Better Docking Skills = More Enjoyable Boating

The last 50 feet coming back to the dock or slip are the most stressful part of boating for way too many boaters who may need to top up their skills . This is a fact!
When things go wrong docking, after a most enjoyable day on the water, all the fun of the day evaporates leaving only the bad docking experience to dominate the subsequent conversations; thus, overriding the great memories of the day.

Why not punctuate the ending of your boating day, with a positive, rather than a negative ending?

Better Docking Skills

This is where Dawsons Docking Lessons can help improve your docking skills, according to hundreds of testimonials over several decades. You can read some of them at the end of this blog.
As one boater put it “Compared to the investment I made in my boat, this Lesson is a drop in the bucket. The boat isn’t any good to me without knowing how to dock it confidently.”

Improving docking skills is the answer.

Turn Dockings into positive experiences.

Order your Docking Lesson TODAY.

One new tip learned makes all the difference.

• “Nice job Doug, I really like your common sense approach to handling a boat and making it easy for the First Mate. Thanks again!! I will be telling everyone to pick up your books and tips!”
• “Thank you so much for the lesson. The lessons have been very helpful in making our boating much more enjoyable and I really enjoy the website. Thanks again for your time, great service and very useful information.”
• “I dock my boat in an area with very strong currents and shifting winds. While I am getting better with practice after reading the introductory book, I am looking forward to learning more from the advanced copy.”
• “Hope I didn’t bore you, but wanted to say thanks and let you know that what you are doing is saving not only boats, but also lives.”
• “Keep up the good work! Boating knowledge allows you to live and fish another day and to come home safely to your loved ones. Your work is important! Thanks again and tight lines.”
• “Doug, I spoke with you on the phone some time ago and you very graciously answered some questions that I had posed via email. I live in Florida and have a Grady White 330 Express. I wanted to let you know I have embraced your methods and that mine and my First Mate’s boat handling/docking gets better with each outing. It was very helpful for me to speak with you.”
  “Thanks again for being so thorough and professional in your materials and presentations and most of all for being so willing to help. All the best.”
• “I received your boat docking e-Lesson on Twin Outboards. Great information. I have been a boater since 2002 owning a 26′ Center Console–twin outboards. I wish I had found your website earlier as I have learned some great tips from the e-Lesson.”
  “I want to thank you for a book that finally made sense! Everything else on the internet was either for sailing vessels, twin screw or for a single screw with a rudder! You have made our boating experience with our new boat completely relaxed with no stress and we hit the slip every time on our first attempt using your instructions. Thanks again!! I will be telling everyone to pick up your books and tips!”
  “THANK YOU So much your instructions are very clear and helpful! I wish I would have found you 2 years ago.”
  “Many thanks! I just moved from a single I/O to a Twin I/O and seemed to be getting worse each time I back into the dock. I could never figure out when to use one or two drives, when to turn the drives vs using one or the other, etc. This makes so much sense to me and I’ll be trying it the rest of the season. Thanks again! “
• “Brenda, thank you, and your husband for the Lessons. I read the introductory book and the chapters in the advanced that apply to my boat and docking situation. The tips on the arc, momentum, 3-5 seconds of throttle to adjust were extremely helpful. I nailed docking the last 7-8 times without drama, cussing, or tears. It took some practice, but my comfort level has increased 100-fold. Thank you.”
  “I wanted to let you know, how much I appreciate your instructional information. My wife and I purchased our first boat last year to place in a marina on the San Francisco Bay. We bought a 2000 28′ cruiser that had twin stern drives. Having very little boating experience, I hired a captain to give me some instruction on my boat in order to comfortably utilize it in the marina and on the very intimidating SF Bay. The instructor only had one theory, steer the boat by use of the two-shifter system. While I was able to drive the boat in the marina effectively, it left me with very little confidence to get into our tight slip with another expensive boat right next to us. At that time, I could not imagine me taking the boat out without additional experienced help. So, I researched the internet for instruction, and thankfully found your site. Everything I was reading about your ARC system just made absolute sense to me. I was much more comfortable steering with the wheel and then utilizing single engines to maneuver in tight spaces. I purchased your written manual and also your video on docking twin stern drive boats. I proceeded to read, watch and visualize the process enough to finally get the confidence to try it out.”
  “Yesterday, I put in practice everything you taught about driving twin sterndrives. It could not have gone any better. I was able to back out of the dock, run to the dump station, docked there, left that dock, returned to our dock and successfully docked the boat without incident. It was such a great experience, I look forward to many more in the future and it was all due to your lessons. Thank you for all your help!”
• “Hi guys. I ordered your twin stern drive docking books last month (basic and advanced) for my recent 33′ Sea Ray purchase…awesome books! So, two weeks after I bought the boat, a dock worker inadvertently left the plug out of the boat when he moved it from its lift to do some work on the dock, and sunk my boat.
  I got to use it one time! I can’t even make this story up! So, I bought a replacement boat last week which is a 32′ twin inboard and need your book on docking. Is there any kind of discount for repeat buyers or grief stricken boaters? Thanks.”
• “God bless you guys! You can absolutely use my email. When I originally received the twin I/O materials, I read them “cover to cover!” I also loaded the material on my lap top and memory stick that stays on my key chain so I would have the material anytime I needed them. I also printed everything out in hard copy and put it in a binder that sadly sunk with the boat. The point is, your books are very helpful. I panicked this weekend when I took delivery of the new 32′ inboard and tried to use the I/O procedures when leaving the dock and quickly learned they are two different animals. I have a 10 hour flight this Saturday to Florida where the new boat awaits (the family has not seen it) and I look forward to reading these new materials before we get there.
  Thank you again for your understanding, insight and generosity”.
• “Hi Doug, I am starting to be a better captain, with less fear and stress at the docking time. Thanks Doug and Brenda Dawson. I live a new life and I am enjoying my boat every week end, because, as you know, Haiti is sunny all over the year.”