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Old 12-20-2007, 11:20 PM   #17
Marin
Scraping Paint
 
City: -
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 13,745
Stern Thruster Suggestions?

Couple of thing you can do regarding practicing (this is good for twin drivers, too,) is go to an area where you have plenty of room and toss a long, floating cushion on the water. Then use the cushion as your "dock".

Another handy practice device if you have them in your area is a so-called "linear mooring." The Washington Parks Dept. has fallen in love with these things despite the fact that boaters seem to hate them and refuse to use them. It consists of two tall, anchored buoys about 100 feet apart. A pair of heavy lines with composite mooring rings woven into them is strung between the buoys. The idea is you treat the rope on each side like a dock and tie up to the rings. Boaters won't use them, at least not up here, so there are rarely any boats moored to them. They make great practice "docks" since they are anchored in place at each end so will not shift with cross-currents or winds. So you can practice docking in a variety of conditions. And since they're basically just ropes, you can't damage your boat if you come alongside a bit too hard.

-- Edited by Marin at 01:23, 2007-12-21
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