Boat Docking

Introduction

Boat docking is difficult. Many a boater has decided that the beast has a mind of its own, with little predictability or consistency to its handling. This, of course, is not so.

The problem with boat docking distils to this: boats do not go where they are pointed. Think of a slowly moving boat as always skidding. The vessel is at the interface of two fluid media, water and air. Neither attaches to the boat very firmly, and yet each exerts a strong influence on it, and interacts with the other in complex ways.

Simply accepting this basic tenet, that boats can and do slip and slide in any direction, is half the battle. It all begins to be more understandable if we lose the preconception that it even should go either straight ahead or astern. It should not. It is afloat, not on wheels. It is going to skid.

How a vessel skids is not always very obvious, and that's really why we're here: to learn boat skidding. The techniques for mastering it are often initially counter-intuitive. Coaxing a boat into its dock may well be the most difficult of small craft handling skills, and is usually the one with the largest audience! It can be very embarrassing (or, when done well, gratifying)!

We will be discussing many, many different forces which can prevent your boat from going where you point it, and at first you may wonder how anyone ever gets a boat anywhere. It will come as a pleasant surprise to see solutions that are both simple and immediately usable.

This book explains and illustrates the principles of slow speed, close quarters boat handling, and applies equally well to all small craft, regardless of size or type. It will help novices learn how to dock, and will assist experienced boaters to hone their skills, with a better understanding of how they do what they do! The intention is to help you protect your property (and others'), your safety, and, not least by any means, your ego.

There is a short overview section, followed by many practical docking examples and illustrations, and then, for those with a deeper interest, chapters on more advanced and theoretical topics, using non-technical language.

By all means pursue other avenues of boating education. Read the larger reference works, and take a local boating course. I do not think, however, that you will find a more complete and focused discussion of boat docking than that presented here.

Don't feel that you have to read the whole book at once! It can be digested in a single evening, but actually contains a great deal of information for such a small package. You may prefer to tackle it in smaller segments, or to refer back to it piecemeal, comparing it with your own boat-handling experiences.

The Underlying Philosophy

Docking a boat gracefully and comfortably is surely one of the most gratifying yet elusive things a boater can do. Although it is often done well, still it remains a universal nemesis. Despite the very real hazards of the high seas, the more everyday concern of many small craft operators is simply getting their vessels safely berthed. It is very common for docking to be the biggest boat-handling concern a boater has, and to be the most limiting factor in his or her use and enjoyment of the vessel.

What a surprise for the novice boater to find that the vessel does not go where it is pointed! It seems docile enough out on the open water at cruising speeds, and yet develops an  independent and capricious spirit in more congested conditions at slower speeds, especially in a wind.

By referring to boat docking as a 'universal nemesis', we recognize that everyone has had some trouble docking his boat, if only on occasion, and everyone, however expert, always still has something to learn. Problems with boat handling are commonplace, and serious problems occur frequently enough that many boaters have witnessed several episodes of boats completely out of control, damaging property and causing bodily injuries.

Among the many excellent boaters who manage their boats intuitively, with grace and panache, some are able, and some not, to explain their methods. Some may be 'naturals', whose main purpose in life is either to annoy us or to inspire us, depending on the kind of day we are having. The more typical seasoned skipper, however, has made many gradual transitions, starting perhaps in early childhood with rowboats, canoes, and small sailboats, only going out in calm, daylight conditions. She or he has progressed through small outboards on open boats, and small daysailers. One day, years later, when we see that he can single-handedly nestle a large yacht in a brisk wind into a tight berth with seeming ease, we may not immediately recognize all of the years of experience behind the maneuver. Much can be learned by observing his work, and by asking for (and taking!) his advice.

Beware, of course, of casual docking instruction from just any boater. There are goodly amounts both of information and of misinformation to be found up and down the docks. Practise healthy skepticism, and choose your advisors carefully.

The Overall Idea

The attraction of the water, and of boating, is indefinable but undeniable. (It's like love.) Whether a sail or power aficionado (and I favour the one that you do), recreational boating provides a healthy dollop of fun and relaxation. We are able to, and indeed have to, forget the cares of the day, and focus on the activity at hand. It can be great training for children, as much on the personal as on the technical level. It brings with it the satisfaction of skills mastered, and one of those sometimes difficult skills is getting the vessel into its berth smoothly.

The discussion which follows pertains more to boats under power than under sail, so is still completely applicable to sailboats docking under power. Sailboats, in this book, are generally assumed to have their sails down: bare poles, except where otherwise indicated. (Docking under sail is another topic. It demands excellent seamanship skills, and can be a most useful, graceful and elegant method of docking.) Airboats and hovercraft are beyond this book's scope. This in no way is intended to undervalue their utilitarian or recreational value.

Different boats handle differently, so some of the discussions in this book will apply to you and to your boat more than to others. You will be able to decipher, from the text and from experimentation on the water, how applicable which characteristics are to you.

The most important chapter of the book, and the easiest to overlook, may be 'Human Factors'. The impediment to, or the motivation for, improvement is often ourselves and our approach to problems, much more than the weather, the boat or the crew. It is also certainly the most difficult aspect of our close quarters maneuvering skill to assess objectively, but our mental and attitudinal status can be as crucial to successful docking as are our physical techniques.

Docking Practice

Don't be too hard on yourself if you are not a world expert boat docker. Most of us have had at least some of what I call 'vocal' dockings: lots of shouting and exclamations, often directed towards a spouse (a dubious tactic!), bumping into docks and other boats, fending off in a panic, or sliding sideways in a wind towards the rocks.

