Are You Mocked at the Dock?

Funny Story

Are you ‘mocked at the dock?’ Here are some tips ...

hell, I don't need to go to a dock to get mocked...

Sailor of Fortune said:

hell, I don't need to go to a dock to get mocked...

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Is mocked like half moored, half docked?

Tied up, you`d be docked at a mock.
(Cannot resist a spoonerism opportunity).

Not mocked, but sometimes I get sympathy! Most of my dockmates have twins and they seem to slip in and out like magic.

I sometimes hear:

"What's he doing?"
"He's got a single."
"Oh."

You see it all too often. The docking skill level is inversely proportional to the sound level of orders given to crew on an incoming boat.

Its been a steep learning curve with a single screw. I'm sure I've been mocked on numerous occasions coming in on a breezy day. My first entrance was a complete disaster. Luckily the docks were deserted with a 30 knot wind blowing.

I think now I have earned some respect, simply because I use my boat more than 98% of the boats in the marina, often when conditions are less than perfect and nobody else is going anywhere.
There are days I struggle, and I've learned to occasionally just tie off at the easy access end of the slip to wait for the wind to subside.

AusCan said:

You see it all too often. The docking skill level is inversely proportional to the sound level of orders given to crew on an incoming boat.

Its been a steep learning curve with a single screw. I'm sure I've been mocked on numerous occasions coming in on a breezy day. My first entrance was a complete disaster. Luckily the docks were deserted with a 30 knot wind blowing.

I think now I have earned some respect, simply because I use my boat more than 98% of the boats in the marina, often when conditions are less than perfect and nobody else is going anywhere.
There are days I struggle, and I've learned to occasionally just tie off at the easy access end of the slip to wait for the wind to subside.

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Brilliant...especially that last bit.

I jumped from a 21' sea kayak to our 30 footer. My attitude was that everybody starts at the bottom of the learning curve, and there's nothing wrong with aborting, then setting up for a second try...as long as nobody elses boat gets hurt. At least my mouth doesn't go dry entering the marina any more

And there is no indignity about backing out of a slip, you can only steer the rear with a single anyway.

I like the challenges of maneuvering a single. Took me a while to figure out how to back my 32 straight, but you sure understand how it all works when you do.

We jumped from a 28 ft twin screw to a 58 ft single screw Thank God it has a bowthruster. Big difference as it became a marina thing. Most of us have started been there. Its common with bigger boats to ASK for assistance and help. There is no biggy about bumping rubbing against the dock as long as there's is no damage and no body hurt except my my pride.

Heck look at the commercial and professional hulls with marks, scraps and denys. Just go toll with it.

BaltimoreLurker said:

Not mocked, but sometimes I get sympathy! Most of my dockmates have twins and they seem to slip in and out like magic.

I sometimes hear:

"What's he doing?"
"He's got a single."
"Oh."

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Darrell, the only time I made a real booboo docking, was when I swung in beautifully, looked for the lines we normally pick up easily, only to find I have swung beautifully into the wrong, (empty) berth. Ours was one finger along. I blamed the 2iC for distracting me, by warning I was getting a bit close to the boats on the other side of the fairway just before the 'swing'. She was concerned we might touch a dinghy when the stern swung…no way..!

The limit to my docking "booboos" was several of these rubber trails (knock on wood):





(Hand me the acetone and a rag.)

Phil Fill said:

We jumped from a 28 ft twin screw to a 58 ft single screw Thank God it has a bowthruster. Big difference as it became a marina thing. Most of us have started been there. Its common with bigger boats to ASK for assistance and help. There is no biggy about bumping rubbing against the dock as long as there's is no damage and no body hurt except my my pride. ...

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Docking is usually the most nervous episode of boating outings. ... I've found that offered help is usually more distracting than helpful. ... When I offer help, I'm there to fend off and won't take a line unless requested/offered. ... I like my bow thruster, having only a single main propulsion propeller.

It`s a controlled collision, sometimes more controlled than others, with a nice feeling when it goes well.

The first dozen or so dockings in my current vessel made me look like a real knob. I was plagued with shift cable issues, and when I really counted on being able to twin screw her, as often as not, one of the engines would either refuse to engage in the direction of my choosing, or just shut down, sometimes taking my power steering with it. Great fun!

