and no real need to ever go sideways....most times and angled approach with prop walk or kicking the stern over will work.
This is what we have learned, too. When docking we do what psneeld describes above, using opposed thrust, rudders and propwalk to move the stern into the dock once the bow is there.
Departing we use a method we read about years ago, and it works beautifully every time, no wind, adverse wind, whatever.
We get all the lines on board except the bow line which we run around a cleat or the bullrail and back to the bow where one of us holds it along with one of our oversize fenders.
The person driving puts the rudders hard over into the dock, opposes the thrust with the dockside prop in reverse and the outside prop in forward and the stern immediately starts swinging away from the dock. The person on the foredeck keeps the bow line tight to prevent the boat from moving forward or back and holds the fender in position to cushion the bow against the dock if necessary (so far it never has been).
If the wind is pushing the boat onto the dock we use more power, particularly on the outside prop which is pushing water into the hard-over rudder and so accelerates the rate of yaw.
The person driving lets the stern swing out to 45 degrees or more depending on the wind and/or current and then signals the foredeck person to pull the bowline in.
The person driving then has the option to continue the curved, opposed-thrust back-away from the dock to end up with the bow pointed in the other direction, or shifting the outside prop from forward to reverse and backing straight out at the angle chosen.
We do not do this maneuver slowly, particularly if there is a wind pushing us back onto the dock. The object is to get clear of the dock and the boat behind us as quickly as possible to ensure the wind does not push us back in against the boat or swing our bow downwind into the other boat.
This works every time, even with boats close behind and in front of us as it uses almost no lateral space along the dock.
The same maneuver works just as effectively in a single. However because the only force moving the stern out will be the prop in forward against the hard-over rudder, the person on the foredeck has a more critical role with the bow line and fender because the boat is really going to want to go forward and into the dock since there is no prop in reverse opposing the forward thrust.
Other than that, the maneuver is pretty much the same.