You may never get to the stage where every docking is effortless. (I haven't!) Like many other things in life, there will always be some challenge to docking, and what a disappointment it would be if there weren't. So, don't think that you can stop learning after your first season, or that you would even want to. The only legitimate way to stop learning more about close quarters maneuvering is to get out of boating altogether.

Once through a difficult (or impossible) docking, the boater has two choices: i) avoid the offending maneuver in future, or ii) overcome it.

Too often we choose 'option one', and remain shorebound on an otherwise beautiful day, simply because it is too windy or we have too few crew. It may not be the open water that daunts us. Frequently, the hesitation stems from the precision required for docking.

'Option two' requires us to push our docking skills just a little. Recklessness and abandon are not what I am suggesting. For many casual, occasional boaters, prudence is by far the better part of valor. I advocate a very cautious and conservative approach, and one of the things to know is when a certain procedure should not even be attempted. Either because of the operator's limitations, or because of the boat's, some things are just not possible, or are unreasonably risky. So, if you're sure that the conditions are too challenging for you, then don't go out. Your boat needed a good cleaning anyway, the last time I saw it, so this would be a good time to break out the mops and brushes.

However, you won't get any better at docking by staying on land, so when in doubt about your abilities, consider erring on the side of enthusiasm. Having given some thought to your close quarters skills since your last outing, and having done some reading and discussion on the topic, and having analyzed some of your recent dockings, you may be willing to take the boat out in conditions just a little more difficult than you have tackled before.

Learn something from the experience, something about boats in general and about yours in particular. Try a difficult docking again. Make modifications to your technique based on the information you are garnering. (Don't do the same dysfunctional docking a dozen times the same wrong way; then it's not the boat that's the problem!)

Start on calm days, and practise maneuvering on the open water, far from obstructions, giving yourself lots of room to wander. Gradually, go out in increasingly difficult conditions, taking things at your own pace. Play with your boat. Enjoy its idiosyncrasies. You love boating anyway, or you wouldn't be this far, so wheel it around just for the sheer joy of it, learning how it responds to various influences, both internal and external.

As you get a better and better feel for your vessel, and a more accurate instinct for how it handles, you will find yourself using less brute force and more finesse. You will make allies out of things which formerly seemed adversaries, such as wind, current and momentum (and crew, sometimes!). You will learn to anticipate the vessel's actions, and actively to use its idiosyncrasies, rather than to fight and rail against them, to maneuver it into its dock.

When all is said and done, one learns how to drive a boat by driving a boat. Book learning and water time go hand in hand.

Driving a boat is an art and a science. The science you partly can learn here. The art you learn at the helm. You, like most of us mere mortals, probably will not have it all perfected after the first day. Be prepared to invest the hours, and expect to continue improving your feel for the boat even for many, many years.

If you practise a particular approach a dozen times, your harbour neighbours may wonder about you, but they will certainly notice your docking improving, and you will feel your confidence building.

Conclusion

What you need now is to put lots of water under the bridge. Your progress will be faster as you spend time on your boat, operating it in diverse conditions. Examine others' handling and mishandling of their vessels. This book will make more and more sense to you as you refer back to it, comparing it with your own experiences on the water.

Landlubbers wonder why we even bother, if the whole topic of docking a boat is so involved. For boaters, the attraction of the water is visceral and defies logical explanation. It's like love.

And like love, a little skill and attention to close quarters maneuvering joyfully enhances the whole relationship. If you're going to do it, do it well. Learn the mechanics, and then practise them until they are a part of you.

Be careful. Take it at your own pace. Be easy on yourself, but always push for just a little better performance.

There are many facets to skilful, courteous boat operation. Learn how to dock your boat well, and many of your skills will carry over to other aspects of small craft handling. You will not only gain personal gratification and social accolades, but you will also increase safety to persons and property.

I hope that you have had an enjoyable voyage. Now, ready your lines and fenders, and prepare to bring her in to dock.

The END

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Pre-docking Checklist

• lines, fenders and boathook ready
• have a plan and a back-up plan
• test transmission and steerage
• estimate course and ranges
• consider wind, current, depth
• scan for traffic
• adjust mental state
• ensure crew is prepared
• pray

Table of Contents

Introduction The Underlying Philosophy The Overall idea Docking Practice Chapter 1 - Overview Boat in Motion What the Book Covers Important Concepts Chapter 2 - Docking Examples General Considerations Basic Docking Advanced Docking Undocking Chapter 3 - Hull Effects Hulls Wind Current Momentum Not Too Shallow Keeping on Course Chapter 4 - Steering Turning and Swinging Rudders Discharge Current Just a Little Faster Cushions of Water Asymmetrical ThrustSteerage Astern Contrary Motion and Propulsion Pivoting and Walking Stopping in a Straight Line Outboards and Sterndrives JetBoats

Chapter 5 - Lines & Fenders Making Fast Prototype Ties-Up Knots and Loops Hauling In Fenders Rafting Coiling and Throwing Winding Ship Chapter 6 - Human Factors Pay Attention Keep Thinking Take Your Time Risk Assessment Communicate Skipper's Perspective Conclusion Pre-docking Checklists About the Author

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Basic Docking (Chapter 2, Example Dockings) includes: Front in on the port side, Front in on the starboard side, Docking into the wind, Docking downwind, Docking in a favourable cross-wind, Docking in an unfavourable cross-wind, and Stern-to docking.

Advanced Docking includes: Docking in an unfavourable quartering wind, Around an obstacle, Sternway in an unfavourable crosswind, The Blind Alley, Pilings, and Moorings

Sample Diagrams

Click for a page of illustrations, including Boat Docking’s cover, and a sampling of diagrams.