How to really dock a single screw

[jcollins]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zqsfRUJn2I

[Cape Codder]

Whew!!
Livin' right on the edge!!

[chiefrcd]

John, isn't that how you do it????????

[Denis]

I had no idea someone was filming me when I came into the dock.

[jcollins]

John, isn't that how you do it????????

Yeah. But the guy in the slip next to me is always complaining about wake, 6 knots, blah, blah, blah

[Veebyes2]

Any of us who have singles should REALLY make an effort to attend one of these festivals, whether they be in the Chesapeake or New England. These watermen are really good. We were at Tilghman this year. They have changed the course. Now it is from a dock, on the other side of the basin, to into the slip. Wild!

I don't have video but here are a few stills. 40' plus boat. Single. NO bow thruster.

The approach


Stopping & setting up for reverse


And back she goes. Look at the wave coming off the bow for some idea of speed.

[gerygarcia]

Show offs

I've gotten pretty good at doing a 360 in a confined space.

[Mariner]

I think I prefer this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-REHiCyI ... re=related

[RobS]

I think I prefer this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-REHiCyI ... re=related

Now that was tough to watch. Maybe he would have felt more comfortable if he had put out a few more fenders And it looked like the wind was really howling too!

[gerygarcia]

I think I prefer this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-REHiCyI ... re=related

Now that was tough to watch. Maybe he would have felt more comfortable if he had put out a few more fenders And it looked like the wind was really howling too!

I was on Fire Island one time, I think it was Sailors Haven. There was this guy on a 30ft or so Sundancer trying to dock his boat. He panicked and gunned the throttle back and forth many times, hitting poles, the boat adjacent to the slip he was trying to get into and more. I thought it would never stop. Nothing worse than the sound of cracking fiberglass and wood. What was he thinking?? At least this guy in that video was trying to be as cautious as possible. I have no problem with boaters like that. Hey, if it takes me 5 trys (which sometimes it does in a cross wind) at least I didn't damage someone elses, or my boat

BTW Rob, there is a slight chance I might be going to Atlantique Beach this coming Friday for a last hurrah (if the weather is permitting with the little one on board). Lots of die hards make it over there on the day after thanksgiving. Resolution is coming out of the water Saturday

[Denis]

It's funny to think about but two years ago, I had reserved a slip at one of the marinas on Block Island for two nights. I told them my boat backs to the starboard so to reserve me a slip that I can back into. When we arrived the wind was blowing 20 or so and they had me on the wrong side of the dock. With boats on both sides and dozens of people watching I tried to get into the spot, I gave it two tries and that was enough for me. I did not hit anyone but I needed to get on the throttle to make the turn necessary but with boats so close I could not. I turned around with a couple of feet clearance front and rear and left, I felt humiliated to say the least. We went out and anchored for the weekend and had a ball, thank God. I knew that my skills backing up my Albin were a little weak but if anyone had asked to buy my boat for the next couple of weeks I would have sold it gladly on the spot. Since that time, I have practiced dozens of times and have taken out a skipper with many years behind the wheel of a single screw boat, he has help immensely. As I have said here before, my older Albin has a very weak bow thruster, no help at all really, but I am not making excuses, my learning curve from a single IO to a single inboard was long and painful, much harder than I would have imagined especially if there is wind and currant involved. My next boat will be throughly tested to make sure the rudder is large enough to do the job at hand, with or without a bow thruster. For the safety of your boat and crew and the safety of your neighbors, a boat should predictably go where it's pointed, no excuses. JMHO : Denis.

[RobS]

Enjoy Gery. Thanks for the heads-up - I'd join you over there but it's over 50 miles round trip. We'll have to get our Albins together next season.