One of my first investments was some nice squishy fendering for my pilings. They've really pulled their weight.

AusCan said:

You see it all too often. The docking skill level is inversely proportional to the sound level of orders given to crew on an incoming boat.

Its been a steep learning curve with a single screw. I'm sure I've been mocked on numerous occasions coming in on a breezy day. My first entrance was a complete disaster. Luckily the docks were deserted with a 30 knot wind blowing.

I think now I have earned some respect, simply because I use my boat more than 98% of the boats in the marina, often when conditions are less than perfect and nobody else is going anywhere.
There are days I struggle, and I've learned to occasionally just tie off at the easy access end of the slip to wait for the wind to subside.

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Pretty much mirrors my experience.

I also am better about taking any slip I can get into, instead of letting them get me in trouble trying to get someplace impossible.

I'm not a big fan of "read these seven steps and you'll be an expert at doing x" articles because reading an article in one's armchair is a bit different than standing or sitting at the helm of one's boat with an adverse wind and not much space at the dock and so on.

We learned to operate a single engine cruising boat first simply because that's what we chartered. It had a bow thruster which came in handy on several occasions, but for the most part we found maneuvering the boat to be pretty straightforward. Granted, we had a lot of apples-and-oranges single engine experience with canal boats in the UK, so things like propwalk and hull pivot and so on were familiar forces to us.

When we decided to buy a cruising boat of our own, our list of requirements did not include the number of engines (it does now). As it happened, the boat that best met our needs and budget is a twin.

Neither of us had ever run a twin engine boat before, and we were both very apprehensive. To the point of asking a good friend-- the founder of Kenmore Air and who was an avid and expert boater in his steel-hulled deFever--- to take us out on Lake Washington and give us some twin-engine lessons. He agreed but pointed out that in his opinion the best way for us to learn to operate and maneuver our twin was to just go do it.

As we could never get our schedules to sync, in the end that's what we did. And we proved our friend's advice to be correct. Logic, common sense, a healthy dose of caution, and an equally healthy dose of willingness to try, and a handy tip given to us by the selling broker during the sea trial of the boat we bought proved to be all my wife and I needed to "figure out" twin engine operation and maneuvering on our own.

We didn't read any articles or books or watch any YouTube videos (made easier as YouTube hadn't been invented yet). We just got on the boat, started it up, and started learning how to operate it.

Learning is a never-ending process, but we've learned a lot since taking our boat out for the first time.

Reading is a great way to learn theory. My first flight instructor strongly suggested that I read a book called "Stick and Rudder" before my first lesson. I did, and while I had no idea what things were going to sound, feel, and look like when I flew my first flight, I knew exactly why things were going to happen: why a plane flies (hint---it's nothing to do with Mr. Bernouli), why it climbs, descends, turns, stalls, and so on.

So I'm not disparaging reading about various aspects of boating. But this "read this article and you'll be an immediate expert" implication I see so often in various magazines is quite misleading, I think.

Yeah, but it's because the mockers are not sophisticated enough to understand my advanced docking methods. So, I just tolerate those that know not.

I remember a docking fiasco last summer on Tangier Island on the Chessie. There were extreme tides causing much greater than normal currents and the wind was blowing to the extent that conversation beyond the bow of the boat was difficult.

The marina owner, an elderly gentleman was guiding me in to my assigned slip via radio. The docking situation was difficult with the current going perpendicular to the dock and running about 3 - 4 kts. The gentleman was trying to be helpful by telling me how to steer and power the boat, but as you all know, no one can guide you via radio especially when the currents and wind are making it even more difficult. You have to feel the boat and anticipate the winds and currents.

At first I was listening to his instructions but it became very apparent they were making no sense. He ultimately was confused with who I was and though he was talking to me he was using another boats name. After 3 attempts at sterning in I knew I would damage the boat if I continued this approach. I normally would have considered going elsewhere but there is nowhere else to go. This is an island and the only marina on the island. So I decided to bow in, but I knew I had to get the boat all the way in the slip to allow the pilings on the down current side to hold the boat in the slip. No way could the dock master hold the bow in the slip, the piling closest to the bulkhead would have to do that, the current was just too great.

