you approach?
- Maybe you find that when you turn the wheel to bring your stern in closer to the dock, it goes further away instead?
- Do you have visibility problems where you can't see your First Mate or Crew for superstructure?
If you are experiencing these or other "screw ups" and are having difficulty docking, you may be interested to know, that it's NOT YOUR FAULT!
There are good reasons to explain why Docking a Power Boat is Difficult.
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Houseboat Docking Lesson is Ready |
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 As promised, we have been working on Houseboat Docking Lessons as follows:
- Docking Your Houseboat--Single Outboard and Sterndrive
- Docking Your Houseboat--Twin Outboards and Sterndrives
- Docking Your Houseboat--Twin Inboards
Just in Time for Christmas
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Most Difficult Docking Challenge - Winner |
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 Of all the docking challenges we reviewed over the past two weeks for our “Most Difficult Docking Challenge”, John Heasman had the most difficult by far. But, he didn’t stump the expert!
 “I am a new boater this spring and have a 270 Prowler Cruiser with a single I/O. My slip is the last one at the end of the fairway with the prevailing wind coming straight at me as I head down the fairway to my slip."
"The other side of my slip is a rip rap stone wall sloping into my slip space. To dock, I come down the fairway and turn to starboard to enter my slip against the wind, but I still end up “on the rocks” on the other side of my slip. I am already on my second propeller. We boat a lot when there are no dock helpers around so I have to be able to do it with just me and my First Mate. How can I dock in my slip so that I land on my dock and not the rocks?”
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Technology and design changes have improved everything in life from driving a car to sending a letter to docking a boat.
 The instructions for everything have been updated—except Power Boat Docking Instructions. The big question is WHY?
Boating forums are filled with docking fears and horror stories with other boaters offering solutions that, quite frankly, are the wrong advice in most cases--the blind leading the blind. WHY?
So many boaters have contacted us with their docking difficulties, that it became quite obvious something is terribly wrong. Docking a Boat (power or sail) shouldn't be difficult at all. But it is, for so many power boaters. WHY?
They turn the wheel the wrong way, put it in forward when it should be in reverse, approach from the wrong direction for the wind, approach too slowly, don't know when to shift into reverse to stop forward motion and on and on and on it goes. WHY?
We did some research and discovered....
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 You will remember Frantic Fran and Jittery Joe from a previous newsletter. They were ready to give up on boating. Then, they learned how to dock it and decided that boating was fun after all.
Well, now we’d like to share their continuing story:
"Best Investment we ever made"
Last year, we were ready to sell our boat and get out of boating all together, because it was just too stressful and difficult. When we found Doug Dawson’s Boat Docking lessons, all that changed and we decided to keep the boat. It was the best investment we ever made. Doug’s docking lessons made so much sense and were so easy to follow, it didn’t take long before we could easily and confidently dock our boat bow first. The FLIPP Line™ procedure made so much sense. Our whole attitude toward boating has changed now that we can focus on enjoying it rather than worrying about handling the boat—particularly the docking part.
Then, we were hooked and wanted more…..
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Boat Docking is Difficult or EASY... |
It's Your Choice!
It doesn't matter what you're looking for, you'll probably find it on the net. Whether you need a recipe for dinner, a new gadget, to find a friend, a cure for a health condition, a news story, a You Tube sensation, or whatever, the internet is an easy, quick source of information.
BUT, how do you filter the good from the bad? Just because it's on the net doesn't mean it is accurate and correct. The good, bad and the ugly are all there!
 I was recently surfing the net and came across a boating forum and found a posting by a boater with a 22' center console. His name wasn't posted, so we'll call him Murray. Murray wanted help docking his boat stern first into his slip that had a short dock and pilings at the outer ends-usually with both cross wind and current.
The advice from the other boaters on this forum was most amusing to us. Each thought he knew how to dock and freely offered advice.
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