Docking Your Boat
When you’re learning to dock a boat, pulling into the slip after a long day enjoying the water can be a challenging task. If you’re not sure what to do or how to do it correctly, you might end up damaging your craft or injuring someone. Read on for some tips, which will help you learn how to dock a boat quickly and easily, so you can master this key skill in no time.
Pulling Into the Dock
Once you’re ready to come to shore, you should get yourself into the correct mindset for docking your boat. Scan the area in and around your slip to make sure there are no obstacles in your path. Your stern will be dictating how you maneuver into the space since it will move first. Be careful about how much you move your rudder to avoid careening about too much.
Maintaining the Right Speed
You wouldn’t charge through the parking lot or up your driveway at top speed in order to park your car. By the same turn, you shouldn’t head into the slip as fast as your boat can go. Slow things down and be more cautious, but don’t go so slowly that you make no headway whatsoever. The common byline when approaching the dock is that you shouldn’t go any faster than the speed at which you’re willing to hit the dock. Bumps may happen, but you can spare your craft serious damage if you’re vigilant.
Use small bursts of power from your engine at its lowest setting to get yourself close. The wheel will be your friend when you have a single-engine boat, and you should turn it before powering the engine to prevent the craft from swinging in the wrong direction. If your vessel is a twin-inboard, though, you can simply alternate between the motors to guide your craft accordingly.
This process may take you some time to master, so if you think you’re coming in at a bad angle or at the wrong speed, simply reverse and try again.
Check the Wind Flow
When docking a boat, high winds will make the task tougher, but it’s not that big an obstacle by any means. You’ll want to furl all your sails and lower any bimini or T-tops, since the canvas can easily catch the wind. If the wind is blowing away from shore, then you’re going to have to fight it by creating a severe angle with your boat and the dock. Don’t go too slowly or you could be pushed back out into the water. Prepare yourself to tie off as soon as you’re close enough.
These tips should help you become an expert at docking your boat. Still in search of a craft? Stop by Chatlee Boat & Marine in Sanford, North Carolina, today to see our full selection of boats. We welcome all our patrons visiting us from Raleigh and Greensboro.