So the challenge was to get the boat completely in the slip with the bow past the forward most piling that set 2 feet from the bulkhead. This required enough speed to get the boat all the way in the slip before the current took the bow of the boat downstream of this piling. But not too much speed that I couldn't stop the boat before I hit the bulkhead. I knew if I failed to get the bow past the piling closest to the bulkhead the boat would end up sideways in the next slip downstream and we would be in serious trouble.

So with great anticipation, hoping my insurance would cover this, and with the dock master screaming instructions to me using the wrong boat name I started down the chute. In the end all went well primarily due to me and my wife discussing in detail how I would perform and what I expected her to do. Approaching the upstream piling closest to the bulkhead by wife threw a line that was already attached to the boat to a helper who fortunately assessed the situation correctly and immediately secured it to the dock. I was able to stop the boat before the bow hit the bulkhead and the anchor pulpit being pushed by the current rested up against the downstream piling closest to the bulkhead while the stern rested against the downstream piling furthest from the bulkhead. I had to go in and out of fwd gear to keep the bow pulpit fwd of the piling while my wife and the helper adjusted the upstream bow line.
All went well, but it was a bit of a nail bitter.

An hour later a sailboat tried the same thing. On his third attempt he got the boat in the slip, but not past the piling closest to the bulkhead and ended up sideways in the next slip downstream pointed at us about 10 feet away. He was light enough that with ropes and help ashore he was able to right himself.

Back to the article..

The author was writing about some yahoo entering one of the locks in the Trent-Severn System. We cruised this area a few years back. One or two locks into the system we notice that the lock master is not loading the lock in the order of first come first in. There is a large number of rental boats on the system and they have come to recognize them. So for the safety of all prudent experienced boaters they fill the lock with the rentals first, let them play bumper boat, get "tied" into place and then they let us in.
Once I realized what was happening I was very appreciative.

Never ever approach a dock faster than you want to hit it.... That was my learning and the other was, pilings are there for a reason, don't be afraid to use them...
Sometimes you just can't slip it in... you got to tie her up to get it straightened out...
Warping in, should not be a lost art...
In the past life, had to keep 20 some crew tooled up to operate oil spill response boats and work among docks and docking were a large part of our work. Use all your resources when required and don't worry about what others have to say..

Milton, confused? That old salt might have gotten your boat name wrong but he has probably forgot more about seamanship that the rest of us know collectively. Is he still feeding all those cats at his house??

Barpilot said:

Milton, confused? That old salt might have gotten your boat name wrong but he has probably forgot more about seamanship that the rest of us know collectively. Is he still feeding all those cats at his house??

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I had to chuckle at the mention of Milton Parks. Every time I pull in there he asks, "Now, how long you been coming here". Milton Parks is a jewel. He will be missed when he is gone. Yeah, those Tangier watermen are quite the boat handlers, but twin screws is not their bag. They back those Evans in single screw, single handed, fast, and lassoing pilings as they go.

Capt. Tim, the current in the Thoroughfare can be horrific, and the perpendicular slips are not well set up. I feel your pain.

Barpilot said:

Milton, confused? That old salt might have gotten your boat name wrong but he has probably forgot more about seamanship that the rest of us know collectively. Is he still feeding all those cats at his house??

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Yup. We wanted to leave before church on Sunday so I walked up to his house to pay him for our slip and was met by maybe 15 cats milling around the back door, probably waiting to be feed. Mr. Parks couldn't be a nicer person, will remember him as one of the highlights of our summer cruise.

Fundamentals

I find with most things in life, many people today resist the idea of learning fundamentals as long as they can. It sometimes can be impressive the amount of false confidence that a person builds as they learn individual things that work, willingly refusing to be inconvenienced to take the time to understand why. These are the same folk who are most vocal trying to teach others, one unconnected tidbit after the other.

I'm a fan of single screw boats. People either learn to use them, or they get rid of them. Very very few resist learning as they are just too humbling. The cotton stuffed ear of the false confidence ego just won't take it. Note the single screw pilot who sheepishly notes the advanced skill of fully understanding limitations and humbly submits it as their own limitation. Oh no, that's near the top of the pyramid not the bottom. None of us will ever know everything. The tippy top pyramid skill is understanding where we are. Its counterintuitive, but I find its possible to have people with relatively low skill levels I would rate highly, simply because they can predict in advance their capabilities to a given situation perfectly and make very good decisions.

Nothing beats the rise of bow thrusters. I sometimes wish I had one. Again, counter intuitive, but the best use of a bow thruster is telegraphing a pilots skill level at long distances. The blender is a distinctly identifiable sound that can be selectively picked out at respectable distances, even by those of us with less than perfect hearing. You hear a guy start using his blender in the fairway, you immediately calibrate. It's a near 98% chance this guy is living on borrowed time, cotton firmly planted in the ears. Mr. false confidence himself.

If you hear that sound on a calm day, I can be rousted from the deepest darkest recesses of my bilges to come to the rescue of my vessel. If heard on a nasty weather day, run full speed for shore, every man for himself.

One day in Ganges harbor I saw four boats in a row, fully four. Each of them tried to counter a constant breeze in close quarters with the thruster alone. Each of them overheated and quit. Each of them played bumper boats. The yelling. The screaming. The failed marriages. The broken ego's. All the elements were just right to create a storm to sort those who tried, from those who would not be helped. I almost felt bad, sitting there well prepared for the show drinking Martini's.

Now, lest you think ill of me. I've a long history of helping others, so long as they are willing to help themselves. Skill takes time to learn, but the willingness to learn must come from within and that can start from day one.

Those committed to taking the easy way out, cotton firmly planted in the ears, I have no time for.

Sometimes a good captain can use thruster in a fairway to do something no one else would even dare....to insinuate the use there is bogus and suggests a lot of those that would post the situation without conditions......

Ghost - we have a thruster and use it every time we go out, come in, and often when rafting to other boats at anchor. Even on calm days. Our boat is a single and is barely able to turn in our narrow fairways. My feeling is if you have it, use it. That said, I've no trouble piloting the boat in/out without the thruster, and do so every now and again to keep my skills up for the day that it doesn't work. Does that make me less of a captain? Prior to this boat, we had a sailboat at the same marina, no thruster, and a 14 hp Yanmar. We also have a constant current being on a river. Brought that in and out in lots of differing conditions, sometimes using lines, sometimes not. But if we had a thruster on that boat, I know I would have used it.

BTW, using the thruster on calm days helps one to learn what it is and isn't capable of doing. Just like practicing without it. But with the thruster, even on a calm day, it is a lot faster getting the boat where I want it, and easier on the transmission when using it, rather than letting it sit idle. We should all use the systems we have available to us so we are familiar with the systems and the use is second nature (like radar or AIS), and also be ready to work without them when they invariably decide to not work one day (we are talking boats afterall). But using a system like a thruster is not a sign of a bad captain. That is my opinion, for what it is worth (i.e., free).

The basic philosophy is...a thruster shouldn't make up for bad boat handling skills...but there are times whether a pro or weekender can use a thruster to make a given situation reasonable rather than a nail biter..sometimes possible rather than impossible.

I have pretty much heard all the comments possible and the bottom line is still the same...with or without thrusters and twins...those that can dock when no one else can are good and those that can't when most can... are bad....most of us fall in between and enjoy boating the way we can...with thrusters or twins...or not...no big deal and enjoy....

Bow/Stern thrusters are just cheating......

Where can I get one installed?

Last time out I used a thruster when entering the marina, there was a strong ebb current, requiring me to "crab" into the marina at 45 degrees. To make the necessary entry into the side fairway, the thruster was very useful in making the tight 135-degree turn.


Thruster use saves wear and tear on the transmission and propeller shaft (which contains two universal joints). When leaving the berth, I use the thruster to put an angle on the boat to counter the prop walk when reversing. When entering the berth it helps make the 90-degree turn into it, and is useful when there is a side wind by keeping the boat from rubbing the dock.


....


How often do twin owners practice docking with only one engine? I feel no more guilt in using the bow thruster than those who use twin engines.